“ ‘But that’s the price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We’ve sacrificed the high art.’ ” Brave New World (p. 220)
Stability – a constant theme throughout the book. From what I can tell, the people of the New World have sacrificed pretty much everything for stability. When you sacrifice that many things, can true happiness actually exist?
Now, when talking about high art in the quote above, the Controller is referring to classic literature such as Othello. From Shakespeare to Roman architecture to Dali paintings, each form of high art is influenced by an opinion. Whether it is the opinion of the artist or the person enjoying the art, opinions are what fuel the creation and enjoyment of art.
My question is, did the New World sacrifice art, or did they just want to rid community of individualism once and for all?
In our community, individual thinking does so many positive things. In fact, I’m sure the New World would not exist without it. Science is a form of art in a sense. Without exploration and curiosity, nothing that the New World depends on would exist. So, why is individual thinking banned? I’m guessing that the Controllers and other leaders believe that the community is perfect with no need to advance any further. However, I wonder if this community worries about competition from other countries. If any other country figures out a more perfect way to live, London may be taken by surprise.
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