First Blog Ever!!!- Thoughts on Huxley's Island

I know that Auldous Huxley's last novel Island isn't really children's literature or even young adult lit. It is a good read though complete with a lot of pretty deep philosophical points reflecting on the possibilities of a utopian society. One of the more interesting perspectives Huxley gives us of his utopian Island is the way that children are taught about the cultures views of religious deities through oral rhyme and song. Huxley relates how "two small boys in pink loincloths and a little girl in a blue skirt were taking turns at pulling the strings that set in motion two life-sized marionettes attached to poles at either end of the narrow field. The puppets were of wood, beautifully carved and clothed, not in rags, but in the most splendid draperies... these gorgeous scarecrows were beings of a higher order. One was a Future Buddha, the other a delightfully gay, East Indian version of God the Father as one sees him in the Sistine Chapel... With each tug of the string the Future Buddha wagged his head, uncrossed his legs from the lotus posture, danced a brief fandango in the air, then crossed them again and sat motionless for a moment until another jerk of the string once more disturbed his meditations. God the Father, meanwhile, waved his outstretched arm, wagged his forefinger in portentous warning...". As the children work the mechanical scarecrow they sing "'Make them dance... Make them wiggle.' He laughed delightedly..." This little song and dance of the children is quite the interesting. In the novel, the theory is that by allowing the children to manipulate the gods that they will gain the understanding that gods have no power over them and that they rather have all the power over the gods. The point of the exercise is established in the childs mind by their joyful repetition of the "Make them dance, make them wiggle" refrain. As in so many examples of children's lit. the moral of the song and dance is the song and dance itself. Huxley understands the pedagogical implications of children's lit. by being something that children can attach themselves to and learn from. Huxley shows his knowledge of the subject by employing it in his utopian society.