Brave New World, a novel by Aldous Huxley, was published during the time, socialism and dictatorship were the key concepts of the day. These governments believed that having total power would engender a perfect society. Karl Marx (Bernard Marx), and Nikolai Lenin (Linina), are two men who decide to pursue this concept. Through examples of these characters, it is demonstrated that a government that completely controls a nation will fail. Many of the ideas that the governments thought would contribute to success were the cause of their failure.
Although technological advances, sexual promiscuity, and conformity contribute to the success of a Utopian society, these aspects are also the reason for downfall. Throughout the novel, Huxley uses Bernard Marx, a young man who is deformed by the government (Huxley, page #) to underline the idea that a Utopian Society cannot exist. The advancement of technology has enabled this Utopian Society to create human life. Although the entire society is based on technology, it remains supervised by humans.
No matter how advanced this technology may be, if humans are directing it, mistakes will be made They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle… and put alcohol into his blood- surrogate. Thats why hes so stunted (Huxley, 46). The outcome of what happened to Bernard forced him to see that mistakes were one reason a Utopian Society could not exist. The Character Bernard Marx is an example of human imperfection, not because he was referred to as deformed, but because the person who created him messed up. Individuals were decanted according to specification.
Any deviation was evidently the result of some mistake, a mistake made by a human. These technological developments werent advanced enough to create such a perfect society. Bernard was an example of this undesired reality. He was deemed an outcast due to his imperfection. Being an outcast, however, allowed him to see the world differently. He was able to realize how everything was being manipulated and he was able to discern that it was wrong. Bernard noticed the manipulation of Lenina. Lenina wanted to have sex with just one person, but she wasnt allowed.
Everyone belongs to everyone else (page #) was one of the world states mottoes. Sexual promiscuity eliminates emotional tension. By eliminating tension and anxiety the World State was able to better control its citizens. Bernard sees that when Lenina is forced to have sex with many men, she is hurt. The fact that there is no escaping emotions and sexual promiscuity may eliminate the tension for what is occurring now, could affect people greatly. Being labeled deformed as well as being an outcast, Bernard felt emotional stress. He was one of the few who did not conform.
Conditioning did not make Bernard accept life as the government presented it. He was not satisfied with his life and produced a feeling of happiness. The World State views conformity as an essential aspect of achieving a perfect place. Yet, there will always be someone who strays from conformity or is different from the prescribed standards. Bernard is a demonstration that a perfect society cannot be created, because he is a fault of the society. According to Bernards example, if one person is able to hold on to individuality, many other people will as well.
Everyone that belonged to the perfect society was conditioned, told what to do, and stripped of freedom. The deprivation of freedom served as the barrier to humanity. A perfect society or utopia is impossible to obtain. Nothing is perfect especially if humanity is involved. The World State was trying to create a world of robots, of people programmed to have no opinion and no mind of their own. Naturally, human beings will have instinct and emotions. Humanity and perfection cannot coexist with each other.