Literature is beautiful in all its manifestations. The main indicator of her quality is the writer's talent. The novel "Island" is a variety of lessons that humanity can learn for itself. Acquaintance with the work of Aldous Huxley should happen in the life of every educated person.
Acquaintance with the book
Huxley’s novel “The Island” was written in 1962 in the genre of social science fiction. In fact, the book can be called utopia with some elements of ecotopia. It is noteworthy that this was the last novel written by Aldous Huxley. It should also be noted that it was based on some ideas from the last chapter, “Return to the Brave New World”.
Aldous Huxley
The novel "Island" is a farewell message from the author in which he described the world of the future. A terrifying utopia that strikes with realism and scope. Huxley was considered a satirist and a pacifist. At a more mature age, he was interested in issues of psychology, philosophy and mysticism. Having lived in recent years, he was recognized as a great intellectual among his entourage.
Huxley's Island Summary
In order to retell the plot of the book, you need to have a good imagination, because there is no plot line in the book. This greatly complicates the perception of everything that happens, but nevertheless gives a more extensive picture of the world. The main character of the book is journalist Will Farnaby. A young man travels on a ship. Suddenly a storm occurs and the ship crashes. The book does not talk about other victims. It is only known that Will Farnaby is on the fantastic island of Pala (a place from the fictional world of Huxley).
Further events in the book are the life of Farnaby on the island. More precisely, it’s not even life itself, but acquaintance with it. The subsequent chapters of the book are devoted to the fact that the inhabitants of the small island of Pala tell the arriving Will Farnaby about the structure of their own world.
If you describe this world succinctly, it turns out that the hero falls into a space where people created an almost perfect society with the help of a powerful philosophical system. It miraculously combines the various elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Gnosticism.
Immersion in another reality
In order to better understand the world into which the hero of the book fell, one should take a closer look at it. Aldous Huxley created in his imagination a World State. Currently, the Ford Era and the year 632 are full of stability and confidence. The novel "Island" tells us that the most revered figure, akin to God, for the inhabitants of the World State is Ford - the very real person who created the most powerful automobile company in the world at the beginning of the last century. The most interesting thing is that it is called "Our Lord Ford."
The new generation in the novel "Island"
Children in the World State are not born - they are received from test tubes. This creates completely different people. The whole society is divided into 5 parts: people alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon. This classification is very similar to castes in India. Alpha is the highest class people, they are engaged in mental work, despise the rest of the castes and are considered the crown of creation. All other castes, respectively, occupy a much worse position. The lowest caste - epsilons - these are people who are intended only for physical labor, and very uniform and primitive.
The process of the appearance of children from test tubes is called a cork. Each caste adheres to certain colors in clothes. Interestingly, the motto of a perfect state is "community, sameness and stability." Children are brought up in a standardized way. It is envisaged that in adulthood a person does not encounter anything that goes beyond his understanding. In any situation, it is enough to resort to children's experience and remember how it is prescribed to behave in certain conditions.
It is also worth noting that the history of the World State is completely absent. It is believed that this is garbage that only hinders development. Also, there are no any emotions and passions, because they are not productive. From childhood, a child is taught that an object of the opposite sex is a means of obtaining pleasure. Growing up, a person continues to see in others only ways of his satisfaction. Children are taught to flirt and erotic games. It is better that there are more partners, because in this world everyone belongs to everyone. Monogamy is not despised - it simply does not exist.
The novel "Island" introduces the reader to a world in which art is completely absent. Instead of music, movies, paintings, there are primitive substitutions that do not carry any significance in themselves. If a resident suddenly spoils his mood, then this is easily solved - you need to take a small dose of a soft drug that will immediately return joy and carefree. Dramas, tragedies, feelings - all this is unfamiliar to the inhabitants of the World State.
The novel "Island" immerses the reader in the near future, which the author himself foresaw. Interestingly, the author was nominated for the Nobel Prize 7 times in different years. Huxley's “island” is an amazing world of a varied future that everyone needs to meet in order to avoid it in reality.