The novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley was easily one of the most thought-provoking activities I ever had, and honestly, it has left me quite angry at its world. This is likely because Brave New World is not like any dystopian novel I have ever read. In many dystopian novels, the people living in those worlds have their rights and freedoms taken away from them. What makes Brave New World different is that nothing is taken from them, it is traded. They have traded their identity and freedom for unwavering happiness. I find this infuriating. The happiness the citizens of the Brave New World have acquired is completely worthless. Real happiness is not something that can be gained, it must be earned. The easier something is to get, the less it is worth. That is why the happiness of the people in Brave New World is not worth anything.
Adding to that, it disturbs me even more how dedicated the government of that world is to maintaining this fake happiness. Babies are manufactured like machines. People are dependent on drugs when facing adversity. Things like monogamy, individuality, and solitude are basically outlawed. This society can not be seen as human. People in this world have been reduced to numbers on spreadsheets, without any need or purpose other than those given to them by the World Government. All of this made me angry, but by the last few chapters of the novel, the feeling of anger I felt eventually turned into pity.
I could not help but feel sad for the people in that world. People were brought into the world without affection or any type of connection. Parents are the most important things in a person’s life, they are the ones who should always accept you for who you are. To have parents degraded to being vulgar concepts is nothing short of despicable. I can only feel sad for people of the Brave New World, who have never felt the loving embrace of a parent.
While the book was very thought-provoking, the anger and sorrow I felt while reading is what truly overwhelmed me. Maybe it was Huxley’s intention to make readers feel like this in order to avoid that future. Reading this book was truly a unique experience, and I am glad to have felt all these emotions Huxley experienced while writing.