Book Review: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The novel Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, tells the story of a new society formed after the world wars. In this society, the goal is to be happy. The story shows all that is sacrificed by the people in order to achieve this happiness. In this new world, babies are not born, and there is no such thing as a family, mothers, or fathers. Babies are "decanted" in a way known as "Bokanovsky's Process." Everyone is born into a caste system, being identified as an Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon. Alpha's are the smart, good looking people, while the Epsilon's are the exact opposite. Through the process of hypnopaedia and Neo-Pavlonian conditioning, people are trained to like certain aspects of life and be pulled toward them. This causes them to be happy in their line of work and happy with themselves, no matter what caste to which they belong.

In Brave New World, anytime a spark of a negative feeling erupts, the people simply take Soma, a drug that relaxes them and sends them on a "holiday." Mottos such as "everyone belongs to everyone else" explain the society's way of thinking. They believe in sharing everyone and having sex with as many people as they desire, without any need for commitment.

The main characters, Lenina and Bernard, decide to take a trip to the savage reservation. This reservation filled with savages, or people who have refused to adapt to the new world's way of life. They live just like you and I do, in homes with mothers and fathers. Here, Lenina and Bernard meet a woman named Linda and her son John. They find out Linda used to live in the new world, and that she was dumped at the reservation after the DHC (head of the new world) found out she was pregnant with his baby. She gave birth to John and raised him in the reservation. She had no other choice, as pregnancy is forbidden in the new world.