Upon reading the first two chapter of Brave New World by Aldous
Huxley, I found out that the novel is simply about the mass production of human
beings or rather identical twins. This idea of mass production of identical
twins tends to bring up a reasonable idea for debate that focuses on the losing
of one’s individualism or own characteristics. This is justified as the
director in the lab mentions “Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six
identical machines” (p.7). The world itself will simply lose its diversity whether
it being based on talent, profession or interest. People would act in similar ways and nobody
would have distinct features or talents that separates them from others. In
simple words Huxley is trying to establish the idea that our world could turn
into a robot like environment where humans control other humans or artificially
breed humans to end up with certain features or characteristic. A process which
is done to plants and animals today and could be done to us tomorrow.
I believe that individuality does tend to be quite lost since they ARE mass produced human beings that are put into separate castes, but there are still some characteristics that distinguish some individuals in this novel. I would take Bernard as an example. Bernard belongs to the alphas, but it can be seen that he seems to be isolated due to his physical appearance. It was once mentioned in the book that he had to yell at an epsilon for his command to be obeyed. I would agree that a sense of individuality is somewhat lost, but I don't believe it completely disappears.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a true fact as there are many different groups such as the alphas and the epsilons as you have mentioned above, but you have to also take into account the environment that these babies grow up in. Meaning that when children grow up in different households with different parents and different treatments from their parents, they tend to develop different kinds of personalities that is suitable for the habitat they are living in. A good example would be children living in a house where there is always shouting going on between their parents, these children would soon grow up to have anger issues themselves. Another good example is children living in households of different nationalities and culture, making them to develop distinct customs and traditions from other kids. On the other hand the children in the book all live in the same exact environment and don’t have parents that could imbed in them different habits. I respectively agree with your observation but I just wanted to clarify my point further.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with many aspects of what you are saying but some parts I may disagree on. While it’s true that the environment a child grows up in shapes their personalities and who they will become , there is always the possibility that the child may becoming the opposite of what is believed would happen. An example can be an abusive father or mother telling their son or daughter they won’t amount to anything. With this environment it may seem that the child will be depressed throughout life but the child can also have a better outlook on life and strive to become whatever they want and use that as motivation. While this is a rare possibility, it shouldn’t be overlooked.
DeleteIn the society of Brave New World, although each person is preset to become what their supposed to be, that isn’t always the case. An example could be Helmholtz Watson. While he is supposed to be a prime example of an alpha, he lacks the motivation as a writer and later on realizes that that is what he wants to concentrate on. He also helps John in the hospital even when he knew it was against the rules. Even though he was supposed to be a perfect alpha, he disobeyed the rules and did something no one expected. So while the children in Brave New World do not have a parent to display habits, the thoughts are still in each of their heads. With those thoughts, they each are their own individual and can go against what their supposed to become.
I agree with Faith in the fact that the Alphas and upper-caste "individuals" do not have twins and therefore are physically unique and stand-out from their peers, but I also agree with John's statement that these products of genetic engineering are not truly individuals. My argument goes back to the question of nature versus nurture. In my opinion, the personality and beliefs of children are shaped by the environments they are raised in, so if these children are all brought up in the same environment and conditioned by the same recordings, then what makes them different? Nothing, they all behave according to the rules and regulations of society and are brain washed to fit into their castes and perform their assigned jobs.
ReplyDeleteAs Faith mentioned there are a few individuals, such as Bernard, who do not quite fit into society which does prove that not everyone is the same, but at the end of the novel it is revealed that the controllers deal with these "savages" and "rebels" by banning them from society and sending them to live on islands that still operate according to the old ways of life. This emphasizes the fact that in this Brave New World, people are discouraged from being different, and eventually individuality is lost because it is a threat to the "stability" of society.