Soma Brave New World Analysis

Control is what sucks people in and manipulates their behavior. It causes people to do certain things that they feel they must do. A center for control is the drug soma. In Brave New World, author Aldous Huxley introduces soma as a kind of drug that gives people the ideal pleasure that they want. It takes away the fear of having to be alone, or having to be have someone. It makes the feeling of sadness and regret vanish. It dismantles the frustration going through one’s mind. People in the World State practice it, worship it, and are dependant off of it. Religion can also be seen similarly to Soma; as people practice and worship it too. In the brave new world, there are many comparisons between religion and soma and how they both are vessels
Both represent an element of control, that keeps people in their place. When practicing a religion, certain rituals are expected of people such as going to church or sacrificing different things. Similarly, the World State also has people take part in their own routine and rituals; many of them oftentimes revolve around soma. The Orgy Porgy meeting that Bernard attends shows a ritual that is practiced to keep people fulfilled and content. “‘Alternate Thursdays were Bernard’s Solidarity Service Days,’ ‘And all at once a great synthetic bass boomed out the words which announced the approaching atonement and final consummation of solidarity, the incarnation of the Greater Being.”(Huxley, 78, 84). Mustapha Mond explains to John how soma is also used to keep people fulfilled, but he highlights the true reasoning behind soma- it makes people content without causing the sadness and guilt of Christianity. "Christianity without tears— that’s what soma is" (Huxley, 238). He believes that the use of soma is religion without all the hardships, but really all the other religion aspects are there. That is what makes soma and religion so closely tied together; the fact that besides enduring pain, they are all in the same. People in our world depend on a higher power to make their lives positive. They follow the bible’s rules and attend churches and rituals
They are there when the people wake up, and go to sleep. They are there as a shoulder to cry on, and as a partner to laugh and be happy with. No matter what situation is presented, the two are always evident. Religion is used as a release from all the negative in life, very much like Soma. One may come with hurt and pain, while the other does not; but the morals behind the two are similar. They are both utilised to make a person feel fulfilled and satisfied with their life. They also have an aspect of control which causes the people to continue using them. Religion and Soma are the greater power that society praises and is dependant off of. This is important to note because although one may claim to not be like the other, they actually are. It is the point of view and values that blurs the fine line between what one believes. “Christianity without tears” may define soma for Mustapha Mond, but for us it just highlights how soma is like religion in all the other