Huxley: Family Life Is Very Much Feared Within The Utopian Society

Within one of his most controversial yet compelling literary works, Aldous Huxley never fails to create a masterpiece of interwoven plots, characters, philosophies, and dilemmas faced by the citizens of the supposed Utopia. Upon first glance, the reader is entirely mesmerized by Huxley’s extraordinary ability to construct a world unlike any other; a world complete with fully complacent citizens, political stability, and even an organized system of social class. However, as the reader progresses further into the book, they are at once shocked by the misconception that the citizens live in a perfect world. Shortly, one realizes that while though there are many aspects of the citizens’ lives which make it seem as though it were an unblemished paradise, many consequences lie deep and hidden beneath this surreal layer of an idealistic lifestyle. Despite the supposed success achieved by the government in actively controlling and regulating the lives of its citizens, overtime the reader detects the presence of the fear of certain ideologies by the government. Not surprisingly, it is mainly the totalitarian system of government which leads eventually to its fear of two major intellectual concepts; human love and family life. The fear of these common values within our modern lives stems from the concern that a political upheaval or fluctuation in the society’s political stability may occur.

Throughout Huxley’s piece, many examples of this fear are present. As evident on page 46, in the fourth paragraph, Huxley writes,

”’He’s so ugly!’ said Fanny.

‘But I rather like his looks.’

‘And then so small.’ Fanny made a grimace; smallness was so horribly and typically low-caste.

‘I think that’s rather sweet,’ said Lenina. ‘One feels one w...

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... proceeds in raising these children, by conditioning them to believe in values it deems proper in society. Family life is very much feared within the Utopian society and many safety measures are taken to prevent the introduction of it into its citizens’ lives.

Huxley’s decision to depict a government in which control and manipulation are the fundamentals of life proves to have its consequences as the reader realizes the sacrifices the government is forced to make in order to regulate its citizens’ lives. Human love and family life, two very important beliefs of our modern day lives, are concepts very much feared by the Utopian government, because of the power they have in altering the political stability of a government. Huxley, however, leaves the reader to decide for themselves which is more important; political stability, or intellectual pursuit.