Control in Brave New World Free Essay Example

Control creates order when a community is conditioned to value and find pleasure in things that precisely benefit the economy and society as a whole. In the excerpt from the novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley describes a population of different classes in which they are encouraged and conditioned to find solutions to economic problems in order for their society to be perfect. Huxley begins by describing the conditioning against books and how it contrasts with the conditioning done to the lower classes previously then moves to the new conditioning and forced values of those in the society in which the main goal is to be orderly in order to reveal the impact made on the population as a whole and why these forms of conditioning are seen as necessary.

Huxley begins by conveying contrasts between what is now conditioned to what used to be conditioned in the people in society. “wasting the Community’s time over books” and that there is a “risk” of being deconditioned indicates how society is encouraged to not participate in reading in fear that the book might bring forth a different lifestyle that the leaders in society do not want considering how order and control are highly favored. It acknowledges the overbearing aspect in which those within society are unable to do certain things because they are either conditioned or persuaded to not participate in them. In contrast, lower classes were once “conditioned to like flowers…and wild nature” only for people to then “consume travel”. This identifies the only reason for promoting the love for nature was that it would allow for enjoyment while traveling and be an incentive to find more solutions to economic problems, not just for people to enjoy their experiences or pleasures in these activities alone. Huxley contributes to how the main goal for the society is to be powerful economically, where the D.H.C. symbolizes the powerhouse and the controlling figure within the society who makes all the grand decisions, while all others are left to be obedient to the order. Overall, this portrays how improving the society is more valued and is hovering over the enjoyments of the people and their own values.

Huxley transitions to the reasons for beginning the conditioning against nature and promoting and teaching a dislike for nature altogether. Huxley argues how nature is only “gratuitous” and how it will keep “no factories busy” in order to reveal the extreme belief that flowers, leaves, trees, and landscapes in general no longer have value and are seen as unnecessary in this new society. Furthermore, it’s evident throughout the community that there is a correlation that if a person were to have a love for nature then it would lead to poor work ethic or lead to them not following the orderliness and demanding atmosphere of the society as well as the expectations the society has. Huxley conveys the decision “to abolish the love of nature” however, keeps the need to “consume transport” to reveal the desires of society and compare to how the need for transportation and the need to solve the economic problems within society are above the values of the people, where when making an orderly and perfect society the people’s interests and perspectives are seen as unimportant. This portrays how the population feels debilitated considering they are unable to grow or create their own ideals because of the overbearing society they are in. Huxley demonstrates further where they had to go “to the country” that was full of nature and landscapes “even though they hated it” considering they were conditioned to. This conveys the society’s lack of empathy or care for the people since they are willing to put them through situations that cause fear or dislike only to provide for the community as a whole. It portrays the power that the society has over its people where their only choice is order; even though the feeling of disgust towards nature is seen as normal because it’s conditioned, it still infringes on the people’s lives. Huxley finally argues the impact of the people and how because they are unable to participate and are conditioned to find these activities like reading or immersing themselves in nature as a waste of time, this overall prevents them from what they might have enjoyed if they were not conditioned to value a perfect society that has order and is controlled.

Aldous Huxley concludes by discussing the aspects of what a utopian society truly values in that the importance of the economy or order is valued over pleasurable activities like learning about nature or reading. It was demonstrated that the conditioning of lower-class members was to make them the workers in society and make them the ones who did not find certain activities enjoyable or delightful because they had been conditioned to not immerse themselves in them. It lastly acknowledges again the risk of these activities in which it is encouraged not to read books in general, conveying the want to not have outside perspectives or make sure the population does not read information that implies another lifestyle that does not correspond with the one they are living in. Overall, it finally demonstrates how the people were unable to make first-hand decisions because they were conditioned to value other aspects of society that were more dominant when trying to compile order.