This document provides context and summaries about Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel "Brave New World". It discusses the plot elements of genetically engineered babies, a caste system, and social order. It provides biographical details about Huxley and the historical context in which the book was written. It also summarizes some of Huxley's own comments on issues like overpopulation and human rights. The document discusses how the book was controversial and challenged for its themes of sex, drugs and criticism of religion. It considers whether aspects of the novel seem to have come true or remain relevant today.

1. BRAVE NEW WORLD
LAB BABIES, CASTE SYSTEMS AND SOCIAL ORDER. OH MY!
COMING SOON TO SYFY CHANEL. MAYBE.

2. THE TITLE
O WONDER!
HOW MANY GOODLY CREATURES ARE THERE HERE!
HOW BEAUTEOUS MANKIND IS! O BRAVE NEW WORLD,
THAT HAS SUCH PEOPLE IN’T!
—MIRANDA, THE TEMPEST (SHAKESPEARE)

3. ALDOUS HUXLEY
• BORN IN 1894
• DEVELOPED AN EYE PROBLEM AT 16 AND
EVENTUALLY WENT BLIND
• BECAME A JOURNALIST AND BEGAN
PUBLISHING IN HIS 20S (ALSO POETRY AND
NOVELS)
• PUBLISHED BRAVE NEW WORLD IN 1932
• WROTE IN MULTIPLE GENRES THROUGHOUT
HIS LIFE (THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION AND
HEAVEN AND HELL WERE ABOUT DRUG USE)
• DIED OF CANCER IN 1963

4. BRAVE NEW WORLD IN 1932
• THE NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN THE AFTERMATH OF SEVERAL LARGE HISTORICAL
EVENTS:
• WORLD WAR 1
• INFLUX OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, EARLY HARBINGERS OF GLOBALIZATION,
INCLUDING CARS, MASS PRODUCTION, MASS MEDIA
• THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND SUBSEQUENT NEW DEAL (FEDERAL PROGRAMS
• 1918 SUPER FLU

5. HUMAN RIGHTS
• IN 1947 WHILE THE U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS WAS WORKING OUT
AN INTERNATIONAL BILL OF RIGHTS, UNESCO CARRIED OUT A BROAD ENQUIRY
INTO THE PHILOSOPHIC BASES OF THE RIGHTS WHICH COULD BE INCLUDED IN
SUCH A DECLARATION. IT CONSULTED LEADING PHILOSOPHERS AND WRITERS
OF MANY COUNTRIES AND OBTAINED THEIR PERSONAL VIEWS ON THE
QUESTION. THIS SYMPOSIUM SERVED AS THE BASIS FOR THE FINAL
CONCLUSIONS WHICH UNESCO DREW AND WHICH WERE FORWARDED TO THE U.
N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO HELP TO CLARIFY ITS DISCUSSIONS AND TO
HELP EXPLORE THE GROUND FOR CONSTRUCTIVE AGREEMENT.

6. SOME OF HUXLEY’S COMMENTS
• “THE INCREASING PRESSURE OF POPULATION UPON RESOURCES AND THE
WAGING, THREAT OF, AND UNREMITTING PREPARATION FOR TOTAL WAR--
THESE ARE, AT THE PRESENT TIME, THE MOST FORMIDABLE ENEMIES TO
LIBERTY. ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS OF THE 2.2 BILLION INHABITANTS OF OUR
PLANET DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT. BY THE END OF THE PRESENT CENTURY
WORLD POPULATION WILL HAVE INCREASED (IF WE MANAGE TO AVOID
CATASTROPHE IN THE INTERVAL) TO ABOUT 3.3 THOUSAND MILLIONS (1).
MEANWHILE, OVER VAST AREAS OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE, SOIL EROSION IS
RAPIDLY DIMINISHING THE FERTILITY OF MANKIND'S FOUR BILLION ACRES OF
PRODUCTIVE LAND. MOREOVER, IN THOSE COUNTRIES WHERE INDUSTRIALISM IS
MOST

7. AND…
• HIGHLY DEVELOPED, MINERAL RESOURCES ARE RUNNING LOW, OR HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED--AND THIS AT A
TIME WHEN A RISING POPULATION DEMANDS AN EVER INCREASING QUANTITY OF CONSUMER GOODS AND WHEN IMPROVED
TECHNOLOGY IS IN A POSITION TO SUPPLY THAT DEMAND. HEAVY PRESSURE OF POPULATION UPON RESOURCES
THREATENS LIBERTY IN SEVERAL WAYS. INDIVIDUALS HAVE TO WORK HARDER AND LONGER TO EARN A POORER LIVING. AT
THE SAME TIME THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE IS SO PRECARIOUS THAT SMALL MISHAPS,
SUCH AS UNTOWARD WEATHER CONDITIONS, MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS BREAKDOWNS. THERE CAN BE LITTLE OR NO
PERSONAL LIBERTY IN THE MIDST OF SOCIAL CHAOS; AND WHERE SOCIAL CHAOS IS REDUCED TO ORDER BY THE
INTERVENTION OF A POWERFUL CENTRALIZED EXECUTIVE, THERE IS A GRAVE RISK OF TOTALITARIANISM. BECAUSE OF THE
MOUNTING PRESSURE OF POPULATION UPON RESOURCES, THE TWENTIETH CENTURY HAS BECOME THE GOLDEN AGE OF
CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT AND DICTATORSHIP, AND HAS WITNESSED THE WHOLESALE REVIVAL OF SLAVERY, WHICH HAS
BEEN IMPOSED UPON POLITICAL HERETICS, CONQUERED POPULATIONS AND PRISONERS OF WAR. A CONSTITUTIONAL BILL
OF FIGHTS, WHOSE PRINCIPLES ARE APPLIED IN SPECIFIC LEGISLATION, CAN CERTAINLY DO SOMETHING TO PROTECT THE
MASSES OF ORDINARY, UNPRIVILEGED MEN AND WOMEN AGAINST THE FEW WHO, THROUGH WEALTH OR HIERARCHICAL
POSITION, EFFECTIVELY WIELD POWER OVER THE MAJORITY. BUT PREVENTION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE. MERE PAPER
RESTRICTIONS, DESIGNED TO CURB THE ABUSE OF A POWER ALREADY CONCENTRATED IN A FEW HANDS, ARE BUT THE
MITIGATIONS OF AN EXISTING EVIL. PERSONAL LIBERTY CAN BE MADE SECURE ONLY BY ABOLISHING THE EVIL ALTOGETHER.
• —ALDOUS HUXLEY, 1958, “THE GREATEST ENEMIES TO LIBERTY,” FOR THE UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (HUXLEY’S
BROTHER

8. CONTROVERSIAL
• BANNED IN IRELAND (1932). REMOVED FROM CLASSROOMS IN MILLER, MO (1980), BECAUSE IT MAKES PROMISCUOUS SEX "LOOK LIKE FUN."
• CHALLENGED FREQUENTLY THROUGHOUT THE U.S.AS REQUIRED READING. CHALLENGED AS REQUIRED READING AT THE YUKON, OK HIGH
SCHOOL (1988) BECAUSE OF "THE BOOK'S LANGUAGE AND MORAL CONTENT."
• CHALLENGED AS REQUIRED READING IN THE CORONA-NORCO, CA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (1993) BECAUSE IT IS "CENTERED AROUND
NEGATIVE ACTIVITY." SPECIFICALLY, PARENTS OBJECTED THAT THE CHARACTERS' SEXUAL BEHAVIOR DIRECTLY OPPOSED THE HEALTH
CURRICULUM, WHICH TAUGHT SEXUAL ABSTINENCE UNTIL MARRIAGE. THE BOOK WAS RETAINED, AND TEACHERS SELECTED ALTERNATIVES IF
STUDENTS OBJECT TO HUXLEY'S NOVEL.
• REMOVED FROM THE FOLEY, AL HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY (2000) PENDING REVIEW, BECAUSE A PARENT COMPLAINED THAT ITS CHARACTERS
SHOWED CONTEMPT FOR RELIGION, MARRIAGE, AND FAMILY. THE PARENT COMPLAINED TO THE SCHOOL AND TO ALABAMA GOVERNOR DON
SIEGELMAN.
• CHALLENGED, BUT RETAINED IN THE SOUTH TEXAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IN MERCEDES, TX (2003). PARENTS OBJECTED TO THE
ADULT THEMES—SEXUALITY, DRUGS, SUICIDE—THAT APPEARED IN THE NOVEL. HUXLEY'S BOOK WAS PART OF THE SUMMER SCIENCE ACADEMY
CURRICULUM. THE BOARD VOTED TO GIVE PARENTS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR CHILDREN'S CHOICES BY REQUIRING PRINCIPALS TO
AUTOMATICALLY OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE TO A CHALLENGED BOOK.
• RETAINED IN THE COEUR D’ALENE, ID SCHOOL DISTRICT (2008) DESPITE OBJECTIONS THAT THE BOOK HAS TOO MANY REFERENCES TO SEX AND
DRUG USE. (AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, BANNED BOOKS CLASSICS)
• REGULARLY APPEARED ON MOST BANNED BOOKS LIST

9. BRAVE NEW WORLD…TODAY?
• IF ORWELL’S “1984” IS A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT WHAT WE IN THE CAPITALIST
WEST LARGELY AVOIDED, ALDOUS HUXLEY’S “BRAVE NEW WORLD” IS LARGELY
ABOUT WHAT WE GOT — A CONSUMERIST, POST-GOD HAPPYLAND IN WHICH PEOPLE
READILY STAVE OFF AGING, JET AWAY ON EXOTIC VACATIONS AND PROCREATE VIA
TEST TUBES. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO “FEELIES” SIMILAR TO IMAX 3-D MOVIES, NO-
STRINGS-ATTACHED SEX, ANTI-ANXIETY PILLS AND ABORTION ON DEMAND. THEY
ALSO VENERATE A DEAD HIGH-TECH GENIUS, SAYING “FORD HELP HIM” IN HONOR
OF HENRY FORD JUST AS TODAY WE PRACTICALLY MURMUR “IN JOBS WE TRUST.”
•
—NEW YORK POST, 4/29/2012, HTTP://NYPOST.COM/2012/04/29/BRAVE-NEW-
WORLD-IS-HERE/

10. BRAVE NEW WORLD IN THE MILLENIUM?
• REPRODUCTIVE CELIBACY:
• GENETIC PROGRAMMING IN REAL LIFE
• AND, OF COURSE, IN GATTACA
• SOMA: SMART DRUGS, INTERNET, TELEVISION? NEW DESIGNER DRUGS
CONSIDERED “MENTAL COSMETICS”?
• CASTE SOCIETY?
• HAPPY ALL THE TIME?

11. BRAVE NEW WORLD, REVISITED
• BRAVE NEW WORLD STRUCK A CHORD AND HUXLEY HIMSELF DECIDED TO
REVISIT ITS TOPICS WITH A SERIES OF ESSAYS IN 1958 (BRAVE NEW WORLD
REVISITED)
• THESE ESSAYS TACKLED THE MAJOR ISSUES OF THE NOVEL: OVERPOPULATION,
OVER-ORGANIZATION, PROPAGANDA, CHEMICAL PERSUASION, BRAINWASHING,
HYPNOPAEDIA, AND HUXLEY’S THOUGHTS ON “WHAT COULD BE DONE.”
• IN GROUPS, I’M GOING TO GIVE YOU EXCERPTS FROM FOUR OF THESE ESSAYS.
READ YOUR EXCERPT AND THEN DISCUSS HUXLEY’S NOTIONS AND THEIR
RELEVANCE TO 2016 (REMEMBER, THESE WERE WRITTEN IN 1958).

12. GENDER ROLES
“EVERY ONE BELONGS TO EVERY ONE ELSE” (40). WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND
HOW DOES IT PLAY OUT?
HOW DOES BERNARD RESPOND TO THIS IDEA?
WHAT HAPPENS WITH LINDA WHEN SHE VISITS THE RESERVATION. HOW IS SHE
TREATED WHEN SHE PRACTICES THIS IDEA THERE?

13. REBEL, REBEL
• A CHARACTERISTIC OF DYSTOPIAN FICTION IS THAT THE READER EXPERIENCES
THE PIERCING OF THE “PERFECT” WORLD THROUGH THE REBELLIONS OF ONE OR
MORE OF THE CHARACTERS.
• WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS WHO ARE DISSATISFIED WITH LIFE AF632
• BERNARD
• JOHN
• LENINA
• LINDA

14. HUXLEY’S FORWARD
• HUXLEY WRITES IN A NEW INTRODUCTION TO BRAVE NEW WORLD (1946) THAT
HE WISHES HAD HADN’T CREATED ONLY TWO OPTIONS:
• “IF I WERE NOW TO REWRITE THE BOOK, I WOULD OFFER THE SAVAGE A THIRD
ALTERNATIVE. BETWEEN THE UTOPIAN AND THE PRIMITIVE HORNS OF HIS
DILEMMA WOULD LIE THE POSSIBILITY OF SANITY—A POSSIBILITY ALREADY
ACTUALIZED, TO SOME EXTENT, I A COMMUNITY OF EXILES AND REFUGEES
FROM THE BRAVE NEW WORLD, LIVING WITHIN THE BORDERS OF THE
RESERVATION.” HE GOES ON TO SAY ECONOMICS WOULD BE DECENTRALIZED,
POLITICS COOPERATIVE AND SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE USED AS IF
THEY WERE MADE FOR MAN, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.