Society And Individuals In Brave New World By Aldous Huxley
Society and Individuals
For thousands of years, humanity has debated the ideal society, one that would work to fulfill the needs of the community and those rule it, and how to achieve it, but nobody can agree on one specific utopian concept. Human nature is at its best volatile, and society is the accumulation of this human nature applied to a large group of people. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley depicts a civilization where problems can be expunged from society if personal freedom is eliminated. With a homogenized religion dealing with drugs and sex forced upon the citizens, their human nature is simplified into a pure and stable being. It is clear that, even if there are some flaws in this world, it is a successful community. There are …show more content…
With religion is gone, in its place is left a mere facsimile rendition of what it used to be. A connection individuals have is to their God, which would imply there is more to humanity than knowing their place in life and contributing to society. It would be unfavorable for the citizens of the World State to have any sort of creative thoughts along this line of thinking. In place of God and devotion is sex and drugs. The very sin that which is claimed to cause corruption in a human being in traditional religions of the current world has been turned into the holy thing by which all citizens of the World State are encouraged to participate …show more content…
Soma has “all the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects” like no hangover or withdrawal symptoms (Huxley 54). It is even a common hypnopaedia used repeatedly by characters in Brave New World, that “a gramme is better than a damn” (Huxley 55). With soma taking away the unfavorable memories “anyone who is aware of no wrong in himself faces the future with confidence and optimism” because someone who is unhappy with their life is not someone who will follow the status quo of the world (Plato 7). This is another way Brave New World controls its citizens. Sex is encouraged from a very young age and can give a sense of fulfillment and stimulation to the mind that is easily accessible. In monogamous relationships, there is too much emotion pent up and restrictions to follow. Feeling strongly about something leads to “solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation” and that is not stable (Huxley
For thousands of years, humanity has debated the ideal society, one that would work to fulfill the needs of the community and those rule it, and how to achieve it, but nobody can agree on one specific utopian concept. Human nature is at its best volatile, and society is the accumulation of this human nature applied to a large group of people. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley depicts a civilization where problems can be expunged from society if personal freedom is eliminated. With a homogenized religion dealing with drugs and sex forced upon the citizens, their human nature is simplified into a pure and stable being. It is clear that, even if there are some flaws in this world, it is a successful community. There are …show more content…
With religion is gone, in its place is left a mere facsimile rendition of what it used to be. A connection individuals have is to their God, which would imply there is more to humanity than knowing their place in life and contributing to society. It would be unfavorable for the citizens of the World State to have any sort of creative thoughts along this line of thinking. In place of God and devotion is sex and drugs. The very sin that which is claimed to cause corruption in a human being in traditional religions of the current world has been turned into the holy thing by which all citizens of the World State are encouraged to participate …show more content…
Soma has “all the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects” like no hangover or withdrawal symptoms (Huxley 54). It is even a common hypnopaedia used repeatedly by characters in Brave New World, that “a gramme is better than a damn” (Huxley 55). With soma taking away the unfavorable memories “anyone who is aware of no wrong in himself faces the future with confidence and optimism” because someone who is unhappy with their life is not someone who will follow the status quo of the world (Plato 7). This is another way Brave New World controls its citizens. Sex is encouraged from a very young age and can give a sense of fulfillment and stimulation to the mind that is easily accessible. In monogamous relationships, there is too much emotion pent up and restrictions to follow. Feeling strongly about something leads to “solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation” and that is not stable (Huxley