Justify the Novel Brave New World as a Science Fiction.
Brave New World is a notable literary work by Aldous Huxley. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Brave New World.
Answer
Justify the novel “Brave New World” as a science fiction. [2020, 2015] ✪✪✪
Or, “Brave New World” is a science fiction, but at the same time, it is also a criticism of science. Elucidate. [2018]
We can evaluate a novel as science fiction if it explores scientific ideas or future worlds. “Brave New World” (1932) is a science fiction novel that presents an imagined future where life is shaped by science and technology. Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) wrote about a world ruled by machines and conditioning. The story takes place in A.F. 632, when people are not born naturally but produced in laboratories. It presents a possible future created by the misuse of science and technology.
Scientific Control of Birth: The novel begins in the Central London Hatchery, where human beings are made, not born. The Director proudly says,
“The principle of mass production at last applied to biology.”
It shows how science takes complete control over life. The Bokanovsky and Podsnap processes help produce many identical humans from a single egg. People are divided into five castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Thus, human life becomes a factory product. This is a true mark of science fiction.
Conditioning of the Human Mind: In this novel, Huxley demonstrates how science not only controls the body but also the mind. The World State uses sleep-teaching and experiments to fix people’s thoughts. The Director calls it,
“Hypnopaedia, the greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time.”
This method fills every mind with the same ideas. People learn to love their duties and never question the system. Their emotions and beliefs are fixed by machines, not by choice. It clearly shows the dark side of scientific control.
Mechanical Happiness through Drugs: Science in the novel creates an artificial joy called soma. It is a chemical drug used to relieve pain or sadness. People take it daily to forget reality. Bernard Marx feels trapped and says,
“What would it
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