In high school, students are assigned specific novels to read in English class. Each novel requires students to read thoroughly, comprehend fully, and analyze and interpret meaning.

One important element in all of this is student engagement. It is imperative that a novel be relevant and appropriate for students. A school novel must hold their interest, be readable, and, perhaps most importantly, cater to their short attention spans.

Today, teenagers are interested in the unknown, amused by sexual references, and fascinated with violence. Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World is a dystopian tale that is packed with each of these elements. The characters exist in a world where sadness and problems do not exist and the text satirizes mankind in the 20th century where one takes special pills to eliminate individual thoughts that may cause stress. Additionally, the text includes characters who openly have sexual relations to avoid hidden or uncomfortable sexuality.

This novel is often questioned by disapproving parents who fail to see the importance and true meaning behind its storyline. What parents and critics of the book need to do is realize that today’s teens do not need to be “protected” from the content of such a tale, but encouraged to examine the messages that Huxley brings to light. Teens are not protected from the graphic, profane world that surrounds them outside of the school building and do not need to be protected from great literature inside of it.