Name Date Period
Explanation of Foreword
in Brave New World
What should be done to enhance humanity’s future? What are the ultimate goals of human society? Can human beings be trusted in their use of scientific developments? Who will decide what to do with these discoveries?
To define his views on these questions, Aldous Huxley, in terse sentences, takes us directly to his “Brave New World,” by-passing the tragic years of the Nine Years’ War. Except for the Alpha-Plus members of his cloned society, no one knows of pain or disease, nor of love and commitment, all of which the superior caste members have chosen to reject. Today the scientific advancements encompassed in Brave New World are within the realm of possibility if not already achieved. Readers will observe notable technological omissions such as nuclear energy and the computer. Huxley admits that it is not his task to include details of power sources or how the Utopians deal with information; he chose to focus on generalities and how science affects human life, with the pivot of the society he creates turning on humanity’s inventive genius in spawning the capability to replicate itself.
Whether human beings can be trusted with all they discover or invent has been an issue. Vance Packard in The People Shapers reminds us of Plato’s argument that human baby production should be limited to people of desirable qualities. Hitler's efforts to build a super-race are widely known. Current dilemmas such as how to lower the highway death toll and how to dispose safely of nuclear waste bring the problem into critical focus for contemporary societies.
In his foreword to Brave New World, Huxley states that he projected his Utopia six hundred years into the future. In 1946, after Hiroshima, he stated, “Today, it seems quite possible that the horror may be upon us within a single century. That is, if we refrain from blowing ourselves to smithereens in the interval.” Brave New World pictures a place whose citizens’ motto is “Community, Identity, Stability.” Their slogan appears to be “Don’t worry, be happy.” Today’s readers are curious and intrigued by this idyllic existence in which drugs are not only legal but also free. All forms of recreation are provided for and encouraged by the government. Sex is a national pastime. Death, regarded as a natural function, is a civic duty and causes no sorrow.
To read Brave New World is like holding a smoked mirror up to today’s society; there “in a mirror darkly” are blurred images and deteriorating values. Students may be quick to retort, “But we’re not like this.” Nevertheless, the wanton actions and vacuous sayings of the Utopians can move readers to look with introspection at themselves and their world.
Comprehension: Answer the following questions in complete sentences on the back of this article. Make sure you explain everything.
- What have the superior cast members chosen to reject in Brave New World?
- Why does Huxley not include nuclear energy and the computer?
- What did Huxley choose to focus on instead?
- What is Plato’s argument about human baby production?
- When did Huxley project his Utopia?
- Explain Huxley’s comment following Hiroshima (“Today, it seems quite possible that the horror may be upon us within a single century. That is, if we refrain from blowing ourselves to smithereens in the interval.”).
- What is the motto in Brave New World?
- Explain the last paragraph in your own words.