While researching “Brave New World”- a novel written by Aldous Huxley, I found out that Huxley is interested in the real “outrage” of history’ our notions of what a person needs to be happy and is there a “bright future of mankind”. Huxley was always aware of “little” people and discussed topics which are still popular in modern culture. In his novel he created “a world where people consider that they are constantly happy and never want what they can’t have. He made a world where life is created in test tubes and children are tend to prioritize consumerism, sexual pleasure and unswerving dedication to a State. In this world real ideals and emotion are purged, concepts such as family, religion, empathy and honor are banned and “history is bunk” (James Dacre “Are we living Brave New World’s nightmare future?”). My goal in this paper is to bring this novel into “what is happiness” discussion and to state what is the real cost of happiness by Aldous Huxley. What is more, in this paper will be discussed the historical and Huxley’s personal context for creating the question of happiness in his novel.
Aldous Huxley did not come up when the "building" of his economic model. He simply "extended into the future" fundamentals "of the society of mass consumption." Mankind has learned a lot about how to produce, consume and mass produce, then again to produce and consume. But the writer, as did many others in our time, as clear that "at the huge factory, which is a modern industrialized world, there is no place for a man as a biological specimen or man-creator, nor as the human personality.” All sacrificed "Fordism", as indicated in Huxley's work. "Fordism" is precisely the "indignation of the historical field" created by man ideology that can affect the shape of things to come. So, Huxley has shown that Brave New World offers a society which is controlled by enforced happiness, which can be more threatening than the society which is controlled by fear. (James Dacre “Are we living Brave New World’s nightmare future?”)
In the novel "Brave New World" Henry Ford became a god, since the introduction of his innovation began a new chronology, and fundamental for the standardization of mass society of production and consumption has reached a new level of development. "96 identical twins working on 96 identical machines!" - An ideal situation for line production, achievable thanks to the success of genetics. Harder turned to consumption. Human society of mass consumption had grown artificially, not only biologically but also ideologically. The standard specifies not only the physical "parameters" of all these alphas, betting, scales, etc., but also the thoughts, associations, desires. The only difference - in the degree of freedom of choice, which is necessary for the performance of their future activities.
We, today, confuse words that are very close in meaning - happiness and prosperity, happiness and pleasure, and the concept of progress in our minds due to the increase in the level of material well-being. The inhabitants of the State of the World received the prosperity, well-being, and pleasure, they are happy.
Contemporary writers literally reproduced the scheme of famous works of the XVIII century showing us the "natural man" caught in a "civilized society" and were higher than this civilization. The main character kept the personal principle, which is completely devoid of adherents of "Fordism", and, therefore, ready to accept a misfortune, though eager to happiness, ready to take death not to betray himself.
In 1946, in the preface to the first edition of the post-war novel "Brave New World" Aldous Huxley wrote that when he was working on a book, he saw only two possibilities - to integrate into the new world or retreat into their world of passion "by Shakespeare," which, in fact, he did. Subsequent years have led the writer to believe that there is a third possibility. "Science and technology will be used for the benefit of man, and the man will not be converted and enslaved by them." Human life will determine "a Supreme utilitarianism, in which the principle of the greatest happiness is secondary to the principles of decent ultimate goal" - the mystical unity of the universe and inner world of people, the wonderful life a new meaning. The story of this third option and became the last novel by Aldous Huxley "The Island" (1962) - a kind of writer's testament to mankind.
For the sake of the happiness and stability, something has to be sacrificed. These are religion, science, art, and all human passions. It turns out that happiness in the "new world"- is primitively small, and life in it – is boring and monotonous. So, there is no price for this happiness and this kind of life the system and the happiness in the “new world” is extremely meaningless.
Works cited
James Dacre “Are we living Brave New World’s nightmare future?” Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Limited, Web 18 September 2015.
