Thematic Exploration in Brave New World
Technology and science have long been the driving forces behind humanity’s progression towards a perfected human form and society. Every single day, ideas are formed and inventions are patented that make life simpler and less problematic. However, a fine line exists between using technology to aid citizens moving towards a higher order, and using technology to implement control over a society. If technology is utilized to invade privacy and restrict individualism, the results can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, signs of this technological abuse are evident in society today. In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley illustrates the damage a corrupt authority can exact on a subject through technological perversion. In the novel, genetic engineering replaces the natural human system of reproduction as life is created in laboratories in an attempt to control all aspects of society. As human beings move closer to this actualization in the present world, the theme that any attempt to control reproduction and “play God” through scientific procedures can only lead to the destruction of individualism and the progress of the human race echoing within Huxley’s novel looks to be ever more important in the future well-being of civilization. Within Huxley’s novel Brave New World, governing parties go to great lengths to control society through the use of science and technology. Beings of superior intellect took it upon themselves to adjust society as they saw fit, tampering with how humans were born. The primary method utilized by the World Controller and Directors to maintain control over society was through cloning and the scientific birth of citizens in the society. By producing thousands of nearly identical human embryos in hatcheries, the Director has complete control over all aspects of each individual’s life; from appearance to intelligence, from occupation to class. Progress of the human race is no longer measured by achievement but by, “making
Cited: Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.