Brave New World: 20

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm not going to lie: this novel made it in the top five worst books I have ever read. I've read a lot of books. Nevertheless, I do see some value in reading this. For one, it was unlike any book I had ever read. So that was interesting. Another is, perhaps for the first time, I got to see an ideal society from someone else that was way different from mine. Perhaps this new, weird culture was Huxley's idea of a Utopia. It makes me wonder what was going on in his life that would inspire him to write this. Maybe he had lost all hope and this society sounded ideal to him. No choices, no decisions. A guaranteed happy life. Sounds pretty nice to me.

However, I did not like or expect the ending to be the way it was. John committed suicide? But he was supposed to be the hero and this wasn't supposed to be a tragedy. But if he was able to escape the terrible world he was in, then I guess I could see some sort of grim happiness in the ending. I severely hope that the next book has a little more of an upbeat and easily comprehensible ending.

Brave New World: 19

AHA! MOMENT

"What's the point of truth or beauty or knowledge when the anthrax bombs are popping all around you? That was when science first began to be controlled -after the Nine Years' War. People were ready to have even their appetites controlled then. Anything for a quiet life. We've gone on controlling ever since. It hasn't been very good for truth of course. But it’s been very good for happiness. One can't have something for nothing. Happiness has got to be paid for. You're paying for it, Mr. Watson- paying because you happened to be too much interested in beauty. I was too much interested in truth; I paid too." page 228

This part in the book seemed to be the most important section. It is where everything began making sense. We finally understand why this world was created. We know why they got rid of the things they did. And for the first time, I appreciated Huxley and this book (sort of). What if the world really does end up like that? What if there is a World War III and it destroys everything? Maybe we would want to start over. Maybe we would want for someone to take everything away from us if it meant there was no more fighting, no more pain, no more suffering. The idea is very intriguing. Take away cancer? Yes please. Get rid of suffering? Oh yea. But get rid of everything that makes humans, humans? I would like to say no way, but having never been in such a hopeless situation before, I would have no idea of what I would choose.

Brave New World: 18

SEX = NORM

I do not understand how this society is so sex-centered. They have turned something that is so taboo in our culture into a common thing. Not only is it just common, though; it is expected. In the beginning of the book we see the young boy crying and running away from another girl. Then, the Director sends him to go see the psychiatrist as if something were gravely wrong with him. Maybe Huxley has it right, though. You pick up almost any movie and it will probably be centered around sex or have some sort of not-so-hidden sexual meaning and appeal. What if thousands of years from now, religion and morals will change so much that those things are the new norm?

Brave New World: 17

WHO WILL BE ON TOP?

"It has given us the stablest equilibrium in history. China's was hopelessly insecure by comparison; even the primitive matriarchies were'nt steadier than we are." page 227

While I was reading through this rather dull part in the novel, not really taking much in, the name of China stuck out to me. I promptly reread the sentence, trying to grasp the meaning. I ended up having to read the whole paragraph again and finally came to a realization. China was behind them! That means, for the first time in a long time, China has not been at the top. This got me to thinking: how long exactly WILL China be at the top? The United States used to be the leader in just about everything, but now our generations are beginning to see the shift in power. What if in the future -possibly near future- some random country will be at the top of the totem pole? And what if that country decides to take over just like the Soviet Union did? This is an intriguing yet intimidating thought.

Brave New World: 16

THE RIGHT TO PARTY?

"Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat, the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind." page 240

This may sound a little odd, but the whole time I read this section I couldn't help of thinking about that Beastie Boys' song "Fight for Your Right (To Party)". I honestly have no idea how this relates to the book at all. But I really hope that this song is stuck in your head now and you subsequently have to go on YouTube and watch the music video. Don't worry, I'll make your search shorter. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBShN8qT4lk .

And now I will ramble about how the song and this quote are related...

John has spent his whole life on the outside. He never quite blended in neither society. So when he is told of all these "rights", he understands the true value of each of them. By accepting this, he is able to live a normal life, not one rid of anything bad. He is given the opportunity to rely merely on chance, to provide and care for himself, to party the way he desires. And if his idea of a party is inflicting harm upon himself and then committing suicide, then all I have to say to that is "its his party and he'll die if he wants to."

Brave New World: 15

TRUE HAPPINESS

"He picked up his pen again, and under the words 'Not to be published' drew a second line, thicker and blacker than the first; then sighed, 'What fun it would be,' he thought, 'if one didn't have to think about happiness!'" page 177

I don't know about the rest of the world, but when I'm laying all cozy in my bed at night, I think about all the fun, happy times I had. For me, it is the highlight of my day. Thinking about the great times had is fun and makes you feel good. It is not a chore or something to dread. Even in more sad or angering circumstances, pondering on happiness can really change your life. So I thought it odd why Mustapha Mond would say such words. Isn't this whole society based on happiness for the entire people? However, I believe what he was referring to was he did not like thinking of happiness because it wasn't true happiness in that culture. Happiness for them was taking soma and going to the feelies. Both of which are entirely superficial things. They experienced no love or compassion (any feelings, really). And those two, for me, lead to the greatest happiness.

Brave New World: 14

NOT YOUR TYPICAL RAY OF SUNSHINE

"When he had finished, he picked up the whip and began hitting himself again. Nine, ten ,eleven, twelve..." page 248

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8V_6M4lmgY

The whole time John was in the picture, I thought he was going to be this cool guy who comes in and figures out the whole mess, saving the city and the people in it from the destructive lives they were living. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. He ends up going crazy and flees to live on the outskirts of town. There, he basically tortures his body in order to rid himself of any impurities. My first thought was, "OK, that's a little bizarre." But as I continued reading, I couldn't help thinking, "where have I seen this before." Then the answer hit me: from those strange, bloody scenes in "The Da Vinci Code". John is just like the character of Silas! Even though I genuinely liked John and I really did not like Silas, I couldn't help but notice the similarities once he started hitting himself with that whip. I attached a short video from one of Silas' self-torture scenes from "The Da Vinci Code". Even though it does not show the whipping, I think the general message gets accross that the two characters are just alike -in that way, that is.