Dystopia Journal C

In Brave New World Aldous Huxley is warning us about two issues. The first is a fear of giving our government too much power. In the novel the people are completely run by the government, but how did it end up this way? There was no grand takeover or mind-control ray, the people must have, at one point, willingly given up their rights as citizens in order to feel safe and happy. Huxley understands that once we give up the right to choose, we lose our power as a citizen. He made this point because at the time of writing the book communism was on the rise in Asia, with China and Russia taking it on as a new form of governing. In order to prevent America from ever becoming this way Huxley used this book as a satire on communism. Everyone is the same in the story with the same activities to choose from, the same lifestyle to live, even sharing the same partners. Except for separation among the classes, like in communism, there is no true distinction except for the specific career you choose. After awhile the people of the story run together as meaningless blurs of character. The second warning Huxley was making is the choice to follow God and art, accepting whatever consequences come with it, or to choose science and happiness. He highlights the idea that happiness in itself isn't so grand, but only if there are struggles beforehand to make the reward sweeter, and that painful things like love have a bitter sweetness to them. When John the Savage and Mustapha Mond are speaking, we see the contrasting ideas between these two worlds, and the pros and cons of each. But Huxley isn't telling us which is better, as neither side truly wins. John hangs himself and Mond is trapped in his own twisted world. Huxley wants us to decide for oursleves. By arguing that happiness itself isn't wonderful Huxley conveys his message well, and offers a future that is basically a continuation of our current system. We must choose to be miserable in order to be happy, in a strange paradoxical manner.