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Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Start date: March 1, 2015

Finish date: August 31, 2012

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Sep 02, 2009 Kayla rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-read, classics-read, books-i-have-reread, reviewed

I first read this book in high school (probably the 9th or 10th grade) and I know I liked it but I couldn't remember much else about it (other than the test-tube babies). Upon rereading it, I realized that most of what I thought I remembered about the characters was wrong, and I completely forgot about John. Though, I can understand why I would have erased John from my mind. I hated him during my second reading, so I'm sure I hated him during my first reading too.

So anyway, the book takes place I first read this book in high school (probably the 9th or 10th grade) and I know I liked it but I couldn't remember much else about it (other than the test-tube babies). Upon rereading it, I realized that most of what I thought I remembered about the characters was wrong, and I completely forgot about John. Though, I can understand why I would have erased John from my mind. I hated him during my second reading, so I'm sure I hated him during my first reading too.

So anyway, the book takes place in 632 A.F. (After Ford) which is around 2452 A.D. on our calendar, give or take a few years. Everyone is a test-tube baby. In fact, giving birth is thought to be a disgusting and despicable thing and the words mother and father are considered taboo. There are five castes: the Alphas and the Betas are the smart "individuals" and they all come from an egg of their own (the two main characters Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne are Alphas), and then there are the Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons who are all clones essentially with around 80 fetuses being split from one egg. They aren't as smart and physically big as the Alphas and Betas, but they're all happy with their lot because they have all been conditioned to believe that their caste is the best.

Since childhood, everyone was made to listen to hypnotic tapes in their sleep, which conditioned them to think and act exactly as the World Controllers wanted them to. So basically, no one had any thoughts of their own. All of their activities and interests were based around the thousands of adages that were being heard repeatedly from under their pillows each night for years.

I sped through this book, and it was all the more fun for me because I was reading a used copy that had marginal notes written all over it, and the person had written "They're crazy" (talking about the controllers) on almost every other page, after each new philosophy of the society was revealed, and I couldn't help but agree with him/her every time.

An absolutley amazing book, which gives you a lot to think about, particulary this: Is happiness and stability worth sacrificing everything for? I think not. ...more

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