Aldous Huxley and Utopia

Aldous Huxley and Utopia PDF

Author: Jerome Meckier

Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster

Published:

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 3643915217

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Within the cycle that runs from Erewhon to Island, British literary utopias compete with one another to form the most persuasive picture of what the future might, or should, be like. At issue for Butler, Wells, Zamiatin, Orwell and others is whether utopia, be it positive or negative, is essentially prediction or hypothesis. Huxley contributed to this debate at roughly fifteen-year intervals, his three utopias becoming its key texts. In addition, Aldous Huxley and Utopia examines ironic cure scenes, the obsession with golf in the brave new world, attitudes towards death in Brave New World and Island, problems with names and history in the former, the role of islands in both, the detrimental impact of Madame Blavatsky and young Krishnamurti on the story of Pala, and the significance of a zoological conclusion of Island.

Island

Island PDF

Author: Aldous Huxley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 1443428582

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While shipwrecked on the island of Pala, Will Farnaby, a disenchanted journalist, discovers a utopian society that has flourished for the past 120 years. Although he at first disregards the possibility of an ideal society, as Farnaby spends time with the people of Pala his ideas about humanity change. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

Aldous Huxley’s Island: A True Utopia?

Aldous Huxley’s Island: A True Utopia? PDF

Author: Annika Wildersch

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 21

ISBN-13: 3640483227

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Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Hamburg (Insitut für Anglistik), course: „Alternate Worlds“: Utopian and Counterfictional English Fiction from the late 19th Century to the 1990’s, language: English, abstract: 1. Introduction (...) Island is a novel of ideas, light on the novel-part and heavy on the ideas. In fact it could also be seen as an essay with a bit of a plot entangled around it. The plot in any case is secondary and easy to summarize: The English journalist Will Farnaby is stranded on the island of Pala and is on the secret mission to negotiate a contract for oil. Injured in the beginning, he leads long conversations with some inhibitants through which he learns about the Palanese way of life. As he takes pleasure in their virtues and beliefs, he gives up his initial oil plans. Nevertheless, in the end Pala gets invaded by the neighbour island Rendang. The emphasis in Island lies in the long conversations that Will leads in which he learns about the Palanese lifestyle and through which we, the readers, get to know about Huxley’s ideas of an ideal society. The questions this research paper deals with are: What exactly are the utopian features in Island? Are those features attainable and what is more, are they worth to attain at all? And in this context, is Island rather a utopia of escape or reconstruction? In order to find out the answers to these questions, the paper will first offer an analysis of the ideas and then it will turn to the ‘novel’-part with an analysis of the main plot.

The End of Utopia

The End of Utopia PDF

Author: Peter Edgerly Firchow

Publisher:

Published: 1984

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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Infocus Article - English Peter Firchow explores the modern literary style of Brave New World toprovide a critical analysis of the novel's composition. Among the thingsdiscussed are the construction of the opening chapers, the rich literaryallusions presented by Huxley, and the book's narrative structure. A Study of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World pp. 13-36.

Aldous Huxley's Island

Aldous Huxley's Island PDF

Author: Annika Wildersch

Publisher: Grin Publishing

Published: 2009-12

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 9783640483426

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Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Hamburg (Insitut fur Anglistik), course: -Alternate Worlds- Utopian and Counterfictional English Fiction from the late 19th Century to the 1990's, language: English, abstract: 1.Introduction (...) Island is a novel of ideas, light on the novel-part and heavy on the ideas. In fact it could also be seen as an essay with a bit of a plot entangled around it. The plot in any case is secondary and easy to summarize: The English journalist Will Farnaby is stranded on the island of Pala and is on the secret mission to negotiate a contract for oil. Injured in the beginning, he leads long conversations with some inhibitants through which he learns about the Palanese way of life. As he takes pleasure in their virtues and beliefs, he gives up his initial oil plans. Nevertheless, in the end Pala gets invaded by the neighbour island Rendang. The emphasis in Island lies in the long conversations that Will leads in which he learns about the Palanese lifestyle and through which we, the readers, get to know about Huxley's ideas of an ideal society. The questions this research paper deals with are: What exactly are the utopian features in Island? Are those features attainable and what is more, are they worth to attain at all? And in this context, is Island rather a utopia of escape or reconstruction? In order to find out the answers to these questions, the paper will first offer an analysis of the ideas and then it will turn to the 'novel'-part with an analysis of the main plot.

The Motifs of Utopia and Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World"

The Motifs of Utopia and Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s

Author: Doris Dier

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2012-10-09

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13: 3656285233

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Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1, University of Vienna, course: Science Fiction: The Classics, language: English, abstract: One of the many features of science fiction is the creation of alternative worlds and societies. The utopia-motif has been a very creative one in doing so, constantly inspiring authors to pursuit the goal of imagining a perfect world. The motif is also productive in a sense of redevelopment, since it serves to lay out the points of criticism that occur when looking at the “real” world at times. These approaches have resulted in the formation of new motifs such as dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is an ambiguous masterpiece that allows the reader to reveal various levels of meaning. Researchers mainly suggest it to be read as a satire, but it is also considered to be a key work of dystopian literature. This paper points out the elements that allow us to identify Brave New World as both a utopian and dystopian narrative. It concentrates on the points of view because in my opinion they determine the motif. The thesis is that depending on the viewpoint of the different characters the two worlds Huxley presents us can be either interpreted as a utopia or dystopia. The paper aims to introduce the major terms Utopia and Dystopia, but also outline the two different worlds Huxley describes in his novel. It explores whether or not the thesis is applicable and verifiable.

Philosophy and Sociology: 1960

Philosophy and Sociology: 1960 PDF

Author: Theodor W. Adorno

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-12-01

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0745694888

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In summer 1960, Adorno gave the first of a series of lectures devoted to the relation between sociology and philosophy. One of his central concerns was to dispel the notion, erroneous in his view, that these were two incompatible disciplines, radically opposed in their methods and aims, a notion that was shared by many. While some sociologists were inclined to dismiss philosophy as obsolete and incapable of dealing with the pressing social problems of our time, many philosophers, influenced by Kant, believed that philosophical reflection must remain 'pure', investigating the constitution of knowledge and experience without reference to any real or material factors. By focusing on the problem of truth, Adorno seeks to show that philosophy and sociology share much more in common than many of their practitioners are inclined to assume. Drawing on intellectual history, Adorno demonstrates the connection between truth and social context, arguing that there is no truth that cannot be manipulated by ideology and no theorem that can be wholly detached from social and historical considerations. This systematic account on the interconnectedness of philosophy and sociology makes these lectures a timeless reflection on the nature of these disciplines and an excellent introduction to critical theory, the sociological content of which is here outlined in detail by Adorno for the first time.

Nineteen Eighty-Four: Science Between Utopia and Dystopia

Nineteen Eighty-Four: Science Between Utopia and Dystopia PDF

Author: E. Mendelsohn

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9400963408

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Just fifty years ago Julian Huxley, the biologist grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, published a book which easily could be seen to represent the prevail ing outlook among young scientists of the day: If I were a Dictator (1934). The outlook is optimistic, the tone playfully rational, the intent clear - allow science a free hand and through rational planning it could bring order out of the surrounding social chaos. He complained, however: At the moment, science is for most part either an intellectual luxury or the paid servant of capitalist industry or the nationalist state. When it and its results cannot be fitted into the existing framework, it and they are ignored; and furthermore the structure of scientific research is grossly lopsided, with over-emphasis on some kinds of science and partial or entire neglect of others. (pp. 83-84) All this the scientist dictator would set right. A new era of scientific human ism would provide alternative visions to the traditional religions with their Gods and the civic religions such as Nazism and fascism. Science in Huxley's version carries in it the twin impulses of the utopian imagination - Power and Order. Of course, it was exactly this vision of science which led that other grand son of Thomas Henry Huxley, the writer Aldous Huxley, to portray scientific discovery as potentially subversive and scientific practice as ultimately en slaving.