Hunger, poverty, and war, our society is rampant with these assumed unavoidable dysfunctions of society. Aldous Huxley’s world famous novel Brave New World presents us with a world where social unrest and the ills of society are all but eliminated. Huxley imagines a future of total social and economic stability; where “Community, Identity, Stability” is the world motto (Huxley pg.1). There is no desire for revolution against the elite leaders of the World State, and there are no disagreements; everybody is content with their pre-assigned purpose in society. However, Huxley shows us through intricate uses of symbolism, allusions, and tone that achieving this seemingly ideal society of social stability and total control sacrifices what truly
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The names of the characters are all famous people that would have been immediately recognized by readers of the 1930’s; they may be glanced over quite easily by readers of today. For example, Lenina Crowne is a play on Vladimir Lenin; who was a communist revolutionary leader of the time. The connection between Lenina and Lenin is an ironic one due to the fact that Lenin was revolutionary nonconformist and Lenina is a total conformist who obeys society without question. To keep with the communist theme, Bernard Marx is a deliberate play on Karl Marx. Bernard’s name is quite literally related to the type of personality that he has. Bernard gets his last name from Marx because Marx was a communist revolutionary that was dissatisfied with the leaders in society and their oppression. Shakespeare is a huge allusion in Brave New World, the name of the book even comes from Shakespeare’s Tempest. John the savage repeatedly quotes Shakespeare and his best known line “O Brave New World with such people in it” (Huxley pg.139), is said by John throughout the novel to express his feelings about the World State. John also quotes Romeo and Juliet when dabbling in his love life with Lenina; which she is appalled from. Likewise, tone is used extensively to give a certain feel and sound to the
The names of the characters are all famous people that would have been immediately recognized by readers of the 1930’s; they may be glanced over quite easily by readers of today. For example, Lenina Crowne is a play on Vladimir Lenin; who was a communist revolutionary leader of the time. The connection between Lenina and Lenin is an ironic one due to the fact that Lenin was revolutionary nonconformist and Lenina is a total conformist who obeys society without question. To keep with the communist theme, Bernard Marx is a deliberate play on Karl Marx. Bernard’s name is quite literally related to the type of personality that he has. Bernard gets his last name from Marx because Marx was a communist revolutionary that was dissatisfied with the leaders in society and their oppression. Shakespeare is a huge allusion in Brave New World, the name of the book even comes from Shakespeare’s Tempest. John the savage repeatedly quotes Shakespeare and his best known line “O Brave New World with such people in it” (Huxley pg.139), is said by John throughout the novel to express his feelings about the World State. John also quotes Romeo and Juliet when dabbling in his love life with Lenina; which she is appalled from. Likewise, tone is used extensively to give a certain feel and sound to the