Abir Islam

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World serves as a powerful and almost eternally relevant study on the nature of freedoms in society. The strict, possessive World State strips away individual freedoms in favor of promoting an artificially homogenous society that ensures happiness. The dissenting opinion comes from the characters in the novel, particularly John, who argue that pain and individuality are necessary components of human existence even at the risk of creating an unhappy society. This tension between perspectives forms the main conflict of the book and acts as somewhat of an allegory to modern social structures. In a Marxist interpretation, the harsh class systems and controlling nature of the World State mirror similar functions of modern capitalist societies. These conflicts and themes presented in the story are insightful and provocative of thought, making the novel an interesting read. There are some issues, in my opinion, with the pacing of the book as well as with the ending. The book spends several opening chapters establishing the World State before quickly moving through plot elements, which is somewhat jarring. The ending is also somewhat disheartening and pessimistic, without giving much definitive conclusion to the present conflicts. Overall, the book was enjoyable and I would recommend it to those seeking social commentary and dystopian fantasy.