In Aldous Huxley’s 1931 novel, Brave New World, satire is achieved through symbolism and biblical references. Sarcasm also plays a major role in this novel’s satire. Brave New World contains examples of self-gratification and self-sacrifice that occur in the New World society. Huxley’s novel describes a society in which people have pills to wash their problems away, Henry Ford is their god, and humans are created in a lab rather than naturally. The savage part of the story is filled with self-flagellation. These two societies are plotted as polar opposites. Throughout his novel, Huxley plots the pursuit of self-gratification against the pursuit of self-sacrifice using satire to ultimately suggest that moderation is the key to a successful society. In the Brave New World society, Soma is commonly used to demonstrate self-gratification. Because characters in the novel are often faced with problem, soma is ingested to instantly make any difficulties, big or small, disappear. This drug is the answer to unhappiness.
Soma is also included in the religious ceremonies to prove the point that everything in the new society is ridiculous. Typically, drugs do not go hand and hand with religion. Another thing that is not associated with religion is an orgy. Huxley places two opposites of religion, drugs and sex, in the religious ceremonies that are held in the Brave New World society because he wants the reader to know how disturbing this society actually is. When Huxley describes the orgies at the ceremonies, the reader should realize that this is an awful thought. This thought should push a reader in the opposite direction and to the Savage Reservation. Soma, sex, and drugs are all examples of self-gratification because happiness is achieved simply and frequently with no troubles whatsoever. Another example of self-gratification would be Mustafa Mond.
The Essay on Aldous Huxley And His Brave New World
Aldous Huxley, said to have created the best utopian novel of all time, did not start out his career as a writer. He began his life in the midst of a sea of social pressure, not unlike most teenagers today. However by the age of 16 Huxley was already studying medicine and planning to be a doctor. Things were going very well for Huxley until he contracted a disease, which left him temporarily blind ...
He makes the decisions for the community which results in no questions for the people. The people do not have to make decisions which, at the end of the day, makes life less challenging. A less challenging life equals an ignorant life. Ignorance is bliss. Everything in the Brave New World society leads to “happiness” for the people. The counterpart to the Brave New World society is the Savage Reservation because the Savage Reservation’s morals and beliefs are the exact opposite of the Brave New World society’s morals and beliefs. Huxley plots the Savage Reservation against the Brave New World society because they are polar opposites. In the Savage Reservation, John the Savage is called a savage which is ironic because John is the opposite of savage. He speaks Shakespearian language and he turns down sexual advances from Lenina to prove that he is a civilized human being.
John the Savage is also portrayed as Christ-like because he comes to the Brave New World society as a savior. John is commonly described with his arms outstretched, he has been spotted with his arms outstretched, and he spent some time alone, which are all characteristics that make him Christ-like. Since he is comparable to Christ in this novel, automatically, his mother is comparable to the Virgin Mary. Satire is used here because John’s mother, Linda, is a loose whore who sleeps around with different men and the conception of John was not a miracle. She is the opposite of the Virgin Mary which, in this case, is ironic.
Ultimately, Aldous Huxley suggests that the key to a society’s success is moderation because it is in the middle of two extremes. The book ends on the island which represents moderation because it is halfway between the Brave New World society and the Savage Reservation. The core value on the island is moderation, whereas the core value in the Brave New World society is self-gratification and the Savage reservation focuses on self-sacrifice. By ending the book on the island, Huxley suggests that moderation is the key to happiness.
The Term Paper on Brave New World Utopian Society
Chapter 1 Summary: The novel is set six hundred years in the future. The world has submitted to domination by World Controllers, whose primary goal is to ensure the stability and happiness of society. Thus the underlying principle of the regime is utilitarianism, or maximizing the overall happiness of the society. The novel begins at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center, a ...
Moderation is best because it is not too much but it is not too little, and that is what Huxley is getting at over the course of the novel. Throughout the story, satire is achieved through symbolism and biblical references. Sarcasm is also a big factor in the satire in Brave New World. Brave New World contains examples of self-gratification and self-sacrifice that occur in the New World society. Huxley talks about two different worlds that end up being polar opposites. During his novel, Aldous Huxley plots the pursuit of self-gratification against the pursuit of self-sacrifice using satire to ultimately suggest that moderation is the key to a successful society.
