Bernard insists that this is no freedom at all.īernard claims that his ideal of freedom is the freedom to be an individual apart from the rest of society. Lenina insists that everyone has a great deal of freedom - the freedom 'to have the most wonderful time.' Soma represents this kind of freedom, as it puts people in a hypnotic state in which they no longer feel as though they should ask questions or defy the structures of society. Bernard feels these constraints most acutely, as in a scene from chapter 6, when Bernard and Lenina have a conversation about freedom. Freedomīrave New World largely defines freedom through the structures that prevent freedom. This process often occurs in the name of security or peace, yet such actions inevitably lead to the destruction of everything that is good in a society such as freedom or creativity. In Brave New World, Huxley critiques modern governmental institutions whose power has slowly crept into the lives of ordinary people. Such works take an instance of injustice or perceived ill in a society and take those situations to what would be their logical ends. Both told of a future society in which governments had complete dictatorial control over people, while state control and conformity replaced the freedoms of modern life and a person's right to the pursuit of happiness.ĭystopian novels such as Brave New World are critiques of modern institutions. Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984 were two of the first modern dystopian novels. DystopiaĪ dystopia is a kind of science fiction, or fantasy, world that predicts the future in a negative light. This is, of course, important for maintaining the structured and controlled environment of Huxley's dystopia, but it also produces human beings who simply do what they have been taught and have no reason to think on their own. Consumption becomes so important to the society that all of a person's energy and reason is put into activities of work and play that consume goods that in turn keep the economy running. However, such reliance upon commodification also blunts any attempt at original thought. Thus, the society's economy will remain stable. This modification in turn means that everyone who makes such goods or provides such services will be able to stay employed. In the novel, society modifies human behavior so that people will seek to consume goods and services as much as possible. Huxley views commodified society as a detriment to human creativity.

Huxley brave new world