Huxley's "Jungle of Noise" in Point Counter Point

Abstract

Point Counter Point, Aldous Huxley’s experiment with the â€musicalisation of fiction†(PCP 384, –References to Point Counter Point will be abbreviated hereon in PCP–) was published in 1928, the end of a decade of post-war trauma, conflicting ideologies, proliferating scientific theories, new technologies and reckless hedonism. These amalgamated aspects found their expression in the novel’s cubist montage, contrapuntal orchestration and cynical tone. I argue that, in tandem with the experimental poetry and prose of Huxley’s contemporaries, Point Counter Point set the tone for a new literary culture on both sides of the Atlantic. This approach accounts for the novel’s experimental techniques and design, starting from the â€jungle of noise†(65) metaphor.