Island Paradise
Huxley describes the life and experiences of Will Farnaby, a reporter and underground spy for an oil tycoon, who is stranded on the island of Pala, where for 120 years an ideal society has flourished. In the mid 19th century, a Scottish doctor effectively treated the enlightened Buddhist Raja of Pala and settled on the island. These two men then planned a perfect society in which sex lives are shameless, children are vigilantly conditioned from infancy and none must endure one set of parents, jobs are allocated according to build and disposition, and everyone uses moksha medicine, a drug which hones and expands powers of consciousness. Together they developed philosophies based on the composition of the Raja entitled, Notes on Whats What, and What It Might Be Reasonable to Do about Whats What. This is the instrument Huxley provides so that readers are able to be informed of the fundamental principles of the Pala society.
In 1968, Watt wrote an article about the meshing of East and West cultures in the Island, noting that the book was written in a solemn and utterly unique way, with Huxleys serious attention being given to the drawing together of Eastern and Western social customs, namely a utopian meeting place between Chinese and Indian cultures and European values. While Island is a work of fiction, it is the means of expression Huxley used to convey his ideas about how individuals in a good society would cooperate with one another and their environment. Just as numerous educationally oriented movies begin with a child being taught something, or a news program, or some other instructional device which is actually for the assistance of the viewer, Huxley has his own news reel in Island so that the location and actions in the story are comprehended in context. The people of Pala carry out their lives based on ideas supposedly incorporating the best that Eastern and Western philosophies have to offer. Neither philosophy is entirely sufficient on its own, or perhaps is too sufficient, to warrant a satisfying, balanced life.
In the Palanese community, there are certain elements of their lifestyle which are markedly curious and questionable. On the island, drug use is supported in the aim of enlightenment and self knowledge. Drug use is seen as being necessary for pacification and self medication. Although this may seem like a utopian state to some, there is no mention of the negative effects of drug use, such as brain damage. Trance states are encouraged with the end goal of super learning. Drug induced trances may indeed encourage people to vacate from thoughtfulness, and this state of non-belief is upheld as positive by Huxley. However, in regard to true learning, the main lesson learned from drug trances may be that people see and experience very odd things while on drugs. Community group living in the form of Mutual Adoption Clubs is supported so that children do not have to be unduly exposed to their parents neuroses. Although adoption may be seen as the best option in some situations, being able to discard or run away from problems, it is strange that adoption is supported over social aid to the parents and family unit as a whole. In regard to sexuality, assisted reproduction in the form of low tech artificial insemination is provided. There is also freely available contraception to enable reproductive choice and expressive sex. Although artificial insemination can create a pregnancy and contraception can avoid a pregnancy, there is no attention given to how insemination and contraception plague the devotional relationship between man and woman, how it destroys family life. In order to support spiritual preparations, dangerous climbs to mountain temples are made. Also, in an aim to keep people in high spirits, parrots are trained to utter uplifting slogans. Although pilgrimages and bird calls can truly be spiritual and joyous experiences, these are potentially hazardous, superficial, antisocial ways to aim to fix the problems of Pala society.
A central component of Palanese society is reserved industrialization, with the aim of providing gratifying work, humble and often strenuous work, as well as time for leisure and meditation. For the Palanese, advancement means having a decidedly selective attitude towards technology, which Huxley contrasts to the underdeveloped destitution of the nearby island of Rendang, and with the estranging overdevelopment of the mechanized West, primarily through Will Farnabys memories of London. The Palanese accept modern science and technology to improve medicine and nutrition, but have rejected extensive industrialization. For example, hydroelectricity is made accessible for refrigeration, so that excess fresh food can be stored, improving nutrition and shielding against food shortages. Huxley viewed this careful modernization as vital for his wise society, even if it means that such a civilization is unable to militarily defend itself from its crazy neighbors who desire to rob them of their islands natural resources. The resistance to Western modernization is truly a noble goal in some ways, although the Pala people are still plagued by the strange drug use, misguided reproductive practices, and antifamily attitudes which Huxley brings into the storyline.
In regard to the lack of Palanese family values, it is a wonder why Huxley did not place more emphasis on a utopia of positive parent child relationships, where any emotional disturbances could have been met with supportive counseling or help from the community. The individualism of each person on the island of Pala brings to mind the individualism of both the West and the East. The Western society, it is industrialization which leads to the breakdown of the family, with mothers being utilized more as industrial employees rather than caring for their children and families at home. However, in the Eastern society, it is the call to dictatorial communism, to efforts placed on the goals of constructing the community good, which bring focus away from the family. In Eastern philosophy, it is government which often breaks down traditional family roles, while in the West, it is often business and industry which break them down.
Considering many activities which are sought to bring about an ideal or utopian society which actually plague the lives of the Pala, it is very difficult to make the claim that Huxley has succeeded in his attempt to paint a picture of paradise. Perhaps it is through a lens of sarcasm that Huxley attempts to bring the Eastern and Western worlds together in a paradise on the island of Pala. It is surely against family unity for people to discard familial obligations such as happily taking on the role of husband, wife, or parent. The widespread drug use points to the fact that reality is not worth living, upholding flights from the real world into drug induced stupors. The trance like states may claim to promote learning, however, it is not demonstrated that drug use is of any help in creating a society of higher intellect. Drug use, if providing any positive effect, simply temporarily releases people from the struggles of everyday life. In regard to selective industrialization, there are good points made in that hard work is satisfying and leisure an essential component of a happy life, however, it is a wonder why industry was not more concerned with undergirding the family unit as a necessary social entity or providing the island with a comprehensive defense system. The negative aspects of the East, such as drug use, lack of family values, and misguided and empty spiritual endeavors are exactly the same negative aspects of the West which enter into the lives of the Pala people.
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