The Role of Technology in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World

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Recommended: Literary analysis of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Technology is a huge factor in the development of societies and cultures. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, factors like the tough control over reproduction through technological and medical intervention, and the use of soma by all of the people in the society of the “New World” influence the development of their society. The influence of technology, displays the central theme of the book that technology can shape any society. Technological advancements are the basis of society in the “New World”.

One major technological aspect that controlled society is the conservation of reproduction. As a way to maintain the society's motto of "Community, Identity and Stability,” (7) the number of inhabitants is managed through the artificiality of the brave new world's use of technology. The reproductive process in the utopia is known as Bokanovsky’s Process. Bokanovsky’s Process is explained is explained as “One egg, one embryo, one adult—normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. Progress” (6). This form of reproduction, totally changes the whole society. During the process, they developninety-six identical twinswho all belong to a certain rank within the caste of the Utopia. The Utopia is divided up into five different living groups including Alphas who are the top and Epsilons who are on the bottom of the social structure. Just like the caste system in India, you are born into your rank. Bokanovsky’s process centrals the life around it; It develops the society of the “New World”.People are taught to b...

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...Lenina constantly complains whenever she is in a bad situation and doesn’t have soma. She says “I wish I had my soma (116)” which shows her strong devotion to the drug. Considering people cannot function with this drug handy, it proves that the drug has really become influential in the “New World” society.

Society is mostly based on the technological advancements built within a community. In the “New World”, Soma and the controlling of reproduction are just few of the many examples in the book. These technologies show that technology can shape a society. The theme being that technology can shape and control any society. Societies won’t function without advanced technology and if those technologies are present than they become a huge portion of the society.

Works Cited

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.

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