The statement from the book ‘Brave New World’, “History is bunk”, implies that looking back on the past disrupts the present. I do not agree with this statement because, although history can be dark, George Santayana once said those, ‘Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ This can be proven in two ways, through Brave New World, and actual history.
If one would imagine the world created in the novel Brave New World to actually be a utopia that came after our society, then you would have to owe it to history. If our lives had not been miserable and filled with love and jealousy, than the great Ford would never have anything to break through, nothing to change. Thus by learning from the mistakes of the dictators of the past, Ford created a society where people are always happy. Also, by teaching the people about their history, Ford prevents the pain to be from being repeated. Using history, he has allowed the utopia to be almost never ending. When Mustapha Mond ignorantly states that ‘History is bunk’, he really is forgetting that without history, he would never have such a life.
‘Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,’ this has been proven so many times that it would take pages and pages to state every example. Man’s biggest vice is his belief that, although what he is going to attempt has failed every time, he will try anyways. Russia, for example, was tried by Napoleon in 1812, and failed. The Russians burnt down Moscow, depriving the French of shelter in the city, and the frenchmen died of frost and hunger. But, this of course means nothing, Napoleon may have failed, but Hitler will conquer. Instead, he falls into the same footsteps as his predecessor, and history repeats itself.
As one can see, history is not bunk, but a treasure map. If you follow what the others have done, and understand it, then you know what not to do, you have discovered the treasure. As Ford succeeded in doing, and as Hitler failed to notice, history repeats itself. Until you notice it does, you are condemned to continue it for eternity.
