A Brave New World?
In the novel, Brave New World, by Adolous Huxley we are introduced to a world where an all-powerful government dictates the occupation, intelligence, morals, and values of an individual. The government known as the World State controls the entire process of a human, from life to death. The society is based almost solely on an consumer foundation, where making money is the sole goal of the government.
New?
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World illustrates a colorful, fantastic universe of sex and emotion, programming and fascism that has a powerful draw in a happy handicap. This reality pause button is called “Soma”. “Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or a mythology.” ( Huxley 54 ).
...ferent from their peers has isolated Bernard, Helmholtz, and John, it has also deepened their individuality. This scenario, at a lesser level, often plays out in modern day. People possess a natural desire to fit in and often are willing to forego individuality in order to do so. Though one may gain a facade of happiness as a result of fitting in, being truthful to oneself and expressing one’s free will allows for honest expression of individuality, a concept much greater than such a facade. A society without unique individuals is a society without humanity, and, as demonstrated through these characters’ experience, does not function. Ultimately, people must realize that individuality, knowledge, and raw emotion is more important to society than superficial happiness.
Throughout the novel Brave New World the author Aldous Huxley shows the readers a dystopian society where Ford is worshiped as a God, people only live sixty years, where there is a drug exists without the unwanted side effects, and movies where you can feel what is happening. This is what the author thinks the future of the world would be. However, despite the author's attempt to predict the future the novel and the real world contrast because the concepts in the novel like love and marriage and life and death drastically contrast with how they are dealt with today.
Their way of chemical persuasion was used through the use of “the original soma. . . . an unknown plant” ( Huxley “Chemical” 296). “The intoxicating juice expressed from the stems of this plant” was enough to bring pure happiness and lure the people into their unethical society (Huxley, “Chemical” 296). This stimulant drug made the citizens believe that “the drinkers of the soma were blessed in many ways. Their bodies were strengthened, their hearts filled with courage, joy and enthusiasm, their minds were enlightened and in immediate experience of eternal life. They received the assurance of their immortality” (Huxley, “Chemical” 296). To the people this drug was a prize; not realizing how this prize, given by the Controllers, is actually affecting them. The leaders, however, are fully aware that the “sacred juice had its drawbacks. Soma was a dangerous drug-so dangerous that . . . ordinary mortals might even die of an overdose” and they still encouraged the doses of Soma to be heavily relied on (Huxley, “Chemical” 296). Citizens who often took too much could temporarily go into a soma holiday, in which they are technically in a sleeping coma. This coma was repeated weakly; overdosing on a drug for relief was permitted. However, one can control the amount; “in small doses it brought a sense of bliss, in larger doses it made you see visions” (Huxley, “Chemical” 296). Regardless, it did not matter to the citizens what happened because “the experience was so transcendently blissful and enlightening that soma drinking was regarded as a high privilege. For this privilege no price was too great” (Huxley, “Chemical” 296). To the citizens of the new world, soma was not just a treat; “it was a political institution, it was the very essence of the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness guaranteed by the Bill of
Our world is extremely close to the book, if we don’t clean our things up, we can quickly go downhill and lose all of our freedoms. The novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley shows many ways in which our world is similar to the book’s “Brave New World”. The technology that the world state created has gained the strength to control everyone in the world state.
What if there was a place where you did not have to, or rather, you could not think for yourself? A place where one's happiness was controlled and rationed? How would you adapt with no freedom of thought, speech, or happiness in general? In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, there are many different attitudes portrayed with the purpose to make the reader think of the possible changes in our society and how they could affect its people.
Huxley's work, Brave New World is a book about a society that is in the future. This book contains many strange things that are generally unheard of today. Yet we see that some of the ideas that are presented in this book actually planted seeds already in the 20th century. The idea of having one superior race of people can easily be seen as something that Hitler was trying to accomplish during the Holocaust. Huxley also presents the society in his book as being a greater civilization. A totalitarian type of leadership is also something that Huxley presents in his book. According to him, this would be the best and most effective type of government. Hitler also thought that a totalitarian government was best. We see many similarities between Hitler's Germany and Huxley's society. Although there are some instances where we can see that the seeds of the society conceived by Huxley were sown in the 20th century, a society like this would never be possible. The civilization that is presented is one that is completely controlled by science and man. Ultimately, everything is controlled by God and man will never be able to completely have control over anything.
Throughout history there have been strict guidelines placed on women. Women are supposed to remain in their domestic sphere, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their children.
Who knew that in 1932 Huxley would be able to predict our world today basically for what it is but in a less realistic manner? When writing Brave New World 80 some years ago he predicted the increase in drug addictions, the more advanced way of life, as well as the lack of emotions the world would have after all those years. He knew that not only the world would grow cold but kids and adults would’ve unattached from one another like we have. While reading “Brave New World” you wouldn’t think it sounds much like our society today, but when looking at the basic outline of how things are in the book and how they are becoming now you see that there are more similarities than you would think based off a prediction a little under a hundred years ago.