Aldous Huxley published his dystopian novel Brave New World in 1932. A dystopia is a society, real or fictional, in which people are subjected to dehumanizing conditions. Although Huxley's world is a fiction, it has many striking similarities to our modern society.
The society of Huxley's work uses technology to distract itself from hardship and pain. Deep emotional connection or experience is considered taboo, and people do not take time to partake in deep analytical thought. Likewise, in today's society, modern technologies such as smart phones have given people the capability to constantly distract themselves, removing the opportunity for reflective thought and internal maturation and development.
Another frightening similarity between the modern world and Huxley's work is the obsession with youth, which is considered beautiful. Through Bernard and Lenina's eyes, the reader experiences their revulsion at the aging process, which they had never witnessed before. Instead, in Huxley's society, people do not physically age. Rather, they rapidly mentally deteriorate around age 60. Our modern society is also fixated on the retention of youth, with a significant commercial effort dedicated to preventing wrinkles, gray hair, baldness, and other physical manifestations of the aging process.
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