THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS

Science as it influences humanity is the major theme of Brave New World. The novel depicts a new society where human beings have been stripped of individual freedom, programmed to certain types of behavior, and conditioned to respond in scientific ways to specific stimulants. All traces of the old order have been eliminated. No longer are human emotions or relationships important. Infants are created in a fertilizing room and decanted to perform certain tasks for the totalitarian regime. They are then conditioned from birth to accept their prescribed role without question. Since love and marriage no longer exist, sex has become a casual experience encouraged from childhood.

It is obvious that Huxley fears a completely totalitarian government and a purely scientific society engineered in a laboratory. It is no wonder that he chose to express his concerns in a book, for the increasing power of Russia and other socialist and dictatorial governments was rapidly expanding. In fact, many viewed the Soviet countries as "the new world." Huxley, however, believed that a purely scientific society is incompatible with long cherished human values and ideals such as truth, love, art, and emotions. The novel carries a clear warning against contemporary tendencies, especially those where science is used merely as a technological tool.

The author also warns that social stability, the natural concern of a post-war generation, should not be valued at the expense of individual freedom. Finally, Huxley is warning against escaping reality through drugs, the growth of mindless entertainment, the advocacy of free sex, and the increasing power of mass media, problems that still plague modern life. The title, therefore, is intended to be ironic, for Huxley does not see the world depicted in the novel as a brave or beauteous place. Instead of being a utopia, the brave new world becomes a utopia-in- reverse; it is less inviting than the old world order with all its disadvantages.

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