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Prophetic?

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Brave New World and 1984 are considered to be the two great prophetic works of the 20th century. Yet whereas 1984 depicts a stereotypical dystopia, Brave New World depicts a world where everyone is happy, everyone is beautiful, everyone can have whatever they want. As a work of prophecy I think Brave New World is far wittier than people give it credit. In Brave New World people are created in factories where they are designed and conditions to fit neatly in society. This eliminates families which eliminates any associated problems. People are happy and beautiful, there is no hunger, no disease and no war, and in the rare occassion when something does go wrong they have soma, the perfect drug. Recreational sex is encouraged at all levels of society (Wait until you read the part where young children engage in "erotic play") but at the expense of love. There are no wives or husbands, boyfriends or girlfriends. "Everyone belongs to everyone else." Since Brave New World was written in the 30s, we have gained the recreational sex and drugs we were promised, genetic engineering has become one step closer, celebrity culture has become a cult, art and literature has been pushed aside by gumph like MTV and reality tv shows, artistic films are shunned in favour of sex and action (Remember the subject matter of the feelies), people ignore their problems with the help of prescribed drugs, people are obsessed with youth and appearance, and, worst of all, I think genuine love is losing ground to fleeting lust. Orwell wrote of a savage dictatorship at a time when both Hitler and Stalin were setting new standards in brutality. Since then we have generally become more liberated. Are homosexuals still shunned? Are women banned from certain jobs? We have gained one right after another following the War. It is fashionable in the current climate to imply that people are still kept in little boxes, but apart from the occassional case of boot-stamping; the introduction of ID cards in Britain or Guantanamo Bay (And bear in mind there was a time when ALL prisons were like that) Orwell's world is not ours. Obviuously, Brave New World is a gross exaggeration on the world of today, but it's messages and ideals are frighteningly accurate. When viewed merely as works of literature 1984 is a superior read. Brave New World is an enjoyable book that occassionally trips up when it attempts to be too clever; moreover one must always bear in mind it is satire. Eh, with that rant to one side, Brave New World is an excellent and thought provoking read, and is more relevant today than in was in 1932.

Brave New World

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I think the future Huxley creates in Brave New World is both imaginative and hugely dystopic, but in describing the mindless existence of the new world's inhabitants Huxley emphasises just how valuable such things as freedom of thought and expression, which we take for granted, really are. So although Huxley's material is dystopic, there is joy to be taken from the heightened sense of the individual, which the reader gains. Stylistically, I think this book is fantastic. Yes, some will complain it lacks a certain degree of complexity, but if so they have unappreciated Huxley's precise and elegant prose. This is an important book, not to be under-estimated, and hugely prophetic considering how long ago it was written.

Out of the way...

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I find with most 'classic' books, the hype is more than the substance and again Brave New World falls into that category. It is quite an easy read - except the constant Shakespeare quotations towards the end, but it is a novel that I feel fails to take a great idea and develop it totally - the end is a big let down for instance. I am glad that I read it to understand why it holds such attention after all these years but it isn't a book that I feel I could recommend.

A terrible dystopia or a beautiful utopia?

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I read this book on the recommendation of a work colleague after reading George Orwell's 1984 and, whilst it is fairly entertaining, it just isn't in the same league as Orwells's masterpiece. It might be wrong to compare the two given that they are very different books, but it seems that some people will read one and then turn to the other, as I did, so a basic comparison seems fair. 1984 is a harsh, brutal novel that preys on our fears of the police state taking over without us even knowing it, something that many would argue is happening right now. The populace portrayed in the book know and understand that their situation is bad but have grown to accept it because they are told and so believe that it is ultimately for the betterment of their nation as a whole. Brave New World, on the other hand, gives us a future in which the masses are literally bred (in test tubes) into their roles in life, both for work and socially. People are conditioned through chemicals and mind manipulation, both before birth and during childhood, into not only accepting their status in society but actually enjoying it. I actually find Huxley's future quite appealing, especially today when many of us seem to wander through life looking miserable, doing jobs we hate and desperately trying to find our `place'. Even though Huxley's masses' status and happiness might be forced upon them from conception, at least they know, accept and actually enjoy being who and where they are regardless of how this is brought about. This book is no where near as gritty, nor does it seem as real or as believable as 1984; Huxley's future is cleaner, happier and generally more pleasant that Orwell's, with both the setting and his writing lacking any real bite. Brave New World has been described as one of the great dystopian novels, but I actually see it in the exact opposite light, as a vision of what could be considered a utopian future. By all means read it, but please don't expect it to be a thrilling, terrible read that'll leave you feeling grateful that things aren't as bad as they could be. And I think that is something 1984 still does to this day.

Was and will make me ill...I take a gramme and just am

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The ultimate dystopian fantasy, made even more eerie by it's remarkable prescience. The masses are kept enslaved by their own hedonistic impulses and the ubiquitous feel good drug soma. Huxley has seen the future and it's ghastly: a society of graded test tube people kept entertained by a virtual reality world i.e 'the feelies'(a kind of interactive movie), an intrusive and prurient media and Christianity forgotten 'because people wouldn't understand it'. Huxley sets his novel 600 years into the future but it's happening to us right now!