1984, ISBN: 9780795311697

In 1958 Aldous Huxley wrote what might be called a sequel to his novel Brave New World published in 1932 but it was a sequel that did not revisit the story or the characters or re-enter t… Mehr…

In 1958 Aldous Huxley wrote what might be called a sequel to his novel Brave New World published in 1932 but it was a sequel that did not revisit the story or the characters or re-enter the world of the novel. Instead he revisited that world in a set of 12 essays. Taking a second look at specific aspects of the future Huxley imagined in Brave New World Huxley meditated on how his fantasy seemed to be turning into reality frighteningly and much more quickly than he had ever dreamed. That he had been so prophetic in 1931 about the dystopian future gave Huxley no comfort. He was a far more serious man in 1958 -- at the age of 64 -- and the world was a very different place transformed by the catastrophe of World War II the advent of nuclear weapons and the grip of the Cold War. Looking behind the Iron Curtain where people were not free but dominated by totalitarian power Huxley could only bow to the grim prophecy of his friend (and briefly his student at Eton) George Orwell in the novel 1984. In the free world however the situation seemed even more to be one for despair. For it seemed to Huxley that people were well on their way to giving up their freedom and the sanctity of their individualism in exchange for the illusions of comfort and sensory pleasure -- just as they had in Brave New World. Huxley heard in 1958 a world full of the noise of what he called singing commercials flooding the mass media much like the hypnopaedia that shaped conscious thought in the world of the novel. He saw people everywhere in greater numbers taking tranquilizer drugs to surrender to the unacceptable aspects of modern life -- not unlike the drug called soma that everyone takes in the novel. The power of propaganda he believed had been validated by the rise of Hitler and the postwar world was using it effectively to manipulate the masses. Overpopulation was already a critical issue in 1958 and Huxley saw the emergence of an overpopulated world in which the chaos was more and more being countered by centralized control -- closer it seemed to the future of Brave New World where the ultimate controlling capitalist of Huxley&apos;s early years Henry Ford had become the equivalent of God. In the end Brave New World Revisited despairs of what has come to pass primarily modern humankind&apos;s willingness to surrender freedom for pleasure. Huxley quotes from the episode of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov -- &apos;For nothing&apos; the Inquisitor insists &apos;has ever been more insupportable for a man or a human society than freedom.&apos; Huxley worried that the cry of "Give me liberty or give me death" could easily be replaced by "Give me television and hamburgers but don&apos;t bother me with the responsibilities of liberty." He saw hope in the form of education even the most pious orthodox and inefficient kind of education -- education that can teach people to see beyond the easy slogans efficient ends and an eBook<

1984, ISBN: 9780795311697

In 1958 Aldous Huxley wrote what might be called a sequel to his novel Brave New World published in 1932 but it was a sequel that did not revisit the story or the characters or re-enter t… Mehr…

In 1958 Aldous Huxley wrote what might be called a sequel to his novel Brave New World published in 1932 but it was a sequel that did not revisit the story or the characters or re-enter the world of the novel. Instead he revisited that world in a set of 12 essays. Taking a second look at specific aspects of the future Huxley imagined in Brave New World Huxley meditated on how his fantasy seemed to be turning into reality frighteningly and much more quickly than he had ever dreamed. That he had been so prophetic in 1931 about the dystopian future gave Huxley no comfort. He was a far more serious man in 1958 -- at the age of 64 -- and the world was a very different place transformed by the catastrophe of World War II the advent of nuclear weapons and the grip of the Cold War. Looking behind the Iron Curtain where people were not free but dominated by totalitarian power Huxley could only bow to the grim prophecy of his friend (and briefly his student at Eton) George Orwell in the novel 1984. In the free world however the situation seemed even more to be one for despair. For it seemed to Huxley that people were well on their way to giving up their freedom and the sanctity of their individualism in exchange for the illusions of comfort and sensory pleasure -- just as they had in Brave New World. Huxley heard in 1958 a world full of the noise of what he called singing commercials flooding the mass media much like the hypnopaedia that shaped conscious thought in the world of the novel. He saw people everywhere in greater numbers taking tranquilizer drugs to surrender to the unacceptable aspects of modern life -- not unlike the drug called soma that everyone takes in the novel. The power of propaganda he believed had been validated by the rise of Hitler and the postwar world was using it effectively to manipulate the masses. Overpopulation was already a critical issue in 1958 and Huxley saw the emergence of an overpopulated world in which the chaos was more and more being countered by centralized control -- closer it seemed to the future of Brave New World where the ultimate controlling capitalist of Huxley&apos;s early years Henry Ford had become the equivalent of God. In the end Brave New World Revisited despairs of what has come to pass primarily modern humankind&apos;s willingness to surrender freedom for pleasure. Huxley quotes from the episode of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov -- &apos;For nothing&apos; the Inquisitor insists &apos;has ever been more insupportable for a man or a human society than freedom.&apos; Huxley worried that the cry of "Give me liberty or give me death" could easily be replaced by "Give me television and hamburgers but don&apos;t bother me with the responsibilities of liberty." He saw hope in the form of education even the most pious orthodox and inefficient kind of education -- education that can teach people to see beyond the easy slogans efficient ends and an eBook<

7, ISBN: 9780795311697

In 1958, author Aldous Huxley wrote what some would call a sequel to his novel Brave New World (1932) but the sequel did not revisit the story or the characters. Instead, Huxley chose to … Mehr…

In 1958, author Aldous Huxley wrote what some would call a sequel to his novel Brave New World (1932) but the sequel did not revisit the story or the characters. Instead, Huxley chose to revisit the world he created in a set of twelve essays in which he meditates on how his fantasy seemed to be becoming a reality and far more quickly than he ever imagined. That Huxley's book Brave New World had been largely prophetic about a dystopian future a great distress to Huxley. By 1958, Huxley was sixty- In 1958, author Aldous Huxley wrote what some would call a sequel to his novel Brave New World (1932) but the sequel did not revisit the story or the characters. Instead, Huxley chose to revisit the world he created in a set of twelve essays in which he meditates on how his fantasy seemed to be becoming a reality and far more quickly than he ever imagined. That Huxley's book Brave New World had been largely prophetic about a dystopian future a great distress to Huxley. By 1958, Huxley was sixty-four-years old; the world had been transformed by the events of World War II and the terrifying advent of nuclear weapons. Peeking behind the Iron Curtain where people were not free but instead governed by Totalitarianism, Huxley could only bow to grim prophecy of his friend, author George Orwell, (author of the book 1984). It struck Huxley that people were trading their freedom and individualism in exchange for the illusory comfort of sensory pleasure--just as he had predicted in Brave New World. In 1958, Huxley heard a world that was full of noise--a world of what he called singing commercials that flooded the mass media. Also, he saw people everywhere taking tranquilizers and beginning to surrender to modern life; it was not unlike the soporific drug Soma in his novel. The power of propaganda, he believed, had been validated by the rise of Hitler, and the postwar world was using it effectively to manipulate the masses. Overpopulation was already an issue, and Huxley saw the emergence of an overpopulated world in which chaos ruled and was being countered more and more by centralized control. It was not at all unlike what happens in his book in which the ultimate controlling capitalist of Huxley's early years, Henry Ford, becomes the equivalent of God. Huxley despairs of contemporary humankind's willingness to surrender freedom for pleasure. Huxley worried that the rallying cry, "Give me liberty or give me death" could be easily replaced by "Give me television and hamburgers Literary Theory & Criticism, Science Fiction, Brave New World Revisited~~Aldous Huxley~~Literary Theory & Criticism~~Science Fiction~~9780795311697, en, Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley, 9780795311697, RosettaBooks, 7/1/2010, , , , RosettaBooks, 7/1/2010<

ISBN: 9780795311697

In this “brilliantly written” book, the author of Brave New World reflects on his dystopian classic—and its echoes in the real world decades later (Kirkus Reviews). … Mehr…

In this “brilliantly written” book, the author of Brave New World reflects on his dystopian classic—and its echoes in the real world decades later (Kirkus Reviews).   Written almost thirty years after the publication of Aldous Huxley’s groundbreaking dystopian novel, Brave New World Revisited compares the “future” of 1958 with his vision of it from the early 1930s. Touching on subjects as diverse as world population, drugs, subliminal suggestion, and totalitarianism, these timeless essays provide a fascinating look at ideas of early science fiction in the context of the real world.   “It is a frightening experience, indeed, to discover how much of his satirical prediction of a distant future became reality in so short a time. . . . fascinating.” —The New York Times Book Review Digital Content>E-books>SF&Fantasy>Sci-Fi>Sci-Fi, RosettaBooks Digital >16<