Brave New World By: Ethan Blum

Background information  Written by Aldous Huxley in 1932  Criticized early-mid 1900s society  Still pertain able to today

Society  Criticizes  the lack of religion  the lack of emotion  the superfluous happiness

Summary  Starts out with Lenina considering going to the Conservation with Bernard. They both go and meet a Caucasian man who was raised there named John. John and his mother is brought back to BNW society. He is introduced to all of the things BNW has to offer.

Summary (Cont)  Once his mother dies he experiences a mental breakdown and is brought to the Controller. After he is denied to return to society he runs away to isolation and purifies himself. This is witness by some BNW citizens and is lavished by the media. The novel ends with Jon committing suicide. For a more detailed summary check out In a Nutshell.

Themes  There are many themes in Huxley’s novel however the ones that stand out are alienation, happiness, and religion. For more detailed analysis of the of each theme check out the Themes page

Themes (alienation)  John is alienated from the Indians because he is not of their race  Bernard is alienated because of his Alpha- status and short statue. He also enjoys solidarity  Helmhotz is above everyone else mentally, and physically has no one really to converse with

Themes (happiness)  The only happiness in BNW is short-lived. There is no meaning to anything and what Huxley touches on is that to have true happiness, one must have meaning

Themes (religion)  Religion causes a deep connection with the spiritual world (ask questions about life) this causes instability

Symbols  There are many symbols in Huxley’s novel however the ones that stand out are soma, “horizontal hustle”, and technology. For more detailed analysis of the of each symbol check out the Symbols page

Soma  Soma is used by much of the populace for immediate happiness  Also used for spiritual uses, but without the actual religion component

“Chicken parmesan”  “Horizontal hustle”, “chicken parmesan:, or whatever you may call the action it is also used in the book for instant happiness. Unlike a moral society there are no emotions for each other

Technology  Technology is used in the book for instant gratification too. These new ways to do things make it a lot easier for the person to do. In the book the citizens use so much advance technology that they are lazy.

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