FREE ESSAY ON ALDOUS HUXLEY

ALDOUS HUXLEY

Aldous Huxley
Many talented twentieth century writers have been overshadowed by classical writers such
as Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. Novels dealing with classical topics are
often more recognized than works that tackle controversial topics. Aldous Huxley defies
this stereotype, for his controversial works gained great fame while influencing many
people. Huxley was not just a successful writer; he was a complex person whose ideas and
novels influenced many people.
Aldous Huxley was born July 26, 1894 (It's Online-Aldous Huxley) in Godalming, Surrey,
England (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). Huxley was born into a prominent family. His
grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, was a biologist who "helped develop the theory of
evolution." Huxley's aunt, Humphrey Ward, was a novelist. His mother was the niece of
Matthew Arnold, a poet, and the granddaughter of Thomas Arnold, a famous educator and
headmaster of Rugby school (Aldous Huxley-Biography). When Huxley was fourteen years old,
his mother died of cancer. He said his mother's death "gave him a sense of the transience
of human happiness" and "he felt that heredity made each individual unique, and
uniqueness of the individual was essential to freedom" (Aldous Huxley-Biography). From
1908 until 1913, Huxley studied at Eton College (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). While at Eton,
Huxley developed a condition of near blindness that plagued him until his death
(Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley).
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English at Balliol College, Oxford, Huxley worked
in the War Office in London and taught at Eton and Repton (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley).
While at Oxford, Huxley was introduced to the literary world and became good friends with
D.H. Lawrence (Aldous Huxley-Biography). In 1916, Huxley published his first book of
poems, The Burning Wheel (Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley). From 1920-1921,
he was a part of the editorial staff of the Athenaeum under Middleton Murray. Through the
years, Huxley also worked as a drama critic for the Westminster Gazette, was an assistant
at the Chelsea Book Club and worked for Conde Nast Publications (Aldous (Leonard)
Huxley).
Huxley married Maria Nys in 1919. In 1920 they had a child named Matthew. The family
split time between London and Italy and traveled around the world in 1925 and 1926
(Aldous Huxley-Biography). In 1955 Maria died of cancer, and a year later Huxley married
Italian violinist and psychotherapist Laura Achera (Brooke 199). 
By 1920 Huxley had published two more volumes of poetry. Huxley followed them with Limbo,
a collection of short stories. In 1921 Huxley "made his reputation as a witty and cynical
writer" with the publication of his first novel, Crome Yellow, (Philosopher's Corner
Presents: Aldous Huxley). His style, "a combination of dazzling dialogue, surface
cynicism and social criticism, made him one of the most fashionable literary figures of
the decade"(Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). Huxley followed Crome Yellow with Mortal Coils and
Antic Hay (Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley). In 1932, Huxley published Brave
New World, which depicts a highly technological dystopia of the future. The novel
influenced other writers like George Orwell to write about futuristic societies. Brave
New World brought Huxley great success and is perhaps his most remembered and most
successful novel (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). In 1937, he moved to California with Gerald
Heard. He believed California's climate would help his eyesight, which had become a
constant burden (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). After coming to the U.S., Huxley produced many
nonfiction works including The Perennial Philosophy and The Devils of Loudon
(Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley). Huxley also wrote screenplays in
collaboration with Christopher Isherwood in California. He wrote the screenplay for Pride
and Prejudice in 1940 (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). In all, Huxley wrote forty-seven books
in his career. In 1959 he received an Award of Merit from the American Academy of Arts
and Letters for his work (Aldous Huxley-Biography).
In the 1950's Huxley wrote the Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell. These novels deal
with the "inebriated states produced by hallucinogens." They describe the alteration in
sensory perception that Huxley experienced with mescaline (LSD-My Problem Child). The
rock group the Doors named themselves after the Doors of Perception (It's Online-Aldous
Huxley). Huxley had become a guru for hippies in California and began to use LSD (Aldous
(Leonard) Huxley). Huxley thought hallucinogens led to a deeper understanding of
religious and mystical content. He and his wife experimented with LSD and psilocybin. He
didn't like to refer to them as drugs because he believed in "the importance of agents
producing visionary experience in human evolution" (LSD-My Problem Child). Huxley
continued his drug use and experiments until his death. While lying on his deathbed with
terminal throat cancer, Huxley asked his wife to inject 100 mmg of LSD into him, sending
him to a peaceful death (LSD-My Problem Child). Huxley died in Los Angeles on November
22, 1963, the same day as the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Aldous (Leonard)
Huxley).
Aldous Huxley was not merely a successful writer; he was a complex person whose ideas and
works influenced many people. Huxley gained a "reputation as a witty and cynical writer"
(Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley). His style, "a combination of dazzling
dialogue, surface cynicism and social criticism," made him a fashionable writer in his
time (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). Huxley influenced many other writers to publish novels
about futuristic or Utopian societies as well (Aldous (Leonard) Huxley). He was a guru
for California hippies and had an influence on the rock group the Doors, who named
themselves after his novel The Doors of Perception (It's Online-Aldous Huxley). 
Works Cited
Aldous Huxley-Biography-Soma Web. 8 May 2000 
*http://www.primenet.com/~matthew/huxley/huxbio/html*.
Aldous (Leonard) Huxley (1894-1963). 10 May 2000 
*http://www.kirjatso.sci.fi/ahuxley.htm*.
Brooke, Jocelyn. "Aldous Huxley." British Writers. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. 7 vols. New 
York: Scribner's Sons, 1984.
It's Online-Aldous Huxley. It's Online. 8 May 2000 *http://www.its-
online.com/archive/huxley.html*.
LSD-My Problem Child. The Psychedelic Library. 10 May 2000 
*http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/child8.htm*.
Philosopher's Corner Presents: Aldous Huxley. 8 May 2000 
*http://www.interfaithfellowship.org/oncourse/articles/philosophers/huxley.html*.