disagree with most

[Unregistered]

You're right about BNW not being a warning about cloning. It was a warning about society at the time it was writen, and it still applies to our society today. Even then, consumorisim was an ill. Today, we are bombarded by TV, radio, and magazines that tell us we need to buy products that we don't need in order to be happy. Products are not made to last, but to be desposable so that new ones can be purchased again. The warning is against a society that equates happiness with material goods.

[Unregistered]

Good comments. Your opinions are good but it would help the everyday person if you explained their connection to the book a bit more so they can understand them. Use examples.

[Keri]

You are absolutely right about the posibility that John is not the protagonist in BNW. Huxley was one of the most amazing writers of his time, so naturally his books are complicated and intricate. BNW contains so many layers layers of meaning that one could make a suitable case for any one of four characters; John, Helmholtz, Bernard, or Mond. As to which one IS the true protagonist, or which one Huxley 'put himself into', I would like to think that there is a small amount of Huxley in each, though he does speak most directly through Mond's mouth. <br>I disagree with the anonymous commenter's view that "The warning is against a society that equates happiness with material goods." While that may be part of Huxley's message I would argue that Huxley's main objective was to warn about a society that has ignored scrupals and morals for so long that they have nearly ceased to exist. Yes today's society is showing signs of what Huxley might call the appocalypse of the individual, but that is why he wrote BNW. If there was social unrest in his time, then there would always need to be social unrest to ensure the continuation of the individual mindset. There is no better way to promote individualism than by creatign an icon to represent social rebellion.

[Don]

I disagree with all of the reviews that argue that the point of the book was a warning from Huxley about the dangers of technology or cloning or anything of the kind. I think those are just byproducts of the civilization itself. He thought that a "utopia" just couldn't exist without advanced technology not that technology necessitated such a society. I don't think that his chosen method of procreation has anything to do with cloning issues of today. I see it only as a tool for Huxley to determine prebirth the social class of the person. The socialized revulsion for the word "mother" as well as natural birth as a whole is to ensure that ALL people go through the proper processes for treatment and caste assignment. I think the point of the book is to deal with the principals of the society,happiness/freedom, safety/passion?. I don't think it's any accident that all of the main characters show some type of rebellion, from minute to massive, against the society. I wonder what character Huxley would put himself into. I wouldn't jump straight to the Savage, there are a lot of things to consider.