Example research essay topic: The Brave New World Of Technology - 1,362 words

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When thinking of progress, most people think of advances in the scientific fields, believing that most discoveries and technologies are beneficial to society. Are these advances as beneficial as most people think? Brave New World presents a startling view of the future which on the surface appears almost comical. Yet humor was not the intention of Aldous Huxley when he wrote the book in the early 1930 's. Indeed Huxley's real message is very dark. His idea that in centuries to come, a one-world government will rise to power, stripping peoples freedom, is not new.

In fact there are many books dedicated to this topic. What makes Huxley's interpretation different is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in this oppressive government, but embraces it like mindless robots. Although the book was written long ago, its subject has become more popular since most of the technologies described in the book have, at least, partially, become a reality. The novel takes us to a place called the World State, where using technology, the government eliminates unhappiness to produce contented and effective workers. "Men will come to be valued more and more, not as individuals, but as personified social functions" (85). From birth, people are split into six social classes that determine their futures. The government then conditions them to conform to its needs.

Using hypnotism, electric shock treatment and other methods of behavior modification, babies are conditioned to fit the state's ideals. Literature is banned because it may make people think and detract from their work. People are encouraged to be promiscuous and impersonal and families and close relationships are frowned upon because they can cause pain. When individuals are unhappy they take a drug called 'soma' to remove their unhappiness. In Brave New World, Huxley describes to us a world as a futuristic society designed by genetic engineering, and controlled by neural conditioning with mind-altering drugs and a manipulative media system. In Mario Varricchio's article about Brave New World his main argument is that the visual element is a main factor in the process of social control.

In my opinion, the theme of Brave New World has much more to do than the power of images, but rather more to do with the advancement of technology and its influence among societies. In the novel, the Director administrates the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. He is a very powerful figure, but is vulnerable to humiliation because he secretly fathered a child (John), which is viewed as a disgraceful and obscene act in the World State. He plans to exile Bernard to Iceland because of his unsocial behavior.

Bernard is a successful psychologist who has an inadequacy in his complex due to his small height. His character demonstrates many characteristics of people in todays society. He feels isolated from rest of society because he doesnt believe in the promiscuous nature of his society. Bernard takes a trip to the savage reservation where he meets John. John, also known as the savage, grew up outside the World State. He is the son of the director and has spent his life separated from his village on the New Mexico Savage Reservation.

John wishes to go to the World State and so Bernard takes him, hoping to embarrass the director into preventing him from being exiled to Iceland. When John arrives at the World State, he attacks it and demands freedom and isolation in exchange for happiness. Lenina, a vaccination worker at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, is an object of desire for a number of characters, including Bernard and John. She is attracted to Bernard, the misfit, and persuades Bernard to take her to the reservation with him where she meets and develops an infatuation for John the Savage. The climax of the story develops when John, so upset about society in the World State, tries to attack the civilization by trying to convince a group of delta clones (one of the higher castes in the caste system), who are receiving their soma ration in the hospital, to revolt, throwing soma out the window, resulting in a riot.

The novel resolves when John attempts to isolate himself from society on the outskirts of London; however, he is unable to live without lusting for Lenina and constantly punishes himself physically and mentally. This causes him to be harassed by sightseers. At the very end of the novel, John attacks Lenina and submits to an orgy of drugs and sex. In the morning John, horrified by what he has done to Lenina and disgusted by himself, commits suicide in grief. The key theme in Brave New World is that scientific advances can be a threat to society.

This is particularly evident in the field of technology. In the novel, conformity rules over individuality and scientific control from the use of technology. It successfully enslaves a brainwashed and fearful society. In Brave New World, leisure activities are dominated by technology.

A primary example of this is the "feeling, " a type of movie theatre in which all the senses are artificially created. Instead of feeling the emotions portrayed on screen, the audience absorbs stimulated sensations. These stimulations prevent them from free thought, which threatens society by denying people from experiencing their own creativity and imagination. Furthermore, technology affects the society of Brave New World by being incorporated into all games of play. Games consist of advanced technological devices, and low organization, creating very superficial entertainment. Another way technology dominates the society of Brave New World is how everything is completely mechanized.

Man's creativity is replaced with routine tasks, because machines are able to do much of the work. The occupations available for people on the reservation consist of repetitive mechanical operations, which eliminate the need for creativity and imagination. In Varricchio's article, he argues that visual elements (such as television, cinema, and media etc. ) are powerful contributors used in the process of social control. He also argues that these visual elements cause people to become mindless. the media uphold conformity, denying individuals their own privacy and personal feelings (Varricchio 98).

This is true throughout the novel, especially through things such as the feeling. The use of feeling result in a pleasure seeking world where there is no such thing as spiritual experience, just pleasures of the flesh. Because of this, the inhabitants (genetically engineered to exist in one of five classes and conditioned to believe that the class within which they fall is the best one for them) lose their will to rebel against the capitalistic class-divisions of their society. Although Varricchio makes a good statement, it worth remarking that Brave New World is much more than just a novel with the ideas of visual elements as a form of social control.

According to Huxley, "The theme of Brave New World is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals" (290). Using this quote we can determine that Huxley's novel describes to us how technological advances, revolutionize society. Huxley tries to present his vision of technological advances ruling humanity and not, as Varricchio stated, particularly to the power of images. In Conclusion, the society depicted in Brave New World is for too many, a frightening one. Though, it may be more of a reality than is presently thought. Society must ensure that science is changing to suit human needs, rather than changing the human race to suit science.

With the increasing progress in technology this may be an impossible feat to overcome. The world may one day be without individuality, emotions or free thought. We should ask ourselves if our society is heading towards this direction. Will it become Huxley's Utopia? Although the word Utopia has become synonymous with what a perfect state should be, Huxley's Utopia is not a world we should strive to duplicate, but rather, learn from to correct our mistakes in the future. Works Cited Huxley, Aldous.

Brave New World. New York: Harper Collins Perrenial Classics, 1998. Varricchio, Mario. "Powers of Images/Images of Power in Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. " Utopian Studies 10 (1999): 98 - 113.

Research essay sample on The Brave New World Of Technology