Brave New World

Harbringer

Harbringer

Your A One Flower Garden
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
3,074
Location
Shoveling Hills of Blue
Sucks.....well Ok it doesnt completely suck, but after all the hype I was expecting something way better. I wish he would have just talked about the future utopia instead of trying to cram this stupid story in there. Its almost as if he had this really cool idea for the future but thought he had to come up witha story to describe it. Its just boring bunk that I really dont want to hear about....crap with Indians and savags and all that jazz, I would rather have just had the future utopia/dystopia described in a story like fashion, kinda like the first few chapeters of the book.

So what did you all think?
 
It needed a story; just talking about a society won't make anyone want to read it.

As far as whether I liked it-- it was better than Sky Mall as far as airplane reading goes, but I think dystopian literature in general is highly overrated.
 
Harbringer said:
Sucks.....well Ok it doesnt completely suck, but after all the hype I was expecting something way better. I wish he would have just talked about the future utopia instead of trying to cram this stupid story in there. Its almost as if he had this really cool idea for the future but thought he had to come up witha story to describe it. Its just boring bunk that I really dont want to hear about....crap with Indians and savags and all that jazz, I would rather have just had the future utopia/dystopia described in a story like fashion, kinda like the first few chapeters of the book.

So what did you all think?
Click to expand...
Huxley wasn't simply trying to write up a cool idea. He was trying to convey a message. And, by the way, a large number of people do not consider Huxley's brave new world to be a utopia. After all--if you don't fit in, you're expelled. Personally, I still consider the world in this book to be a semi-utopia, because when they expel you they at least ask you where you'd like to go and try to send you somewhere you'll be happy and productive.

If you don't get the book's message, don't worry about it. Stick the book on the shelf and then read it again sometime. Good food takes time to digest--it took me 20 years to figure out the message hidden in Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451".
 
BasketCase said:
Huxley wasn't simply trying to write up a cool idea. He was trying to convey a message. And, by the way, a large number of people do not consider Huxley's brave new world to be a utopia. After all--if you don't fit in, you're expelled. Personally, I still consider the world in this book to be a semi-utopia, because when they expel you they at least ask you where you'd like to go and try to send you somewhere you'll be happy and productive.

If you don't get the book's message, don't worry about it. Stick the book on the shelf and then read it again sometime. Good food takes time to digest--it took me 20 years to figure out the message hidden in Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451".
Click to expand...


I get the message and thats what Im mad about, I wanted a better story than what was presented, it sounded, as I said like he had a cool idea but felt he had to make it into a "story" in the traditional sence.

edit:In case you hadnt noticed I refered to it as a Utopic Distopia
 
I wish he would have just talked about the future utopia
Click to expand...
Just ribbing. :)

Grammatical arguments aside, do what I did the first time I read the book: skip past the parts you don't like. My first few times through, I pretty much just stuck with the parts about guys getting all the nookie they wanted. :D

I think the "story" part works out nicely, showing how "utopia" can't work for everybody.
 
BasketCase said:
Just ribbing. :)

Grammatical arguments aside, do what I did the first time I read the book: skip past the parts you don't like. My first few times through, I pretty much just stuck with the parts about guys getting all the nookie they wanted. :D

I think the "story" part works out nicely, showing how "utopia" can't work for everybody.
Click to expand...

Little late now........
 
Harbringer said:
Sucks.....well Ok it doesnt completely suck, but after all the hype I was expecting something way better. I wish he would have just talked about the future utopia instead of trying to cram this stupid story in there. Its almost as if he had this really cool idea for the future but thought he had to come up witha story to describe it. Its just boring bunk that I really dont want to hear about....crap with Indians and savags and all that jazz, I would rather have just had the future utopia/dystopia described in a story like fashion, kinda like the first few chapeters of the book.

So what did you all think?
Click to expand...


It is a cool future prediction, but as with most societies, you learn more from how the characters interact with it than you do from narration. The point was never to create a cool universe, and then sell it to the audience, a la Star Wars, or other Sci-Fi books. It's all about Characters.
 
Huxley's Brave New World is dystopian and its a rather good exemplar of the genre, I set it along side 1984.

The story is for the most part quite good, though misogynistic (Orwell has been accused of the same, though I feel Huxley's misogynony was more blatant while Orwell's may have been attributable more to his time rather than his prejudices and he certainly gives more favourable treatment of Julia than Huxley treats Lenina and Linda I can't remember how Fanny is treated... I think as something of an airhead...?).

I find the whole Soma part very astute, with ever climbing numbers of people escaping problems with ant-depressants I think Huxley foresaw where things where going.

Certainly the story is not the best out there, I do recall several times thinking "yes... but why John?" of course, if one accepts that hes a religious fundementalist utterly socialized to the 1500s-1600s (and earlier) then I suppose it holds water.


(Took a module called "Utopian & Dystopian literature: From Dream To Nightmare" in Politics last year)
 
.Shane. said:
I'd say the world we live in in the West is already pretty similar.
Click to expand...
......with the gigantic exception that rogue elements such as you and me don't get "sent to an island". Banned for a week if we get really rowdy, that's about it. :)
 
I refer to the book as a Utopic Dystopia, It has many elements of a utopia but these elements are birthed from the wrong kinds of solutions, therefor making it Dystopic.
 
Well, for almost everyone in the story, it was a Utopia. However, to us, it would seem like a horrible Dystopia.

I found the concept to be better than the story. The story was merely a vessel to show how some people from inside rejected the system, and how those from outside ended up dead because of being put where they didn't belong.
 
Brave New World is a great book, in fact it is more insightful than 1984.
 
.Shane. said:
I actually think its quite brilliant. BNW is more accurate and insightful into the true nature of how to control men then 1984 or any other dystopian work.

I'd say the world we live in in the West is already pretty similar.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. The lack of political efficacy in the western world is astounding, especially so when you see the statistics to back up personal anecdotes.
 
Well, I liked 1984 better. IMHO, while the history of BNW focused in Bernard Marx, it went great; when it became a "good savage" tale with, well, Savage, it's quality diminished tremendously.

Besides, I think 1984 brought oppression to a new scale. It's unimaginable a society more oppressive than Oceania. That made the book scary... and the search for individual happiness, much more poetic than in BNW, IMHO. Besides, I prefer Orwell's prose to Huxley's.

Anyway, I have just bought Huxley's The Devils of Loudun. It's well spoken of as well. Maybe the fact that now I won't hold another book of similar thematic as parameter will allow me to like it (even) better.

Regards :).
 
crap with Indians and savags and all that jazz
Click to expand...

well, those serve a purpose, and that's being a counter image to the brave new world... (the message being to live free we have to live free of advances of any kind) huxley later regretted he didnt put in another concept, where technological advance hadnt led to an oppressive society but was somwhere in between those two images

and people calling brave new world a utopia kinda scares me...
 
Harbringer said:
Sucks.....well Ok it doesnt completely suck, but after all the hype I was expecting something way better. I wish he would have just talked about the future utopia instead of trying to cram this stupid story in there. Its almost as if he had this really cool idea for the future but thought he had to come up witha story to describe it. Its just boring bunk that I really dont want to hear about....crap with Indians and savags and all that jazz, I would rather have just had the future utopia/dystopia described in a story like fashion, kinda like the first few chapeters of the book.

So what did you all think?
Click to expand...

It's a novel - it needs a story (aka plot)

You were hoping for a description of the setting? That wouldn't be a novel then!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Am I A Civfanatic?
Replies
7
Views
485
Broken_Erika
Broken_Erika
Zardnaar
The Death of the Left/FPtP
Replies
1
Views
643
Zardnaar
Zardnaar
King Phaedron
Game ages in Civ 7
Replies
2
Views
511
Senethro
Senethro
R
Why the secrecy with the Prussia (or unlikely Britain) last civ reveal announcement?
Replies
17
Views
2K
stefffff
S
NinjaCow64
Republican Bidens and the Failure of the Democratic Party
21 22 23
Replies
450
Views
27K
Crezth
Crezth
Back
Top Bottom