Brave New World - Fears of the Future (a seconadary focus on the impact of technology on nature both
Uploaded by kankean_au on Aug 17, 2001
Art is like a fractured mirror that reflects the society in which it was created. This reflection is a mosaic of images constructed by the artist’s own perceptions which in turn are determined by the values and attitudes, especially the fears and insecurities in his or her own contemporary society. The responder also has to acknowledge his or her own door of perception, as this would affect their interpretation of the art. This is especially evident in texts like Brave New World which are designed specifically as probes into the aspects of society that the writer desires to explore. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World during the late ‘20s and early ‘30s; in the middle of the Great Depression and at the eve of the Second World War. World War One was still fresh in everyone’s memories and so was the Bolshevik revolution of Russia, which threatened to spread throughout Europe and the world. On the other side of the Atlantic the ”New World” was undergoing a revitalisation of industry with Henry Ford and other leading capitalists implementing the concept of mass production and attempting to create the ideal consumer society. There was also a form of cultural renaissance in the central European countries where the avaunt-garde was embraced rigorously in art and architecture. And in science, especially in the biological field, great breakthroughs, the likes of which the world hadn’t witnessed since the days of Newton were being accomplished. In short it was a period of great social change and instability. Such instability eventually leads to fears and insecurities, most of which tend revolve around the future of society and the future of the individual.
For the rich upper class the primary fear was Bolshevism. They feared it so much so that Fascists and Nazis were tolerated, even encouraged, all for the purpose of crushing Bolshevism. Although the World State from Brave New World does not resemble Lenin’s Bolshevik state, it does however have strong parallelisms with Mussolini’s fascist Italy and shares an uncanny resemblance to the future Germany under Hitler. Even more profoundly and more importantly it’s resemblance of Stalin’s totalitarian Russia is undeniable. From the characteristics of the World State in his novel, it seems that Huxley, unlike his noble compatriots, was not fearful of Bolshevism. However unlike the socialist intellectuals of his time, Huxley had a realistic, bleak vision of the future of Bolshevism. He seemed to...