London : Vintage 2007
229 p.
ISBN 978-0-099-51847-1
Post hau ingelesez dago.
Brave New World, a classic dystopian novel, was first published in 1932 but continues seducing readers today just as much as back then. Aldous Huxley set the book in a futuristic World State where everything is engineered and controlled. The descriptions of the world based purely on science and an intelligence-based social hierarchy startle us especially when we look at the treatment of any feelings in this supposedly advanced society.
Brave New World is so popular that there are numerous adaptations to theater, radio, film and TV. In 1998–1999, the Modern Library ranked the book fifth on the list of the 100 Best Novels in English of the 20th century and in 2019, BBC News put Brave New World on its list of the 100 Most Inspiring Novels. And there are various other important rankings that always include it among most influential, important or masterfully written novels.
On February, 10th, at our Donostia Book Club meeting, we are going to talk about Brave New World‘s historical context, all its references, the reception of the novel and numerous accusations of plagiarism. Some of the more analytical questions we hope to answer are:
When Brave New World was first published in 1932, the world was plunged in depression, fascism was on the rise in Western Europe, and Marxism appealed to increasing numbers of intellectuals in Europe and America. Place the book in the context of its historical moment. Which parts transcend its time and place?
The two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World are birth and mother. Why?
Toward the end of the book, the Controller Mustapha Mond sums up the benefits of living in the “brave new world” Utopia. It sounds like perfection, and yet the world Mond describes is deeply, intentionally horrifying. Why? What exactly is so bad about this society of the future? Is there anything good about it, anything we could learn from and try to adapt to our own uses?
As dehumanizing and oppressive as the brave new world Utopia is, the alternative in the “savage reserve” is in many ways worse – dirty, violent, unhealthy, cruel, uncomfortable. What point is Huxley making about human nature and the nature of human communities? Is his vision totally negative – or does the book hold out some shred of hope, some alternative mode that fosters both freedom and community?
One of the most striking – and comic – aspects of Huxley’s Utopia is the way our sexual mores and assumptions have been turned on their head: monogamy is bad, passion is deviation, casual, meaningless sex is the socially approved norm. What is Huxley getting at here? Is there any expression of human sexuality that he finds acceptable? Is sex at the heart of the “problem” in his view of human nature?
When John first starts reading Shakespeare, he discovers that the words make his emotions “more real” – they even make other people more real. Talk about the power of language in the book, the power of the word to influence thought and behavior. Why did Huxley choose Shakespeare as the medium of John’s intellectual awakening?
Talk about Huxley’s use of narrator. Does the fact that Huxley’s vision was impaired for part of his life have any bearing on the way he narrates the story and sets the scenes?
(Source: https://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/brave-new-world-0/guide)