This essay examines Aldous Huxley's Brave New World as a work of social criticism, focusing on the novel's warnings against totalitarianism, social conditioning, and the suppression of individuality. Through close readings of key characters — particularly the Savage and Bernard — the paper argues that Huxley uses fiction to caution readers about governments that trade genuine human freedom for manufactured contentment. The essay explores how the caste system, the elimination of religion and art, and the use of soma all serve to hollow out the human experience, while characters like the Savage demonstrate that authentic humanity cannot be fully suppressed.
Stories are popular when they enable audiences to escape from reality for a while. Fiction is unique because it can tell a story while also making a point. In Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, we have an entertaining story as well as social commentary. The novel's significance lies in its ability to explore several complex social issues stemming from a thoroughly conditioned society. Huxley uses realistic characters, such as the Savage, to caution us about the dangers of becoming a society that acquiesces control to the government, falls victim to advanced technology, and settles for counterfeit happiness. In this kind of society, freedom is a myth and citizens are happy only because their minds are numb.
This type of society may sound far-fetched, but the reality is that it could emerge in the very society we live in today through a powerful government that infiltrates all aspects of life slowly and under the guise of helping the people. The government makes freedom — and its ally, individuality — appear wrong and encourages citizens to avoid thinking about them. Concepts like God, religion, and poetry are rarely discussed, so the people come to regard them as foreign and unimportant. These issues are real because the totalitarian government wants to remove all of the things that make humans human. Huxley's social criticisms become alarmingly uncomfortable as we witness the growth of our own government.
Individuality is one thing under attack in Brave New World. Most remarkably, the government has convinced the people that they must trade individuality for protection and happiness. One way it accomplishes this is by creating a caste system that separates people. People begin to think differently about themselves and others when they feel distinct from them. In Brave New World, Alphas and Betas divide the society. Fitting in is extremely important because it gives individuals a sense of belonging. When people feel they are part of a group, they are less likely to make trouble for themselves or for the group.
This system works well until someone decides they do not want to fit in. One individual who does not fit into this caste system is the Savage, who becomes an example of a character whose inner yearning to be free is alive and well. Bernard is another character who possesses the same longings. These men have a gut instinct that something is not right within their society, and they speak out about it as much as they can. Their stories may have tragic conclusions, but their messages ring strong and true.
The Savage becomes a major point of interest in Brave New World because of how he chooses to deal with the hand life has dealt him. He symbolizes the characteristics of every free person and represents humanity at its core. He is well-educated, he knows Shakespeare, and he can communicate his thoughts and emotions coherently. Knowing Shakespeare gives the Savage an advantage that the others do not have because his worldview is broader than average. All of these qualities make him seem strange but also fascinating at the same time.
Shakespeare allows the Savage to see things from a point of view that most would not consider. He understands suffering and chaos because he is able to see them from Hamlet's perspective. He knows what a society can be taught to tolerate when it is constantly bombarded with the same things. He sees how people endure difficult situations rather than attempt to eliminate them or find alternatives. He knows that success is difficult but worth the effort. From Hamlet he learns that life can be tough, but that is no reason to give up. He tells the Controller: "Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them . . . But you don't do either" (Huxley 183). In this scene, we see how the Savage understands there is more to life than a string of simple, struggle-free days. Life has its proverbial ups and downs, and while the downs can be unsettling, it is the constant variety that keeps life moving and prevents it from becoming stale.
The Savage says the world needs "something with tears for a change" (183), recognizing that people do not feel enough emotion — that they are like robots who only want to feel good. He also observes, "Nothing costs enough here" (183), revealing his understanding of the value of suffering. While pain is always difficult, it makes us appreciate the good times even more. The Savage is articulate and can hold his own when debating his views with others. As Jhan Hochman notes, the Savage's reservation is a place of "disease, superstition, guilt, racial prejudice, possessiveness, death, and individuality," and the clash of these two contrasting worldviews — "reason vs. passion; progress vs. history" — "exposes the limits of each: empty happiness vs. painful freedom" (Hochman). The Savage is the direct opposite of what the State wants for its people. He is rational in a society that has lost most reasons for doing almost anything, especially anything that enhances the human experience. This makes him a threat because he knows too much and is not afraid to voice his opinion.
Gina Macdonald similarly identifies his reservation as a place of "disease, superstition, guilt, racial prejudice, possessiveness, death, and individuality" (Macdonald). This is precisely what the Savage wants in his world. He understands the importance of these conflicting forces and their role in creating a balanced universe. The Savage is an argument against totalitarianism because of his genuine, unexpected, and irrational behavior. A conditioned society might sound appealing in theory, but a society in which everyone reacts like robots is as counterfeit as anything can be — nothing is real or worthwhile. With the Savage, one knows one is getting the real thing, which cannot be said of anyone else.
Macdonald writes: "Although the Savage's criticism is accurate, what he offers in place of progress is equally unacceptable: a choice 'between insanity on the one hand and lunacy on the other,' between technological civilization and past primitivism" (Macdonald). Macdonald makes a fair point to a degree, yet she misses the larger argument that a society's collective destiny is something it decides upon — it is not handed down by a totalitarian government. The Savage understood this despite its apparent impossibility. He also demonstrates what totalitarianism does to humankind. He is the opposite of everyone else because he knows more; his experience extends beyond what the government sanctions, and from this stems a wisdom that other characters do not possess.
"Bernard's doubts reveal humanity surviving beneath conditioning"
"State uses distraction, drugs, and propaganda to maintain control"
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1960.
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