History

In the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, a utopian world has been created to solve all
the worlds problems. Alders Huxley was likely motivated to create such a world after witnessing
firsthand the devastation of World War 1 and the instability that followed. In the novel, A Brave
New World, Huxley describes the time before the nine-year war as one where citizens believed
that scientific progress could be allowed to go on indefinitely, regardless of everything
else (205). Huxleys character, the Controller, describes this time in history as unstable and tells
the Savage that mass production caused the shift and that universal happiness keeps the
wheels steadily turning (205).

One can see the lure of a society that is happy all the time and harmonious. Huxleys character,
the Director, remarks that most historical facts are unpleasant and therefore need to be
improved upon or erased from existence (18). In a Utopian society, world war would be
unthinkable because no one has original thoughts or needs. The ultimate goal in Huxleys utopia
is to have community, identity, stability which is their planetary motto or rules to live by
(18). Huxley used his life experiences following World War 1 to create the most sterile, efficient
and predictable existence for his novel.

With the beginning of the Industrial revolution in the 1920s

and 30s, consumerism and technological breakthroughs
exploded on the scene to make life easier for citizens. Many
people were excited and receptive to the advances this new
technology brought to their lives. While this revolution took
hold and made traveling and daily lives much easier, there
were those that were concerned over the loss of
independence, creativity and old-fashioned values. During
this time, Huxley was
exposed to the Ford
assembly line where mass production and consumerism was
brought to the forefront in modern society. The video
shows the Ford assembly line in 1928. https://youtu.be/
JkCJkdcl8mw

Henry Ford was an ideal choice for Huxley to model his

world after because he is often credited for his innovation,
automation, and progress which is the main foundations
and themes which make up Brave New World (Gibson 1).
Huxley used Fords idea of mass production and assembly
line to create the perfect, uncomplicated human and therefore the perfect world. Huxley gives
Ford credit for this idea by making him a God in his novel.
In A Brave New World, there are hidden meanings behind everything, even the name of his
characters. In creating his characters, Huxley chose famous people in history to be the namesakes
of his main characters. For example, it has been suggested one of the main characters, Bernard
Marx had been named after a French scientist, Claude Bernard who was a psychologist who
specialized in experimental medicine. The name Marx may refer to Karl Marx, a famous
Communist which would fit Bernards personality as he is responsible for establishing societal
norms. Another character, Helmholtz Watson was named after two famous men, a German
scientist who is known for his works in the conservation of energy and John B. Watson, who is a
famed psychologist who studied behaviorism in psychology. Huxleys Benito Hoover character
is thought to be named after Benito Mussolini and Herbert Hoover (Historic Personages 1).
The Bokanovsky Process which clones perfect human beings was named after Maurice
Bokanovsky, a French Bureaucrat who criticized his government for not running more
efficiently. In fact, one can trace each characters name
back to someone in history that was a scientist,
behavioral psychologist, humanitarian, socialist,
politician and poet. Each of these people in history
contributed in one way or another to the Utopia that is
in Huxleys A Brave New World. According to
Christopher Hitchens, who wrote the forward for
Huxleys A Brave New World, Huxley was a mass of
internal contradictions which is evident in his effort
to create a world free from disease, war, and
unhappiness but at a steep cost to free will and
individuality.

MAURICE BOKANOVSKY

Gibson, Abi. "Brave New World Analysis." Henry Ford. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Historic Personages in Brave New World." Padlet is the easiest way to create and collaborate in
the world. N.p., 24 Mar. 2017. Web.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave new world: with the essay "Brave new world revisited". New York:
Harper Perennial, 2010. Print.