Dehumanization In Brave New World

Words: 842
Pages: 4

During the 1930’s, the world entered a state of depression due to World War I and the stock market crash. During the interwar period, tensions grew again between Germany and the allies due to Hitler’s rise in power and his territorial expansion. This led to technological advancements in preparation for another war and truly reflected the power that science was capable of. At this time, many scientists confirmed that some of the technological advances obtained the power to destroy humanity. To explore and examine the idea of improperly utilized science leading to dehumanization of humanity, Huxley wrote Brave New World, which is set in London in the year AD 2540 (632 A.F. - “after ford”- in the book). In this novel, the futuristic technology …show more content…
For instance, when Lenina had a withdrawal from not consuming soma, a narcotic used to create pleasant sensations without any after-effects, she responded "Too awful," and all Bernard's consolations were in vain. "Too awful! That blood!" She shuddered. "Oh, I wish I had my soma” (116). Lenina cannot control her emotions because she has not consumed any soma which reflects that soma disables humans to experience their own emotions and teaches them to live mindlessly. One of humans distinct features is the ability to experience all kinds of emotion and to use a drug that disables the experience of emotion truly dehumanizes humanity. Likewise, another technological advancement, Bokanovsky process, has contributed to the dehumanization of humanity. For instance, the director explains the bokanovsky process as “One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Progress” (6). Nothing reflects lack of identity than the bokanovsky process. An important humanistic characteristic is individuality but through this scientific process, 96 identical twins are produced which destroys hopes …show more content…
He believes that extreme measures will be implemented in order to achieve social stability, one of the important goals in a society. Measures such as conditioning and bokanovsky’s process will ultimately dehumanize humanity. Huxley’s predictions can be seen in today’s society in many forms. Major breakthroughs in technology are occurring in today’s society that the negative effects can often be overlooked. For example, the advancement in phones today have restricted children from spending time with their families or even just with their own emotions and thoughts. These new electronic gadgets can be compared to the power of soma that Huxley predicts in his novel. Both the gadget and the drug disable human’s ability to communicate their emotions with others and maintain humanity. In the end, Huxley’s predictions can be confirmed accurate to some