Social Inequalities In Brave New World

In Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” Huxley addresses various issues that are happening in our own society. The book exposes what is happening in the modern society and gives warnings to some of the dangers that are ahead. Many things described in the Brave New World are eventually happening in the society today includes those that relates to power, class, technology and even social inequality. Throughout the book, Huxley reveals how the society functions through portraying some ordinary events that are very relatable to the real world. Issues addressed by Huxley include the dangers of unhealthy relationship, the technological innovations pose, threats that could be posed by the unchecked political powers, and social inequalities.

Moral

issues addressed in the book relates to what is happening in the society today. Bernard’s date with Lenina depicts how young people have engaged in drugs and sexual indulgence at the expense of good relationships. For example, Lenina just want to take drugs and have sex. She is confused since Bernard wants to take time to talk when taking a long walk on the beach. “Talking? But what about? Walking and talking-that seemed a very odd way of spending an afternoon,” Lenina says (89). According to Lenina says “A gramme in time saves nine” (89). Lenina doesn’t want to take any time and she even seduces Benard who gives in but regrets later for not waiting. Also, John falls in love with Lenina. However, where John comes from, chastity is highly valued. This also seems to confuse Lenina who want to have sex with John. “John had refused to come because he didn’t like her” (Huxley 174). Incidentally, in the real world there are many young individuals who like taking drugs and indulging into sexual relations which are neither healthy nor safe; Many young individuals have become addicted to drugs and even to pornographic materials. According to current statistics: “Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence” (“Dating Abuse”). Instead of healthy relationships, casual relationships are seen to be dominant in the society today. Also, the issue of technology is addressed in the book and it seems to offer solutions for many issues but not to the abuse of drugs or suffering. Similarly, technology in the real world does solve many issues but not all. Technology for example cannot solve issues to do with drug abuse among individuals but rather tend to intensify the same along with reducing the social life as more people rely on technology for work and leisure.
The issues of social inequality, social class and political power are addressed in the book and they relate to the social classes that we have in the world today.

When Benard and Lenina go for a vacation, Lenina is horrified to see individuals with tattered clothes and to her everything smells bad. In chapter 3, Lenina says: “But old clothes are beastly” (49). Similarly, in the real world, there are social classes with individuals of different economic backgrounds. In our society, “The average income of the richest 10% of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10%” (“Inequality and”). People just doesn’t realize how much difference between upper class and lower class. And clearly the richest doesn’t know what kind of life the lower class are living is. Also there is the issue of political power addressed in the Brave New World. In Brave New World, the ten controllers who are the only individuals aware of the situation that the world is in and they communally form the dictatorial government; the political controllers censor arts, religion and they restrict the social and the mental freedom of the citizens so that the individuals are not in a position to change their social and economic status. One of the controllers says “‘But that’s the price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art’” (220). This is quite similar in the real world where there are dictatorial governments that restrict the freedom of individuals; there are still many governments that do not guarantee the freedom of the citizens. For example, countries like North Korea, Burma, Libya doesn’t give their citizens enough freedom just like Brave New World. “People in these countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the world by authoritarian rulers who muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation” (“10 Most”). This is especially when it comes to issues such as

the freedom of speech and expression. In their own opinion, keep people away from freedom can bring social stability to the country.