34 out of 34 people found this review helpful.
Started as a class assignment, turned into a lot of fun
Date of Review: Feb 26, 2000
The book is a about a society of people who, through a scientific process, have been bred in specific ways, ranging from the Alphas, who are the politicians and the most intelligent, to the Epsilons, the ones that are the dumb worker type. It's a caste system of sorts, and besides the genetic programming, the people are further psychologically conditioned to accept the "caste" that they belong to and be happy about it, through use of hypnopedia (repeating the same thing over and over while they sleep). As a final means of control, the citizens of the brave new world are also addicted to an intoxicating drug, Soma, which keeps them in a constant state of happiness.
In this Utopia society, there also exists a Savage Reservation where people who've chosen to not live this lifestyle exist (kind of like an indian reservation). The story begins when a Shakespeare-quoting Savage, John Cooper and his mother Linda are brought into the civilized world by two Alphas, Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne. Even though it's obvious they're brought in as novelties to be gawked at, Cooper enters the brave new world with hope and excitement. He is soon disillusioned by the superficial lifestyles and the lack of passion, and starts encouraging disobedience and violation of the Utopian rules. This gives the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning reason to put Marx's employment in the Hatchery on the line, he is threatened that he will be shipped off to iceland. However the Controller, Mustapha Mond, supports Marx's decision especially after being presented with compromising information about the DHC.
Back to the main story line. Marx, however, is not satisfied with being a conformist Alpha. In his heart, he really cares about Crowne, but neither are able to express their love for each other because of their conditioning. Further complicating the mix is that Cooper, with his Shakespearean notions of love, is unable to communicate his ideas to Crowne, who he falls in love with. When Cooper's mother dies from overdosing on Soma, he seeks refuge in an abandoned lighthouse. Meanwhile, Crowne realises she is pregnant, and Marx is the father. They eventually both leave Utopia just as Marx is about to be promoted to the position of the DHC, so they can raise the child together, thus overcoming their conditioning.
