I first approached this book because of the intrigue that I suspected could be found within its pages. I was looking forward to reading a story in which the main characters would find a way to overthrow this twisted social order; however, I was disappointed to realize that my heart would not be satisfied with such an ending. I suppose that Huxley was counting on such a hope to be crushed in his readers. I must admit that the direction in which our society seems to be inching toward does not look pleasant; but still, I can not imagine that humanity would allow herself to slip so drastically as Huxley seemed to believe. I simply must believe that hope could’ve taken root even in this new world that Huxley depicted.
Even if this social structure may seem rather far fetched from what could truly unfold in reality, I contend that Huxley presents valuable insights that can challenge us to honestly evaluate the moral direction in which we will allow our society to wander.
Here is an excerpt from the earlier chapters in this book from Helmholtz, a character who was able to see beyond the veil that his conditioned nature should have allowed.
Helmholtz shrugged his shoulders. “But [words] go such a little way. They aren’t important enough, somehow. I feel I could do something much more important. Yes, and more intense, more violent. But what? What is there more important to say? And how can one be violent about the sort of things one’s expected to write about? Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced. That’s one of the things I try to teach my students – how to write piercingly. But what on earth’s the good of being pierced by an article about Community Sing, or the latest improvement in scent organs? Besides, can you make words really piercing – you know, like the very hardest X-rays – when you’re writing about that sort of thing? Can you say something about nothing? That’s what it finally boils down to.”
In this societal structure, power is maintained by using words as a weapon that conditions individuals to fully embrace and believe whatever the Controllers want them to believe. Words hold power. But wielding this power is no small feat – especially when the conditioning already in place is so deeply ingrained. In reading this book, I was constantly asking myself, “But what?” How can we effectively use our words in such a way that will pierce with purpose?
Remember all of those pep-rallies in grade school when we were taught about the dangers of drugs and alcohol? When we were taught to choose our friends wisely and to stand against bullying? And remember how so many of us walked away sneering and totally disregarded the inspirational jargon that was tossed at us? Sure, we were given words with purpose – but those words didn’t always pierce.
And what about all of the lyrics that flood our ears and hearts? We gets songs stuck in our heads about how “it’s Friday, Friday, Friday – Oooh!…” Or every time we hear someone say, “hello”, we instantly feel compelled to respond with “from the other siiiide, at least I can say that I triiiiiied.” These songs can certainly pierce us. But so what? Many of them are either incredibly shallow or completely irrelevant to our lives. (Of course, there are plenty of songs that do in fact “pierce with purpose”. Lyrics are just low-hanging examples that demonstrate how piercing words can be easily embraced while lacking any positive purpose.)
I have read that in his later years, Huxley harbored a special intrigue with spirituality and Christianity, among other colorful interests. If I could sit down and speak with Huxley, I would very much like to discuss how the Holy Spirit might’ve been able to influence the characters’ ability to use words to affect their societal situation. I have to believe that, with the Holy Spirit, words can pierce with purpose and evoke positive change.
I have to believe this.
anothervapor 