One of the most prominent themes portrayed in science fiction is dehumanization. As it pertains to the genre, dehumanization stands for the loss of one’s basic humanity – individuality, emotion, and free will – as a result of harsh social control and/or overindulgence in high technology. One novel that offers a compelling depiction of this theme is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The novel depicts a world that has been united under a single government known as the World State. This regime has taken extensive measures to suppress the human element. Citizens are bred artificially, conditioned from birth to conform to the norms of society, and are kept docile through extensive leisure and frivolous entertainment. For those in power, the ultimate purpose of dehumanization is to maintain an unshakable control over the populace.
The purpose of this thesis is to present four arguments regarding dehumanization in Brave New World: 1.) how the novel is meant to be a warning regarding mankind’s technological/scientific prowess, 2.) how the main characters represent humanity, 3.) how the theme may have been influenced by contemporary norms, and 4.) how the theme of dehumanization, as presented in the novel, influenced the same theme in future science fiction literature.