Brave New World

1. Brave New World

2. About the author….. • Aldous Huxley was born in England in 1894 grandson of the prominent biologist T.H. Huxley and brother of Julian Huxley, also a biologist. Huxley first studied at Eton College but later went to Balliol College in Oxford.At 16, he suffered months of blindness but one eye recovered and with special glasses he completed his studies. He majored in English when he was unable to pursue his chosen career as a scientist.

3. Writing Brave New World • He became friends with many writers and surrounded himself with intellectuals such as D.H Lawrence and Bertrand Russell. After having traveled in Europe, in the 1930s he moved to France where he wrote in four months Brave New World, a dystopian vision of a highly technological society of the future (the word "utopia" comes from Thomas More's novel Utopia).

4. Huxley’s novel • In 1932 Brave New World was published. It is acry of warning and nightmarish black comedy of a future society. The book received mixed reviews. H.G. Wells was offended by what he regarded as Huxley's betrayal of science and the future. Other critics recognized the serious intent beneath the surface of playful wit. In its first year it sold a total of twenty-eight thousand copies in England and in the United States, and enjoyed respectable sales throughout the remainder of the century.

5. Origin of the title • Brave New World is Huxley's most famous and enduring novel. The title comes from Miranda's speech in Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act V, Scene I: "O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beautious mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't!"

6. A banned book! • Huxley's book has also become one of the most frequently banned books in literary history. Book banners have cited "negative activities" (undoubtedly referring to the sex and drugs) in the book as reason enough to prevent students from reading the book. In 1993, an attempt was made to remove this novel from a California school's required reading list. It was also removed from classrooms in Miller, Missouri in 1980, among other challenges.

7. Inside the front cover of Brave New World – translated from French- • “Utopias appear to be much easier torealize than one formerly believed.We currently face a question thatwould otherwise fill us withanguish: How to avoid their becomingdefinitively real ?The utopias are attainable. Life marches towards the utopias. And it can be that a new century begins, a century where the intellectuals and the educated class will dream means to avoid the utopias and to return a non-utopian society, less "perfect" and free.”Nicolas Berdiaeff

8. Brief Introduction to BNW • The novel is set in A.F. 632, approximately seven centuries after the twentieth century. A.F. stands for the year of Ford, named for the great industrialist Henry Ford who refined mass production techniques for automobiles. The world is ruled by World Controllers who ensure the stability of society. To ensure social stability, a five-tiered caste system ruled by Alphas and Betas has been created. The labor force comes from the lower three castes, known as Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. A drug called soma ensures that no one ever feels pain or remains unhappy, and it is rationed out to and used by members of every caste. Social stability is further ensured through the use of pre- and postnatal conditioning.

9. Intro continued • In an 1961 interview, Huxley expressed his concern that emerging technology, scientific progress, and social conditioning had the potential to destroy human individuality. It may not have been Huxley’s intention to be prophetic but it is impossible to ignore the similarities between Huxley’s imaginary world and our real one!