Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a revolutionary novel written in the
1930s, portrays a futuristic world presenting the idea of human cloning. Based
in Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre (HCC), a Director of the
company conducts a tour for a group of students within the factory explaining how
they genetically engineer, predestined unborn humans. Students frantically and
enthusiastically scribble down short understandings of each procedure in their notepads
as the (un-named) Director explains a social system, split into five castes:
Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. Humans are categorized according to
their caste and grown preordained to their status; higher the caste, the
smarter and creative the individual is developed to be. We see human’s identity
being born genetically, through science and technology getting lost by the
government’s imprisonment or ‘conditioned’ humans using techniques like the Bokanovsky’s
Process, oxygen deprivation, alcohol dosed and hypnopaedia. This alienation,
futuristic world gives a sense of fascination and horror as Huxley paints a society
that controls thoughts, emotions and what this world would come to if
technology took over, even if it has the power to increase our life span.
Brave New World’s unsettling and sinister setting is achieved through the
totalitarianism society represents today’s social equality being transformed
into a rigid caste system. Reproducing humans uses the supply and demand rule
where humans are used to efficiently maximise profit. The building is ‘squat
grey’ and ‘cold’ representing an uncomfortable atmosphere filled with suspicion
and mystery. There are two distinct classes; Alphas and Betas being the
intelligent upper class do not associate with the lower class Gammas, Deltas
and Epsilons as they are anonymous in identical colour coded clothes and only
subsists to attend to the upper classes. For example, the lower class Epsilons
and Deltas are conditioned to work happily at their jobs. Their infantile
behaviours and compliance to hard labour is forced upon by the company making
the individuals without individuality. This means their lives already
predestined is inescapable because of the conditioning and psychological
genetic engineering effects, creating them to love wholeheartedly their servility.
HCC Company uses hypnopaedia and induced alcohol into an embryonic to
decreasing the lower class’s intelligence before they were even born. So when
they grow up they can only function and is
incapable for functioning for, any other tasks than the task assigned to them. As
readers, we sympathise the predestined human clones as they have no power or
control and we implant negative thoughts of the company’s theories. This leads
to a doubtful question for readers to query what humans are really made for.
The Director within the novel briefly explains the company’s theories and
purpose for cloning through the character’s dialogue. Their purpose is to have:
“Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines!” Here,
between an individual and society conflict is constructed. An individual’s
identity is copied 96 times resulting in loss of identity, morals, emotions,
dignity, uniqueness and overall, a loss of humanity within the individuals. The
Director continues describing heat conditioning, a process where individuals
develop above average rate for efficient mass reproduction. Their aim, or has
already been achieved is making people, ‘Like their inescapable social destiny.’ And is apparently their secret of
happiness and virtue, it’s like their moral’s value things we as readers
definitely do not value. Instead, we reject the procedure because humanity is
what we value and this is also what Huxley tries to illustrate for us, a world
where technology and medical intervention control leads to, like the novel’s
genre; a dystopian world; a society where individual importance is diminished
and anything that would not contribute towards the company is eradicated.
The novel uses plot to warn us the
overuse of technology. However, you may be asking where the ‘science’ section
went. When we study science, we study for knowledge, whilst technology is what
you can do with that knowledge. Therefore proves why science is not needed
within the novel, ‘We don’t need human intelligence.’ The company’s experiments
and theories are already sorted to apparent perfection, but just needs to
advance in the bettering of the technology. The Director touring a group of students
are ‘young, callow’ and innocent
whilst explaining dehumanization like it was the greatest invention ever, ‘Scientific
triumph’ and ‘Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the major instruments of social
stability!’, referring to the technology’s modernisms. They ‘triumph’ over the technology, because it
‘stabilizes’ the society that is already ‘socially useless’. Social stability
is one of the mottos the company values, ‘Community, Identity, and Stability’ and
is known as ‘Grand words.’ But really, their mottos actually focus around the
technological growth and improvement, economy and industry. Huxley published this novel back in the 1930s,
warning the overuse of technology for the future generations to come and is
currently and gladly illegal in Australia.
Crusty owt x0x0
