Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is a dystopian and futuristic novel that has permeated the collective imagination, as well as other works of this genre. Below, download a copy of Brave New World in PDF format.

It was written by the British Aldous Huxley and published in 1932. The plot revolves around a society structured in a very peculiar way, but which works well for the power elites.

Among its characteristics are infertility, artificial reproduction, indoctrination from birth, caste division, elimination of the family, annulment of emotions, and sexual debauchery. 

The novel has the necessary ingredients to keep the reader attentive to everything that is about to happen and has a tragic ending of great impact.

Brave New World in PDF

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Summary of Brave New World

In the first part, we are introduced to the director of the London Incubation and Conditioning Center, who explains the workings of the World State to a group of students.

Humans are artificially created and kept in test tubes until birth. During the gestation period, they are intervened using techniques such as altering oxygen levels and inoculating them with drugs. 

At that stage, they are also classified into castes, ranging from the most intelligent and with the best physical appearance to the least intelligent and with the worst appearance. These are called: 

Alpha: destined to perform high-ranking duties, such as important professions and government positions.

Then come the Beta, Gamma, Delta, and, finally, the Epsilon, destined for heavy, non-intellectual work, go down the scale. Each of the Epsilons has 99 clones.

The methodology of education to which they are subjected is hypnopedia, which is a type of indoctrination through sleep. In this way, no one opposes the role they have been assigned to live.

And when someone has some kind of discomfort, difficulty accepting their reality, or another type of conflict, they are given a pill called “Soma“, a drug that alienates them from reality.

From a young age, humans are taught to value sex as a way of relating, so when they become adults they can have sex with whomever they wish, with no strings attached.

Marriage and family are forbidden, as is education through books. 

Bernard Marx, an alpha psychologist who is paradoxically short in stature, feels somewhat marginalized because of his physical appearance and continually reflects on himself and the world around him.

He is not happy with the order of things and although he is very attracted to Lenina Crowne, a Beta geneticist who everyone was sleeping with, he wanted to have more than just a sexual relationship with her.

He believed in courtship and that it was important to talk to her and get to know her, issues that Lenina did not understand at all.

When he raised his concerns with the director, he recommended taking “Soma”, but Bernard told him that he would prefer to spend some time with Lenina in the Savage Reservation.

Lenina and Bernard set out on a journey to the Savage Reservation, which is nothing more than a place in the southwestern United States that was not part of the World State.

It was quite the opposite, they had religious beliefs, married, had children by natural means, and were organized in tribes. There they met John, who turned out to be Linda’s son.

While Bernard was fascinated by life in the Wild Reserve, Lenina thought the opposite. She was appalled by the imperfect way of life, all dirty and with strange beliefs.

However, John was different, an outcast white man who read Shakespeare obsessively, and although he didn’t understand it very well, she didn’t dislike him.

John falls madly in love with Lenina, at the same time that Bernard decides to take him and Linda to the World State. This unleashes John and Linda’s conflict.

She could no longer bear to be there again, so she continually took drugs and this led to her death.

On the other hand, the sexual tension between Lenina and John was growing every day, but John’s beliefs did not allow him to sleep with her without being married. But this did not matter to Lenina, who was tirelessly seducing him.

FAQ about Brave New World

What is the message of Brave New World?

A seemingly perfect world can only hide maximum control, ignorance, and suppression of what is truly human.

This is the case of Brave New World, where what could have been a utopia, brings with it a real nightmare of which only a few become aware.

What is the central theme of Brave New World?

The central theme of the novel Brave New World is the fragility of a system that pretends to be perfect, divided into castes, where negative emotions are repressed through drugs and there is no family, nor sexual reproduction.

This might seem to avoid many problems, but there is always a crack where such utopias begin to crumble.

What happens to John in Brave New World?

John falls madly in love with Lenina, but his values will not allow him to sleep with her. At one point in the novel, it becomes the center of media attention.

Harassment by journalists and remorse for having fallen into the temptation of having sex with Linda lead him to suicide.

What is Lenina’s caste?

Lenina is a genetic specialist, belonging to the Beta-plus caste. She is characterized for being a woman with high intelligence in her field and very beautiful physically, she is constantly desired by men of other castes.

John, who belonged to the Savage Reservation, falls madly in love with her. Lenina’s indifference as to whom she gave herself sexually and the fact that she had no ties to anyone, caused John a moral dilemma.