I recently read Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley.
Seriously, Huxley can do no wrong in my mind; I love all of his stuff that I've read.
This book is an allegory, but it's basically about the world in 2108, after WWIII and a nuclear fallout. There's a group of scientists from New Zealand (the only place in the world not affected by radiation) who sail to California to research the life there, if any, about 50 years after the nuclear explosions.
They encounter life, but I don't want to ruin it and say much more.
One spoiler, though, because I'm not sure if some people would be offended by the book (I wasn't; it's all supposed to be a statement about the human condition), but it won't ruin the story at all, it'll just decrease one twist in the plot.
The californian (presumably mutated) survivors believe the mutations occur because of the devil, and they use the name "Belial" a lot. It doesn't bother me because I think Huxley was trying to say that people overlook the most logical and scientific explanation and turn to religion, even if they don't worship God. But seriously, I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I didn't want to post this without saying something about that part of the story.
i've only read brave new world. the others are worth checking out huh?
I think I've read maybe 7 of his other books and I've liked em all. He's got the same kind of "people are only animals" freundian type themes to all of his books, but he relays them all very well and he writes interesting characters.
ooh, i think i like the sound of that. i may check it out. when was it published?
1948. I think Huxley published like 10 books that year.
whew
So odd, I was just musing in my head earlier today about how amazing Aldous Huxley is and how much I would love to teach Brave New World to a HS class.
As it is, thats the only one I read (I have the Island, I think its called, at home but I only got a few pages into it ever) and I actually brought it to Switzerland with me and reread it for the third time in the first two days. Amazing book, I'll have to pick up Ape and Essence.
Oh man, my HS english teacher (I think it was in 9th or 10th grade) refused to teach it. She said it had too many sexual connotations. But that's the point of the book - it would be so perfect for a fruendian phsychology class, because that's basically what it's propounding.
So dumb, I think its one of the most amazing novels especially considering when it was written. I love dystopia novels in general. For my final project in US history junior year I read three dystopia books and then wrote a paper on which I thought was the most likely to happen in the US. I could have watched a movie and read two books but I ended up re-reading 1984 and then reading Brave New World and A Clockwork Orange.
Ben insists that the only reason I like Brave New World is because its all about sex; and that is a major reason why I do like it but not for the reasons he thinks. I think looking at the sexual practices of a society are so revealing and thats why Huxley uses that and its so amazingly perverse.
I really like Huxley's symbolism too. I was really freaked out by Clockwork Orange, though. Especially when I was living alone; even though I'd read it years earlier, I still thought someone was going to burst through my front door and beat me up. It just freaked me out.
this sounds really cool... i read brave new world in school and i know people were offended by that book.. but i liked it
How were people offended by Brave New World?
Because of all the promiscuity.
yeah, exactly, but to me it was like, there was a point to writing about that it wasn't just blatant, pointless promiscuity
i don't know, it was a great book
Oh yea, it was a total analogy, but schools are sometimes weird about that. I remember my step mother was all cappusted because there's a hooker in "Catcher in the Rye", even though it's not x-rated. Literature needs to be viewed on a very different plane.
cappusted. hm, i think you just made up a new word!
Hahahaha - the spelling nazi doesn't know how to spell jewish colloquialisms. :)
yeah i love Catcher in the Rye, again some people are offended at that book
i remember i got in trouble for reading Lord of the Flies
like, i got talked to about it
oof
But the whole point was that the society of Brave New World was a _dystopia_. If it were encouraging promiscuity I could see people being offended, but it'e exactly the opposite.
It wasn't encouraging promiscuity, but it was definitely there. For face value, that's probably why a school wouldn't feature it.
i never get where schools draw the line on offensive things. we read black boy in h.s. and that was out of control, but controversy can lead to such great discussions.