Is the brave new world described in BRAVE NEW WORLD racist? Is the book racist? Is the author racist? Please enlighten us with a comment below, and please be sure to support your answer with at least one piece of textual evidence from the book or another credible source.
I believe it’s not racism due to the fact that we just started the book and haven’t explored it and maybe once’s we get into more of the book we start to know more cultures and different races plus I believe this book is a satire
ReplyDeleteIn my point of view neither the author or the book are racist. The author just wants to make a point of how the world was living back then, there must have been more racial discrimination back in the days. When Huxley said “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries”, he means that society doesn’t know many truths . This also proves that Huxley was really observant.
ReplyDeleteHuxley could be considered racist, but he could have been "conditioned" to think this way; after all, Martin Luther Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech the year Huxley died. Huxley had probably grown up attending an all white school and seeing the segregation occurring around his town. People during this time had strong prejudices against those of color and could have most likely implored Huxley to think this way. Many thought lesser of colored people and it was considered normal with much of the population doing the same thing and growing up to believe this way. The ideals can be rewritten of course, but it is really hard to dispel completely since it's so ingrained into the mind (reminds me of how civilised people react toward "different behaviors" in a Brave New World), but still, they can be changed with time. Huxley was a philosopher which resulted in him being a bit more open minded than most pondering over society, what direction it could go in (Brave New World), and more. This enabled Huxley to be more mindful about other people's lives and how they might think.
ReplyDeleteI guess you could deem Huxley racist along with his book using today's standards of racism, but consider the fact that we still have much to read. He could turn the tides in favor of the savages highlighting their empathy, passion, thirst for knowledge, and independence since the civilised folk lack these qualities; or we could end up meeting other races of civilised folk who are colored.
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ReplyDeleteI don't belive that Brave new wrold is racist nor is the aurther. Maybe huxly just make Lenina racist, to prove how some people are racist. Anyways we are bearly on chapter 7 not even half way the book yet so we can't judge. And after all on page 9 huxly dose mention other race.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe there is any race issue. Of course, Huxley is going to use particular concepts that raise questions, thats the goal. By chapter 7, we learn that everyone is oppressed. Even in the "civilized" society, peoples' knowledge is limited. In chapter 7, towards the very end, you read, "There's so much one doesn't know; it wasn't my business to know. I mean, when a child asks you how a helicopter works or who made the world–well, what are you to answer if you're a Beta and have always worked in the Fertilizing Room?" This coming from a person who has seen both society's. A person who still holds their "civilized" ideals. I'm not sure if Linda was trying to make that point, but this is enough proof that everyone is oppressed. They're just tools that benefit their environment-or try to.
ReplyDelete"...Huxley has created both a racist and abliest society. He is reinforcing that those who are not ‘perfect’ are less, and those who are, by the society’s standards, ‘perfect’ are superior. Children in the higher castes are taught to have little regard for those below them just because they physically and mentally superior. And in a society that creates people to live in this manor there is no excuse for such behaviour. If the technology exists to make people ‘perfect’, then why create ‘lower’ people who must suffer. And conversely, if there must be a diversity of physical and mental ability, why devalue those of lower ability if they have no chance to escape. The concept is both racist and ableist..."
ReplyDeletehttp://dh.canterbury.ac.nz/engl206/tag/racism/?print=print-search