In this blog post, I will analyze how the mechanisms of the mechanized civilization and class-based society depicted in Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ erode humanity, using key scenes and characters as examples.
The future envisioned by Aldous Huxley is a terrifying world where humanity has been destroyed by the excessive abuse of science and technology. That world is neither “brave” nor “beautiful.” The novel begins with scenes of a factory mass-producing 180 different types of humans from a single egg, and of those children being educated and trained under controlled conditions.
Fetuses grow in test tubes, are mechanically mass-produced after 267 days, then transferred to a sunlit room; once the test tube caps are opened, they enter the nursery. The nurses at this human production factory are characterless beings who obey the Director’s orders, repeatedly performing conditioning exercises that direct eight-month-old infants toward flowers and books. Under a philosophy that worships the absolute figure of Ford, the aim is to maximize productivity and efficiency by conditioning the mentally deficient to loathe books and flowers.
Chief Administrator Mustafa Mond serves as the dictator Ford’s henchman, with Plant Manager Henry Foster reporting to him. Mond is one of the administrators overseeing the entire world and is in charge of Europe. In this era, Ford is accepted as an absolute authority, and the calendar is marked as “Years After Ford’s Birth.” In this totalitarian class society, family life is viewed as dangerous, and human emotions are minimized, with a stable world order held as the highest value. Consequently, true love cannot blossom; instead, it is distorted or deemed taboo. Bernard Marx, a hypnopedagogue and a highly intelligent individual, is a character who exemplifies these pathological human relationships.
In this work, Huxley reveals that the spirit of the humanities—epitomized by Shakespeare—is the only force capable of standing up to the tyranny of an inhuman, mechanized civilization. While depicting a historical context in which the preservation and restoration of humanity are becoming increasingly difficult, he demonstrates his sense of literary mission: that literature and art can free us from the shackles of this mechanized civilization. The primary governing principles of this society—which may emerge within the next few decades—are “publicness,” “uniformity,” and “stability”; anything that runs counter to these governing ideologies is prohibited, and traces of past human society, along with books, are eradicated.
The character Lenina is a woman who engages in romantic liaisons with various men in turn. She frequently interacts with the introverted Bernard Marx—whose appearance was distorted and whose emotions were dulled by alcohol spilling into his amniotic fluid while he was a fetus—the optimistic yet arrogant Benito Huber, who is intellectually gifted but lacking in emotional depth; Henry Foster, the director of the Human Production Factory; and Helmholtz Watson, an Alpha-Plus elite in charge of emotional education.
At the human production factory, humans are classified into classes such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, and are produced according to the required types. Those who fail to adapt properly to this New World governing system and harbor resentment and disgust toward it are, ironically, members of the Alpha class—that is, intellectual workers like Bernard and Watson. They are in a state of mental overload, possess a strong sense of individuality, and take no interest in the outlandish entertainment of the new generation; thus, although they create the slogans and propaganda of the governing system, they remain an alienated group unable to assimilate into it themselves.
Huxley’s literature is full of satire and paradox. While exposing the inhuman and pathological state of modern civilization—both its pinnacle and its final destination—he reveals a broad worldview that presents, as an alternative, a Buddhist and Eastern philosophical perspective through which one can achieve liberation by freeing oneself from all attachments and obsessions. It is in this regard that the greatness of his literary world is revealed.
Lenina is repelled by Bernard, who is introverted and socially awkward. Since conformity to the system is considered synonymous with happiness in a totalitarian society, she finds Bernard’s self-contradictory attitude—his pursuit of freedom—unnatural. Bernard challenges and resists Dr. Foster, the director of the London Newborn Incubation Control Center, and finds himself at risk of being transferred to the remote island of Iceland amid a dual conflict of intellectual superiority and physical inferiority. It is revealed that Foster lost his lover 25 years ago while traveling in New Mexico; this event connects to the story of Linda and her son John, who appear later, thereby revealing the work’s central theme.
Bernard takes Lenina on a trip to an Indian reservation in New Mexico. There, when Lenina is repulsed by the primitive scenes she witnesses, Bernard explains that this is a natural part of life. Amid scenes of primitive faith—such as a woman breastfeeding her child, an old man whipping a boy until he bleeds and sprinkling the blood on a snake, and a rain dance to pray for a bountiful harvest—they encounter Linda, who is very old and disfigured, and her son John. This scene illustrates the contrast between mechanistic totalitarianism and the primitive values of the Indians.
They hear from Linda about the hardships and tribulations of her past, and from John about the conflict of love and hate he experienced after witnessing his mother, Popa, sleep with another man and being beaten by others. John, who had always longed for the beauty and happiness of the civilized world whenever his mother spoke of it, learns to read from her and begins reading books from the Western civilized world, including the complete works of Shakespeare.
John is thrown into confusion by the contrast between the Native Americans’ natural fertility and the values of Western mechanized civilization, which regards artificial sterility as a mark of civilization. While reading the complete works of Shakespeare, he feels the magic of language and even experiences the impulse to kill Pope, who is having sex with his mother. He also finds small moments of happiness while learning how to make pottery from an old woman. After participating in an Indian coming-of-age ceremony, he is ostracized for being white; standing on the edge of a cliff, bleeding, he reaches an epiphany about time, death, and God under the moonlight.
Shakespeare’s works, which had been his sole source of joy since childhood, are presented as a symmetrical remedy capable of healing the loss of humanity caused by the abnormal overdevelopment of science and technology. Here, we can glimpse Huxley’s deep faith in human imagination and artistic intuition.
John, who grew up isolated and ostracized by everyone, is portrayed as a figure of alienation similar to Bernard, and is sometimes likened to Jesus crucified on the cross. When asked if he will go to London, he exclaims, “Oh, Brave New World!” and feels a romantic attraction toward Lenina. Recalling the passion and instinct between a man and a woman in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, he even feels sexual arousal toward the sleeping Lenina. Bernard brings Linda and John to London, intending to expose Foster’s past secrets and take revenge on the Director.
When John calls him “Father,” Foster is flustered; he denies the facts, is mocked, and eventually resigns as Director. Because of the possibility that John is Foster’s son, he becomes famous among the androids, but Linda, on the other hand, finds herself in a pitiful state and falls into a hallucinatory state after taking an overdose of Soma. Bernard attempts to use John to elevate his own status, and it is reported to the Regional Controller, Mustafa Mond, that John is more interested in matters of the soul than in awe of the civilized world.
When John visits the school, he is shocked to see that instead of Shakespeare, the curriculum consists of emotion engineering, preparation for death, and music education emphasizing smell, sight, and touch. Treated as a savage, John is drawn to Lenina but avoids her when she makes physical advances, finding solace in Shakespeare’s works. Feeling repelled by the social gatherings and staged performances organized by Bernard, John is flustered when Lenina attempts to confess her love to him in a banquet hall designed using emotional engineering. Bernard is disheartened when Lenina is led away by a popular singer.
John finds solace in reading ‘Romeo and Juliet’, seeing himself as Romeo and Lenina as Juliet. Watson agrees that ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a superb product of emotional engineering, which serves as an example demonstrating that the intrinsic value and power of literature—as epitomized by Shakespeare—far exceed those of cutting-edge biotechnology. Meanwhile, while having a relationship with Director Foster, Lenina thinks of John; she forgets to administer a medication to a fetus in a jar, ultimately causing the child to die of an illness 22 years, 8 months, and 4 days later.
Although she has relationships with various men, Lenina finds no satisfaction and yearns desperately only for John, who has lived a primitive life; she eventually seeks him out and actively courts him. John rejects her physical advances by citing an Indian custom in which a man must give a woman the pelt of a lion or a wolf before marrying her; he also displays a frenzied mental state, reciting lines from Shakespeare while brutally beating himself until he is wounded. This behavior may be a form of self-harm linked to a sexual aversion that developed after he witnessed his mother having sex. Later, when his 44-year-old mother, Linda, is dying in the hospital, he visits her and reminisces about the past.
Though he had cherished the beautiful visions of a civilized, different world that his mother had shared with him, those memories were gradually replaced by the hideous scenes involving Pope. Driven by jealousy of Pope, he violently shook Linda until she suffocated to death; John’s wailing and sobbing then came as a great shock to the children and nurses visiting the hospital.
After his mother’s death, John shouts to the 162 identical androids gathered in the hospital lobby—who had just finished their shifts and were waiting to receive their Soma rations—that Soma is not a drug that brings happiness, but a poison. He proclaims that he has come to grant them liberation and freedom, and urges them to reclaim their humanity and build a truly wonderful new world if they are to avoid becoming slaves. These words incite public outrage; he is attacked, arrested by riot police, and taken—along with Marx and Watson—to Mond, the ruler of Western Europe.
In his conversation with Mond, John says that while civilization has its good and beautiful aspects, he does not like it, and that Shakespeare’s poetry is superior to any cutting-edge art produced by emotional engineering. In response, Mond explains his philosophy of governance, stating that happiness can be found in stability and that the lower one’s social class, the greater their sense of satisfaction and happiness. He cites two experiments he conducted as evidence: one involved settling 22,000 Alphas on the island of Cyprus to engage in agriculture and industry, which failed; the other was an experiment conducted in Ireland 150 years ago, which showed that shorter working hours do not lead to happiness—rather, excessive leisure causes unrest and anxiety. Based on these results, he argues that science and art cannot coexist with happiness.
According to Mond’s logic, happiness is a more difficult subject to manage than truth; unlike in the past, when knowledge and truth were the highest values, the governing philosophy of the new world prioritizes comfort and happiness over truth and beauty. He argues that a utopian world must be realized by controlling the unlimited freedom of scientific inquiry. Mond’s explanation—that since the Nine Years’ War triggered by the anthrax bomb, art, science, and religion have been sacrificed for the sake of happiness, and that everything now depends on the power of popular singers who provide pleasure—reveals his authoritarian worldview.
In contrast, John argues that as people grow older, their religious sentiments deepen, and that religion is necessary. When Mond asks whether God can truly exist in a modern social order where the desire for eternal youth is never thwarted, alternative forms of entertainment are available, and pleasure is guaranteed by Soma, John replies, “Perhaps.” Having grown up in an Indian village, John led a solitary life cut off from communal society; however, in London, he finds himself unable to escape communal life and thus unable to experience solitude, suffering a double torment. Quoting ‘King Lear’, he argues that civilized people must endure unpleasantness and value self-denial and purity. John declares that he desires an uncomfortable life, God, and poetry, as well as freedom, goodness, sin, and danger, and refuses to become a slave to civilized society.
Marx, Watson, and John petition Mond to allow them to leave this civilized world on the grounds of individual freedom. John, who had longed for a place where he could be alone—where people could no longer treat him as a plaything or a guinea pig—hides beside a lighthouse on a hill, kneeling in prayer without sleeping. Praying to the guardian spirits of the Native Americans and to Jesus, he embarks on a journey of self-discipline; in the solitude of the empty woods, living self-sufficiently and untainted by civilization, he finds joy. Recalling his poor mother, he repents of his filial disobedience, whips himself, and spends time in penance.
On the third day, when reporters arrive and request an interview, the image of Lenina overlaps with that of his mother in his mind, causing him great pain. He stumbles into a thorn bush, flails about, and beats himself frantically. Filmed with a telephoto lens, this scene was adapted into a movie titled ‘The Savage of Surrey’, which became a box-office hit; people flocked to him in droves, showering him with jeers and ridicule. Lenina arrives by helicopter and approaches him imploringly, but he swings his whip to reject her and beats himself. The crowd then breaks into a chaotic brawl, beating one another. After midnight, when everyone has left, John—who had fallen asleep, exhausted from a sensual frenzy induced by Soma—wakes up, cries out, “Oh my God, my God!” and is found dead that evening, having hanged himself from the ceiling.
“Brave New World” clearly illustrates the perspective of Aldous Huxley, whose literary philosophy centers on the harmonious synthesis and balance of literature and science. Mond represents one aspect of the author, while John represents another, symmetrical aspect. John, who was educated in the spirit of Shakespeare amidst the natural environment of the Indians, strives to protect the purity of art but ultimately meets his end through suicide—a symbol of the destruction of imagination. This is interpreted as a limitation stemming from his inability to overcome the conflict between mechanized civilization and the preservation of humanity. Although the author wrote the story anticipating events 600 years in the future, some argue that its events could realistically occur even 100 years from now.
Aldous Huxley artistically embodied the warning of his great-great-grandfather, Matthew Arnold—namely, that scientific progress must not undermine human imagination and inherent nature. This also serves as a rebuttal to his grandfather, Thomas Huxley, who had argued that science was a panacea. Unlike Plato, who argued that philosophers should hold positions of power, Huxley projects into this work the idea that artists—particularly writers—should play a leading role in the new world order.
