Huxley, A. (1946). Brave new world. New York: Harper & Bros.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:
This week i've made it about 25% into this classic, though I did have the chance to read it in high school.
I found it online!: http://www.huxley.net/bnw/one.html
If i were a teacher, would i share this would my students and how?
I feel like this is the big question on my cohort's mind this week. Well, the short answer is yes, I would share this book with my students. I don't the censorship of texts, especially famous one that have been proven time and time again to have substantial value through a variety of different lenses. This one in particular does raise some interesting questions, and it does have it's fair share of what some would deem inappropriate material. Even Dr. Styslinger edited herself when reading out loud to our graduate level class. Perhaps there is a happy medium where the major themes and important messages can be taught without incorrectly analyzing the antiquated racist or explicit lines? Is that going against my views regarding censorship? Should this book simply be made available to students, or be required readings? These are the important questions to ask yourself when considering Huxley.
The thing that most parents, and people find problematic is it's decision to topple sexual matters. Yes, Huxley acknowledges sex. Yes, he writes in condom belt. Yes, there are talks of orgies. The book is ultimately a dystopian novel where a totalitarian government does their best to eliminate free will and choice by drugging the population with Soma, pleasure, and conditioned behavioral responses. When choosing whether or not to teach it--that's important to acknowledge. This isn't a manifesto on how to get young kids to deviate from their parents chosen path and get pregnant.
Brave New World is a ingeniously crafted science fiction critique about our ways of life. While the novel contains a majority of warnings for readers, I believe that there are a lot of interesting grey areas that students could really find some value in having discussions over. One that would probably be a best suited for the most mature of classes is the discussion about how Huxley's universe doesn't shame or hide sexuality, while by and large, ours does. In the second or third chapter there is mention of the old ways in which most adolescents didn't sexually experiment until roughly twenty years of age, where new Central London starts them out of the womb acknowledging that stimulus.
I can't wait to consider this as a classroom text after my first year of teaching.
Rating: Classic/5
I found it online!: http://www.huxley.net/bnw/one.html
Julian,
ReplyDeleteGreat response this week. I don't agree with the censorship of texts. However, as teachers there is a fine line that we must be aware of and carefully trod. For example, this year a fellow teacher in my school assigned Kite Runner and some articles about Islam for summer readings. She sent out letters to the parents and offered an alternative assignment. However, the first week of school one parent came in very upset and went to the district office about the matter. This parent even got a lawyer to pursue the matter. Luckily, this teacher was able to show the letters that were sent home over the summer and the alternate assignment if the parent's were not comfortable with this option. Also she belonged to a professional organization that supported her. I believe that you will find through your years of teaching that selecting a text will depend on the students within your classroom and the atmosphere of your school to some extent. After I get to know a group of students, there are certain classes that I know would be able to maturely read Brave New World and discuss sexuality. However, there are other classes where that would not be able to maturely discuss sexuality and may misrepresent what was happening in the class. Anytime, that I question a text I always send a letter home explaining the text and offering an alternative.
You NOTICED!!! I was waiting for someone to call me out on this--and you finally did! Now, bring this up next week in class--as for this convo around censorship, I think it vital that teachers keep parents and administrators informed about their practices and that they be able to defend their teaching practices (and content in this case). Purpose statements do matter for this reason. I don't think I would send students home to read this book over the summer--I believe this text and Chaucer and Shakespeare--most canonical texts--need to be taught in a supported environment. Should we censor them as we read? When reading aloud Diary of a Part-Time Indian, do we read aloud about his masturbation? Hmmm. Or orgies in BNW? Hmmm. Sounds like we need to talk about this next week.
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