Christian Baies
Mrs. Brown
CP American Literature 11
25 March 2011
Brave New World: The Absence of Humanity “Who is wise? He that learns from every One. Who is powerful? He that governs his Passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody” (Franklin). These words written by American author, inventor, and politician, Benjamin Franklin, reveal the true meaning of being wise, powerful, and rich. We as humans all want to have wisdom, power, and wealth. Unfortunately, many chose the wrong path to achieving these goals because of their selfishness and laziness. It is in our very nature that this desire is born. Throughout the world of literature, many authors have tried to capture this sense of desirable power but none have accomplished it as beautifully as Aldous Huxley. Aldous Huxley succeeded many awards throughout his writing career for his non-fictional books about psychological socializes which are intellectually stimulating. His most notable novel, which won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit, is Brave New World. Inspired by H.G. Wells’, Men Like God, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was his first dystopian work. Set mainly in a utopia called the World State, the enclose society has completely forgotten the meaning of humanity. Even though the novel itself is a work of fiction, the author compares our world to the World State in ways that may someday, perhaps today, resemble. In the novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses characterization, conflict, and symbolism to communicate the theme that an all-powerful society will disband itself with corruption. With the realistic character of John, the readers are able to see the destruction that an all-powerful society has on itself and its people. Differing from the World State, John is one of the only characters who sees the destruction and makes effort to be different by accepting pain, religion, literature, and artistic thinking to be a part of his life which gives him a sense of humanity (Huxley 240). For instance, John refuses to take part in all the activities and comforts that the World State has to offer because of its absence of humanity. Instead, John would much rather enjoy what humankind was meant to be equipped with and he explains that “I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin” (Huxley 240). As a result to John’s rebellion of the World State’s activities and comforts, he is seen as an outsider but “stands as the voice of the modern reader” (Analysis of the Themes). Although John stands alone within the World State, he represents the multitude of readers who fear the creation of a utopia similar to the World State. While John begins to deeply discover more about the World State, he is conflicted with one of the World State’s high leaders, Mustapha Mond, and with him, John unfolds his passion for his belief in the truth of humanity (Huxley 235). On the whole of John and Mustapha Mond’s argument, the battle of the existence of God, religion, and independence are mostly discussed. When John discovers that Mond is incredibly familiar with God and religion and that he possesses books about them, his confusion carries him to ask the question, “Why don’t you give them these books about God?” (Huxley 231). As a result of this argument, this becomes what is known as the high point of the story’s conflict when both John and Mustapha Mond reveal their inner values (Analysis of the Themes). Unfortunately, what is heartbreaking about this situation is that Mond is proverbial with not only God and religion but with art and literature as well and he refuses to reveal it to the World State. John’s effective characterization is able to show how precarious a utopia with aggressive power can be towards itself and its citizens. While continuing to look into John’s character, conflict in the Brave New World begins to show readers how a utopia destructs the nature of
