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Old 12-10-2004, 08:32 PM   #1
slimshdy425
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Default Anybody read "Brave New World"?

This is a fascinating science fiction novel of a futuristic society, and I was wondering if anyone here read it. I would like to discuss the society it presents if anyone has read it.

If you haven't, here's a short summary:
The future is consists of a strict caste system, where laborers are on the bottom and intellects are on the top. Promiscuity is strongly encouraged because happiness is the highest priority. Research is limited and consumerism is another high priority, which creates an extremely stable economy. A near perfect drug has been created called 'soma', which has very few side effects and keeps all of the people happy. The government actually supports using this drug in rationed amounts because it keeps the people content and not rebellious.
Now for the interesting part- normal reproduction has become obsolete and people are now 'manufactured' in a controlled manner, which eliminates overpopulation, unemployment, and hunger. Government has complete control over this process, so stability is mantained. People are also conditioned to do their job and to conform to society through a treatment known as hypnopeadia, which is repetitively telling people what to do while they are sleeping.

Hopefully this gives you a rough idea of what the novel is about, I would like to hear your opinions on this society.
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Old 12-10-2004, 08:40 PM   #2
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Default RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

all i have to say is.... i am an Alpha.

and, i'm not a fan of eutopian societies, or novels about them... so i don't have much to contribute to discussion of the book. that, and i read it 4 years ago.
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Old 12-10-2004, 08:41 PM   #3
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Default RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

Wow, I'm gonna have to read that. Sounds awesome.

It kind of sounds like The Giver, except more futuristic.
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Old 12-10-2004, 08:44 PM   #4
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Default RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

the giver..... wow, that sounds familiar. can't remember anything about it except i think i read it in 4th or 5th grade.
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Old 12-10-2004, 08:49 PM   #5
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Default RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

The one thing that always hits me about this book--and I NEVER NOTICED IT while I was actually reading it for the first time--is that there are no computers. Not a single one. Granted, it was written a long time ago; but many other sci-fi/futuristic books from that decade (1930s) include at least an idea of a computer or computer-like devices. There are machines in BNW, but none with computing power.

This doesn't make it any less of a book. I loved it the first time I read it and still do. But it's not a very happy Utopia, is it? Too much soma, not enough actual thinking.
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Old 12-10-2004, 08:55 PM   #6
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Default Re: RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tasselfoot
the giver..... wow, that sounds familiar. can't remember anything about it except i think i read it in 4th or 5th grade.
Very cool book. It's light reading, but such a great story.
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Old 12-10-2004, 09:06 PM   #7
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Default RE: Re: RE: Anybody read "Brave New World"?

the idea is that its a dystopia... one of the 3 classic ones that came out between 1940-1959 (1984 by Orwell and We by Zamyatin being the other two)... You can reread it at any age to gain a deeper understanding of it.. Giver is an excellent book, I first read it in 4th grade, but it can be reread, because it has an important message. Of course I'm an Alpha as well, and Soma is good, as is having sex with multiple partners by the age of 8 .. the idea is that the society is controlling you through the drug and stealing free will... and Tass, how can you not liek the utopia type novels? They define one of the most important sections in classical literature (Plato's REpublic, PLato's timmeaus and Criteus, Erastophanes' The Birds, THomas More's Utopia, etcetera) Anyways, go read 1984, you'll enjoy it slimshady if you can grasp the concepts they're going for.
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Old 12-11-2004, 01:14 AM   #8
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I swear to God there was a thread on this a few months ago. Am I going crazy? Or was it on something else but dicussion got turned to this book?

But anyway, I hated the book. It's nice to know what it's about so that I can recognize references, though. And that the society of alphas failed.

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Old 12-11-2004, 03:06 AM   #9
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Good book.

=D


It actually came before 1984.
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Old 12-11-2004, 12:24 PM   #10
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Yea lots of people do compare this book to 'The Giver', although I haven't read it yet.

That's true- there really are no computers in this book, I didn't notice that either. But considering the book was written in 1932, roughly 30 years before computers became well known, it isn't too surprising. I'm probably crazy for thinking this but I consider the Brave New World's society a utopia. Although free will is suppressed to an extreme level, everyone is pretty much happy except for a minute number of alpha plusses who can think out of the box of society.
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Old 12-11-2004, 02:33 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GuidoHunter
I swear to God there was a thread on this a few months ago. Am I going crazy? Or was it on something else but dicussion got turned to this book?
There was a thread on this in the chit chat a while ago. It didn't really last very long, but that's besides the point.

Anyways, blahblah pretty much hit it with the idea of the book. Brave New World is very much a social criticism of society's obsession with sex, drugs, and power. Those who think outside the accepted ways are shunned by society. Any of this sound familiar with today's society?

Never heard of The Giver. What is it about?
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Old 12-11-2004, 10:51 PM   #12
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my band covered "little Bottle of mine" once.
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