Explore the ways in which Huxley explores the idea of escapism and pleasure. Support your answer with details from the novel.
In the "old world" people had to deal with melancholy and abuse, and pleasure was received in different ways than in that of the new world. Huxley depicts this in his novel, Brave New World by establishing the idea of escapism and pleasure. He portrays some people as wanting to decamp from reality and explains that people in this utopian society get their pleasure from doing the same sort of activities as one another, including visiting the feelies. Huxley depicts that some characters try to escape from reality by taking soma so they can forget about all their fears and problems. When Lenina and Bernard are at the savage reservation they witness the consternation of a boy, Palowhtiwa being sacrificed. Lenina becomes aghast after seeing all the blood, "Too awful! That blood!" She shuddered. "Oh, I wish I had my soma." This quote emphasizes the importance of soma in Lenina's life. Huxley proves that if people like Lenina are to ajourn from these horrors they need to take soma.
Hypnopaedic teaching has taught people to ingest soma when they are feeling dismal. This is proved when Lenina says, "a gramme is better than a damn". The rhymes from her hynopaedic teaching prove that people such as Lenina are like automatons or machines, which are forced to devour soma when they are feeling disconsolate. When Linda is in the hospital she chooses to live her life on a soma holiday because life becomes too much for her in the real world. Linda does this so she can escape from reality and so she can go into her own state of mind. This is proven evident when she is described as having a "...broken and discoloured smile of infantile contentment." She is related to a delighted child because she is getting so much pleasure from her "soma holiday". Huxley presents that people, such as Linda try to evade reality by taking soma.
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