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happiness in the brave new world
aldous huxley happiness
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It seems the goal of most individuals in life is to find purpose, overcome obstacles, and be as happy as possible each and every day. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley introduces a new theory on happiness: that happiness cannot exist while human minds are subjected to the truth. Similar to the phrase ignorance is bliss, the main theme throughout the novel is that happiness and truth cannot coexist properly in a society. While happiness is the ultimate goal of the utopian society depicted in Brave New World, it does not come without a price: denial of realities, and the freedom to make individual choices. However, most people living in the society have no choice whether they wish to be happy or not. The main theme throughout Brave New World …show more content…
Whether it is due to conditioning, or the firm belief that happiness can only be found by avoiding the truth, characters in the novel do everything they can to avoid despondent situations. For example, when Lenina and Bernard are visiting the reservation, and Lenina becomes frightened of the unfamiliar and seemingly barbarous sights and rituals in the village, “she felt in her pocket for her some-only to discover that, by some unprecedented oversight” she did not have the bottle and “was left to face the horrors of Malpais unaided” (Huxley 74). Soma is a drug used in the novel as a repercussion free way to escape reality, or deal with it easier. Soma is used to “calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering” (Huxley 162). Characters in the novel often take soma holidays where they are away from reality for multiple days at a time: “And if ever, by some unlucky chance anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts” (Huxley 162). Soma’s are used when denial of, or protection from, the truth by The Controllers is ineffective or
Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. In America, happiness has been engrained in our national consciousness since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Since then, Americans have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. The problem however, as Ray Bradbury demonstrates in his novel Fahrenheit 451, is that those things which make us happy initially may eventually lead to our downfall. By examining Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, and the world he lives in we can gain valuable insights to direct us in our own pursuit of happiness. From Montag and other characters we will learn how physical, emotional, and spiritual happiness can drastically affect our lives. We must ask ourselves what our lives, words, and actions are worth. We should hope that our words are not meaningless, “as wind in dried grass” (Eliot).
In many ways, today's society reflects the society Aldous Huxley wrote about in his novel Brave New World. Huxley predicted excessive drug usage to make the citizens happy, people deciding to buy new products instead of fixing old ones, sex not being treated as a sacred thing like it has been in the past, and many other very accurate predictions for our future. During the time that Huxley was writing this novel, the world was already starting to head in the direction that brought us here. This was a social commentary for his time and it’s still sadly relevant for our time now. We should have taken the warnings from the novel and changed paths before it was too late. Not that we are actually currently living in their society, but we are heading there. We can still avoid making this our reality.
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
In The Twilight Zone’s “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” and Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World” it is apparent that happiness comes from stability and the ability to get what one wants with little effort, however, the price for this happiness is a loss of individuality and strong emotions, making ignorance truly bliss.
There were quite a few changes made from Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World to turn it into a “made for TV” movie. The first major change most people noticed was Bernard Marx’s attitude. In the book he was very shy and timid toward the opposite sex, he was also very cynical about their utopian lifestyle. In the movie Bernard was a regular Casanova. He had no shyness towards anyone. A second major deviation the movie made form the book was when Bernard exposed the existing director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Bernard himself was moved up to this position. In the book the author doesn’t even mention who takes over the position. The biggest change between the two was Lenina, Bernard’s girlfriend becomes pregnant and has the baby. The screenwriters must have made this up because the author doesn’t even mention it. The differences between the book and the movie both helped it and hurt it.
In Huxley's Brave New World there are two forms of happiness: physical and actual. The fulfillment of physical happiness is the basis of the New World society. Residents never have to worry about food, shelter, job security, or sickness. One will never look fat, wrinkly or become weak with brittle bones and, thus, even the fear of growing old is taken away. Mustapha Mond, one of the world controllers in the novel, sums up physical happiness with the statement: ?The world is stable now?They?re well off; They?re safe; They are never ill; they?re not afraid of death; they?re blissfully ignorant of passion and old age??(Huxley 220). The characters, Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, and Helmholtz Watson are each looking for more than what is offered by physical happiness, they are looking for actual happiness. Actual happiness ?relates more to the mind and heart? (HH Dalai Lama 21). For example, Helmholtz has the desire to be creative and Lenina has the desire to love. Bernard Marx, knowing that he is different and considered inferior to other Alpha-plus males, has the desire to not only fit in, but to be respected by others. Other individuals in the Brave New World are content while these three characters are searching for something not given to them by the government, something beyond physical happiness. They are searching for actual happiness.
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley deftly creates a society that is indeed quite stable. Although they are being mentally manipulated, the members of this world are content with their lives, and the presence of serious conflict is minimal, if not nonexistent. For the most part, the members of this society have complete respect and trust in their superiors, and those who don’t are dealt with in a peaceful manner as to keep both society and the heretic happy. Maintained by cultural values, mental conditioning, and segregation, the idea of social stability as demonstrated in Brave New World is, in my opinion, both insightful and intriguing.
In the novel, the World State values happiness instead of truth. Soma blinds Brave New Worlders from seeing anything that is negative or distasteful. Drugs and alcohol help people escape reality and many people use because the truth is too painful for them to endure. Drugs transport people into a different world, their own world where they are on top because all of their problems have disappeared for the moment. But, without sorrow there is no real happiness. If someone is happy all the time, they wouldn’t even realize that they are experiencing joy, because that is all they are used to. They have never experienced any other type of emotion. Anger, fear and misery make people appreciate happiness because it is desired. In Brave New World, there is no such thing as desire as Mustapha Mond, the controller, explains, “People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can 't get...And if anything should go wrong, there 's soma” (Huxley 220). The government doesn’t understand that desire creates an appreciation for happiness, and when it is finally attained, it is a very strong emotion. When anything is handed to someone, as joy is in Brave New World, the value is drastically decreased. But, when there is anticipation or work is put in, the value will be justifiable. If Americans continue to rely on products for happiness, there will be no
The meaning of happiness is a vague concept. Mankind has always tried to achieve this state of well-being even though there isn’t a clear definition. Brave New World tells the story of a society where there is nothing but happiness, just like a utopia, but it is considered a dystopian setting by the modern society. In modern society, there is a simple road that most people follow to achieve happiness: earning enough money for education, getting a university degree, a prestigious and high-paying job, and a stable marriage. To some, the road is mostly about a circle of finding ways to earn and spend money. It seems like a bleak lifestyle when looked at from a different perspective. From a modern perspective the world of BNW is the dystopian one. To understand why BNW is considered dystopian and how different (or not) it is from the modern life; the methods of creating happiness in BNW and modern life should be analyzed, and the values of the modern society and the values of the society of BNW should be compared.
Romeo and Juliet is probably one of the most famous plays in history. It has been translated in almost every of the common languages in the world. Many people have analyzed this piece of art and concluded that one of the main themes is love. This story of forbidden love has been an example and a great influence for future literary works. There has been cases where people’s relationships connect to the lover’s tale. Huxley understands the influence created by these plays, and has reflected his feelings about Shakespearean love in his book Brave New World. He demonstrates in his book that no connection between individuals changes the way you think, yet when there is a feeling of passion your personality can also change.
Its aim is “universal happiness” because if people are happy there’s more likely to be social stability. People must be made to “like their unescapable social destiny”, as the novel insists. One modern-day politician is also pretty obsessed with boosting the masses’ happiness levels: David Cameron. He has pumped massive amounts of cash and staff into something called a “happiness agenda”, through which he hopes to create a “more content, happier society”. In Brave New World, it examples similarities “speeches about liberty, liberty to be inefficient and miserable. Freedom to be a round peg in a square hole.” Which translates to, people will be unhappy when free so control is
Emotional states like excitement are easily obtained with the perfect drug soma. In Brave New World, Linda uses soma to rid herself of the pain that comes from being different. Linda is ostracized from the rest of the village because she slept with multiple other men in the village. Nevertheless, Bernard and Lenina were able to introduce soma to Linda as a way to solve all her problems. “There’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering” (Huxley 228). But soma cannot take away the problems. After the soma wears off, the pain of the situation is still present. Soma is just another way to escape the truth of the situation.
There have been philosophers that have been philosophizing for thousands of years. Discovering new ideas and different ways to think about things. Thinking in new, creative ways is an inevitable future that humanity will face unless stagnancy in the development of technology and morality occurs. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World displays this possibility incredibly and makes stagnancy look unappealing. With stagnancy and lack of new and imaginative thoughts, however, complete happiness seems like a less menacing task than before. Nobody questions why certain luxuries are not available. The whole world can be content. Why would this not be favorable for humanity? Happiness is hindered greatly by the ability to think.
Would one rather have a life with no control over what happens; or would one want to have a life with some power, but a limited pursuit of happiness? The Government in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 let the citizens do whatever they want to do. The only exception is that they are not to be left alone to think about life and the enjoyments that are involved; they are supposed to live and forget. Illegal activities are considered normal in these novels. America’s society compared to these two Utopias is completely different. Things that make one happy might be illegal in America’s society, but are considered normal in the novels.
Literature is both shaped by our culture and shapes it. Because of this it is an effective representation of the culture of a time. One can tell how people were affected by the events of the times by how it comes through in their writing. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a prime example of this. The work was targeted at people in a post WWI world. This is a time between WWI and WWII where the world is still shocked by how rapidly the science of war had advanced. People also continue to be appalled with the mass death of a World War caused by such technology and therefore yearn for a more stable world. Because of this yearning, they attempt to create a more stable environment for themselves. Most people had lost faith in the institutions they came to know because those institutions caused the War. Therefore the League of Nations was founded in 1919 only 13 years before “Brave New World” was published in 1932.