Dystopian Literature is often created in an effort to satirize and or criticize as aspect of human society and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is no different. Huxley crafts a world in which “everyone belongs to everyone”; Happiness is required and families do not exist. All of these differences from actual society are Huxley’s exaggerations on the path of human life. He manufactures a world far into the future in which life on earth has evolved into a technological disaster. Although the argument could be made that certain aspects of this society, the World State, can be viewed as enviable or at least, can spawn curiosity, Huxley intends for the World State to be looked upon as a dystopia. From the first sentence of the novel and throughout the rest of the text, Huxley satirizes exceeding limits as well as technological advancements and human’s dependency on them in an attempt to criticize the direction of the human species.  

From the opening words of the novel, it is blatantly clear that the reader is about to be propelled into quite a unique society. The opening sentence of the novel reads, “ A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories”. Even in Dubai, a thirty-four story building would not be described as “squat”. In comparison, while acknowledging special conditions in our nation’s capital, the tallest building in the District of Columbia is only fifteen stories. By choosing to describe a building as “squat” and “only thirty-four stories” it is obvious Huxley is implementing sarcasm. It is easy to then jump to the conclusion that the rest of society must be bigger and better than this measly edifice. When imagining a world where a building of that size is considered small, there is seemingly no cap on the expectations of the rest of the civilization. A society has clearly been set up in which excessiveness is the norm. When considering that Huxley wrote this novel in the early 1930s, the idea that his ideas for this dystopian society are based on the causes of the Great Depression is not far fetched. In order for a society to accept thirty-four stories as “squat”, limits must have been tossed out the window, much like they were in the times leading up to the Great Depression. Therefore, because of Huxley’s use of sarcastic language in concurrence with the timing of his writing, I believe he is criticizing humans for surpassing their limits and mistaking their wants for their needs. 

Throughout the novel Huxley chooses language that highlights technology and degrades other objects in order to contrast them with the machinery. This deliberate choice was made in order to emphasize the dangerous path of technological advancements in human society. When describing the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center, a facility in which fertilized eggs are reproduced by the dozen and conditioned to adapt to their predetermined destiny, Huxley implements ironic imagery. Despite light usually being a signal of good news, Huxley depicts the light in the hatchery as, “harsh, thin…[and] hungrily seeking some draped lay figure”. This of course is not how one would expect light to be portrayed, as some sort of demonic force. Furthermore, the gloves of the workers in the laboratory are  “a pale corpse-color”. These descriptions create a sense of eerie bleakness inside the hatchery. The only time Huxley applies a positive description of the facility is when he is referring to the microscopes, which give off a “certain rich and living substance”, and look like a “luscious streak in long recession down the work tables”.  Because the light, typically a harbinger for good news, and the gloves of the workers were described in an unnerving mirror, the description of the microscopes lusciously streaking down the tables pops out to the reader. This contrast informs the reader that not only are normal everyday objects are viewed negatively in this world, but that technology is viewed as spectacular. This disparity is created as Huxley is foreshadowing future human life. He, like many other dystopian authors have, predicts that technological advancements could lead to the downfall of the human race. It is clear the World State is not exactly an enviable situation and the dependence on technology is a critical reason why. Some people would argue that just eighty years later his prediction as come true, that we are in fact too reliant on technology. This critique of society by Huxley is evident in his satirization and exaggeration of technology, but it paints a scary picture nonetheless. 

Huxley creates a World State in which a building twice as tall as any in D.C. is considered “squat”, and where microscopes are the most lifelike objects in the room. These satirical, almost comical images, are used to create an image in the reader’s head of a world where excessiveness and dependency on technology run rampant. Through ironic and contrasting descriptions of these concepts that differ greatly from reality, it becomes clear Huxley is criticizing human culture. Granted, he creates a fantasy world, one in which is extremely unlikely but the underlying message still rings true, even eighty-four years later. 