Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Historical Context
Like all writers, Huxley
did not write in a
vacuum.
At the time he was
writing Brave New
World, important
political,
socioeconomic and
cultural changes were
taking place
throughout the world.
Huxley’s view of man’s future was profoundly
influenced by historical changes, as the novel
illustrates….
Important Political Changes
Huxley was deeply
troubled by threats to
individual freedom
and independence; in
Europe in the 1920’s
and early 1930’s,
these were
threatened by the rise
of totalitarian
governments.
Important Political Changes
Prior to writing BNW in
1931, Huxley had
lived in Italy during
the 1920’s under
Mussolini’s fascist
regime.
Important Political Changes
Huxley abhorred the notion
that the state should be
more important than the
individual, and that the
state could exercise total
control over its citizens
without significant
resistance.
Important Political Changes
Developments in Russia
during the 1920’s – in
particular Stalin’s rise to
power within the Bolshevik
government – also
illustrated the dangers of a
totalitarian state on the
left.
Important Political Changes
“The highest efficiency – of work!
All, that the Party asks -
we'll fulfill!”
Important Political Changes
The perversion of Marxist ideas
under Stalin is echoed in
Brave New World – some
communist ideals are
satirized (“everyone belongs
to everyone else”, the
“workers’” uniforms, etc.).
“(We will give) all our strength
and knowledge to the Party
and the Motherland”
Important Socioeconomic Changes
Ironically, Huxley also attacks many of the same things
Marx and Lenin did in “The Communist Manifesto”.
The rise of factories, manufacturing, mass production, huge
business monopolies
The fear that man might be reduced to a “cog in the
machine,” and that workers were no more than numbers
in the giant economic manufacturing apparatus >
Alienation of the working man….
Important Socioeconomic Changes
The rise of large cities contributed to the feeling
that individuals could be lost in the crowd – the
large, anonymous mass as opposed to the
unique individual.
As You Read….
Keep the historical context of the novel in
mind – this might add a dimension to your
understanding of the text.
Watch for names - Bernard Marx, Lenina