brave new world satire essay

• Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

• Literature Notes
• Essay Questions
• Book Summary
• About Brave New World
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Character Analysis
• Bernard Marx
• John the Savage
• Mustapha Mond
• Helmholtz Watson
• Character Map
• Aldous Huxley Biography
• Critical Essays
• Society and the Individual in Brave New World
• Brave New World Revisited: Further Thoughts on the Future
• Full Glossary for Brave New World
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Study Help Essay Questions

1. Although they were raised very differently, Bernard Marx and John the Savage are both dissatisfied with the society of the brave new world. What qualities do the characters have in common? How are they different? Compare their strengths and weaknesses.

2. In some ways, Linda and Lenina are the most serious rebels of the brave new world. How does the experience of each character challenge the assumptions of the dystopia? Do you think Huxley takes these women characters as seriously as he does the men? Why or why not?

3. In Brave New World Revisited , Huxley discusses the modern world's resemblance to his dystopia. Make your own case for or against his prophecies. Is modern life really a version of the brave new world? Be specific in your answer, referring to social, political, and economic trends. If modern life is a brave new world, what solutions can you offer?

4. Analyze Mustapha Mond's role in the novel. How is the World Controller different from the other characters? What is Huxley's purpose is putting Mond in Brave New World ? What would the novel be like without Mond?

5. Discuss Huxley's use of satire to make his point in the novel. Choose either the scene describing the Solidarity Service that Bernard attends or John's visit to the feelies as the focus for your argument.

6. Henry Ford, inventor of the assembly line that made possible mass production, looms large as a kind of god in the brave new world. Discuss the specific ways that the society uses Ford's methods to maintain stability. How does Huxley use Ford and the assembly line to advance his themes?

7. "Everybody's happy nowadays," according to the hypnopaedic suggestion. Mustapha Mond himself asserts that happiness and stability are the hallmarks of his society. What evidence does Huxley offer that this is not true? In what specific ways has the promise of happiness not been achieved in the brave new world?

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Brave New World as a Satirical Novel | Satire in Brave New World

Brave New World as a Satirical Novel

Brave New World is Huxley’s most popular novel. A fantasy of the future, it presents a utopian vision of a future world, while launching an attack on the present-day tendency of an over-dependence on science and its discoveries. It is a satire on the present as well as a fantastic vision of the future. In this novel, Huxley has satirized the idea of progress put forward by scientists and philosophers, in an irrepressibly witty manner.

Brave New World contains, like George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four ( 1984 ), a satiric vision of and commentary on future, and may at first glance be termed an anti-utopian satire on the future. The negative and pessimistic vision of future presented by Huxley appears to be meant to be a satirical attack on the culmination of the unchecked scientific advancement in the modern age. However, a close look at the novel shows that the satire in it is not aimed so much at what will happen in future as at what is happening around us at present. The evils of an excessive dependence on science are not to come in future; they are already there. Man has already become a slave to science, and much of his life depends on the facilities provided by it. Like the Russian novel, We by Zamiatin, Brave New World presents an anti-utopian vision of the future to launch an attack on the present. According to George Woodcok, this novel “is a fantasy of the future and a satire on the present. And in both roles it carries conviction because of the expert and convincing handling of detail to create a plausible world.” (Dawn and the Darkest Hour, pp. 177-78).

The irony implicit in Huxley’s choice of the title (from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest ) is evident enough, and his satire on the supposedly ‘brave new world’ of the modern man living in 632 after Ford, quite biting. The world presented by him is neither brave nor new. but simply disgusting. He is satirizing the scientific progress carried to an extreme, and the Lilliputian pretensions of the Alphas and Deltas living under the Fordian state. Like Miranda of Shakespeare’s play, the Savage is also ignorant of the vices that this brave new world and its inhabitants are heir to.

Like Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World is an attack on totalitarianism and the unchecked scientific advancement made at the cost of the spiritual and moral or emotional aspects of man’s life. Like that novel, it has its own didactic tone. The writer cautions man against the life in a scientifically controlled world with its indoctrination conditioning, test-tube babies, free sex, and suppression of historical truth. Huxley seeks to debunk the idea of science being an end in itself. By presenting a majority of people in the Fordian brave new world as content with their mechanical existence, and banishing the Savage from this world because he preferred a life of natural impulses and individual freedom, Huxley has satirized the Progress made by Man with the help of science, suppressing human traits like individuality, freewill, creativity, emotions and natural instincts. “Now-such is progress” , says Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, “the old men work, the old men copulate the old men have no time, no leisure from pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think .” (Brave New World, p. 54). In his eagerness to create happiness for himself even at the cost of moral values and human emotions, man has hardly remained a man at all, and has become a sort of automaton.

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• Brave New World | Questions and Answers
• Brave New World as a Dystopian Novel 
• Brave New World Themes
• John the Savage | Character Analysis

Through the depiction of the process of infant-conditioning, Huxley satirizes Pavlov and his behaviouristic doctrine. Bokanoveskian Process and pregnancy substitutes are meant to satirize the advancement made by biological sciences. The institution of marriage has been rendered superfluous in the Fordian world where there is a perfect freedom in matters of sex, and where, as Fanny points out, “Everyone belongs to everyone else.” (Ibid., p. 45). The term ‘chastity’ is merely a misnomer here. Huxley makes his satirical point by making Linda John’s mother, remark on marriage:

“It does seem a lot of fuss to make about so little. In civilized countries, when a boy wants to have a girl, he just…” (Ibid., p. 111).

In fact, a tone of mockery pervades the whole of the book, and ideas, characters and situations are ridiculed as soon as they appear in it. At times, Huxley mocks different ideas by adopting the viewpoint of one of his characters and ironically presenting it as his own. Literary indulgences like the reading of Shakespeare are treated with derision. In place of old religious practices like Church service, chanting of hymns and choruses, or the celebration of Christmas, there are “Ford’s Day celebrations, the Community sings, and Solidarity Services.” (ibid., p. 62). The suppression of historical truth is presented, only to be satirized, in Mustapha Mond’s words as “a campaign against the Past; by the closing of museums, the blowing up of historical monuments… by the suppression of all books published before A.F. 150”. (Ibid., pp. 50-51).

Huxley mocks the modern notions about God and religion by getting them to be represented by Mustapha Mond. Mond believes that “religious sentiment is superfluous” (lbid. p. 180): and he says about God: “God isn’t compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and human happiness. You must make your choice. Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness.” (Ibid., p. 183).

Thus, Huxley satirizes the modern views on religion, God, sex, Progress, Love and marriage either directly or indirectly by making his characters express views that he derides and wishes to attack. He employs Swift-like ironical manner to express his disillusionment with modern civilization based on scientific progress and to satirize what he believes would become of the world and humanity if man continues his thralldom of science and material comforts at the cost of moral and spiritual values. There is an intensity and thoroughness in the satire in this novel, which is hardly found anywhere else in Huxley’s novels.

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• Satire Brave New World

Brave New World is a satirical novel written by Aldous Huxley. The book was published in 1932 and it addresses the themes of technological progress, social hierarchy, and dystopian society.

The story takes place in a future world where all people are born into predetermined social classes and they are conditioned to accept their roles in society. They are also provided with pleasures and distractions to keep them content, such as drugs and entertainment.

The novel uses satire to criticize the social norms of the time period. For example, the government’s use of propaganda to control the population is satirized through the characters of Lenina Crowne and Bernard Marx. Crowne is a perfect example of someone who has been brainwashed into submission, while Marx is a rebel who does not fit into the social norms.

Brave New World is an important work of satire because it presents a dark vision of the future that is still relevant today. The book warns about the dangers of letting technology take over our lives and losing our sense of humanity. It is a reminder that we should be careful about what we wish for, as it may come with a cost we are not willing to pay.

In Brave New World, Huxley was targeting consumer, materialistic attitudes that existed at the time (and still do today) and extrapolating them into the future to serve as a cautionary tale for society. The incident in question occurs in Chapter XIV of Huxley’s Brave New World and is more particularly concerned with John’s trip to his dying mother at a hospital, followed by an uprising because of soma, which he despises.

It is worth noting that Brave New World is a satire, and as such employs elements of humor and exaggeration to criticize certain aspects of society. In the passage in question, Huxley is targeting the way that individuals in Brave New World accept the status quo without question, and how they are content to indulge in mindless distractions (in this case, soma) rather than grapple with difficult truths or problems.

The use of satire allows Huxley to explore these themes in a more nuanced and provocative way, and it also underscores his central message that societies which do not question their values are ultimately doomed. Brave New World remains relevant today because many of the issues that it satirizes (consumerism, materialism, etc.) are still very much with us, and it is a powerful reminder of the dangers of taking these things for granted.

The World State’s reign of consciousness-altering technological advancements, such as the drug soma, is emblematic in its wide embrace of technology and ignorance is bliss’ attitude towards science. Soma is embraced by the people as a quick cure for their problems, represented by such hypnopaedic proverbs as One cubic centimetre cures 10 gloomy sentiments,’ or A gramme is always better than a damn,’ which are pounded into the subconscious via 150 repetitions every night for 12 years.

Brave New World also satirizes the modern concepts of celebrity, advertising and consumerism. For instance, celebrities in Brave New World are called “saints” and are revered for their looks and sexual promiscuity; advertisements are blatant in their use of sex to sell products; and people in the World State are conditioned to be consumers who buy things they do not need. Brave New World is a dark satire that critiques the modern world.

In Brave New World, Huxley depicts how horrible it would be to live in blissful ignorance and have the ability to grow as a weak, error-prone being. The most satire in this book is that while people attempt to improve themselves and gain knowledge, they inadvertently become their own adversary and opponent.

The government in Brave New World is a totalitarian, one-party state that controls everything. The people are kept in line through strict rules and regulations, as well as the threat of punishment. Huxley satirizes the idea that a perfect society could be created if it were controlled by a select few who claim to know what is best for everyone.

The society in Brave New World is based on the principles of Henry Ford’s assembly line. This means that everyone is assigned a specific role and they are not allowed to deviate from it. This system allows for maximum efficiency and productivity. As with any type of factory production, there is a need for a constant and uninterrupted flow of goods. In Brave New World, this is achieved through the use of mind-altering drugs and conditioning. The people are made to believe that this is the best way to live and that there is no other option.

Huxley satirizes the notion that happiness can be created through the use of technology and science. In Brave New World, the government controls everything, including the people’s emotions and thoughts. They are not allowed to experience any type of negative emotion, such as sadness or anger. This is done through the use of conditioning and mind-altering drugs. The people are taught to believe that this is the best way to live and that there is no other option.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, like many satires, addresses a variety of topics in society. This is accomplished by employing satirical devices such as satire and irony. He does this to tackle themes such as human instincts, narcotics, and religion.

One such issue that Brave New World satirizes is the use of drugs. In the novel, the government uses a drug called soma to keep the citizens in line. Soma is a powerful drug that makes people happy and content. It’s used to keep the citizens from revolting against the government and from questioning the status quo.

Another issue Brave New World satirizes is human impulses. The characters in Brave New World are conditioned to behave in a certain way. They’re not allowed to express their true emotions or desires. This is done in order to maintain control over them.

Finally, Brave New World satirizes religion. In the novel, religion has been replaced by technology. The government controls all aspects of society, including religion. This is done in order to maintain control over the citizens.

Brave New World is a powerful satire that addresses several issues within society. By using satirical tools such as parody, irony, and allusion, Huxley is able to get his point across loud and clear. Brave New World is a must read for anyone interested in satire.

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