Justify the novel” Brave New World” as science fiction.
Introduction
“Science fiction” is difficult to define exactly, as it includes a wide range of concepts and themes. American science fiction and fantasy writer James Blish relates: ” science fiction, in which a conscientious attempt to be faithful to already known facts was the substrate on which the story was to be built, and the story was also to contain a miracle .” Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) Brave New World is a science fiction novel.
Brave New World as science fiction
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Concept of science fiction
Science fiction contains different types of stories, concepts, and ideas. An imaginative and futuristic concept such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the “literature of ideas”, and often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations.
Content of science fiction and utopian vision
Science fiction reveals the power of imagination. Again it related to the Utopian vision to do something good for the betterment of society. The exploration of different planets, technical enhancement, and scientific development is the main content of science fiction. Besides, geological and climatic change is now regarded as science fiction in this modern civilization.
Brave New World as a science fiction
The novel “Brave New World ” renders a future society in which current ideas about evolutionary biology, genetics, population control, psychological conditioning. In this novel, different fictional elements are found.
Mindless attitude
Everyone in the world state behaves like a robot. They are deprived of human rights and freedom. But, It totally unusual in normal life.
Poison as medicine
In the world state, everyone likes to take Soma for their mental recovery. It is a poisonous drug that kills a man gradually. It helps to forget the sorrows and sufferings of life. People feel better after taking a daily dose of Soma. Our protagonist sees a long line of Delta workers in the Park Lane Hospital. He wants to take them far from the poisonous Soma. He relates because his heartful efforts go in vain.
” I’ll teach you; I’ll make you be free whether you want to or not”
Hedonistic culture
In the world state, the hedonistic culture is represented. They want only happiness and comfort. For this, they have sacrificed morality, religion, art, philosophy, and literature. So John wants to escape from the world state. He says to Mustapha Mond,
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God. I want poetry, want real danger, I want freedom.”
Maintenance of stability
In Hatcheries and Conditioning center stability is maintained following social classification. They are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. There is no family bondage. Everyone is involved in the test tube process of production. With the application of this process production rate is controlled. The world state controls everything to preserve its power and stability. Everything is maintained through scientific and technical methods. As science and technology have become the rolling power of the world state, so the novel Brave New World fulfilled the maximum condition of science fiction.
Conclusion
From the light of the above discussion, we can undoubtedly assert that “Brave New World” is satirical science fiction.
