Happiness In Brave New World

In the Novel Brave New World, there are many different subject and themes that portray the plot. The subject and theme of the utopian story is based on several ideas, but one in particular is the pursuit of happiness carried to an extreme.

Jennifer Senior discusses her research concerning positive psychology and whether or not happiness is teachable and highlights some of the darker sides of happiness. To start the article, Senior reveals her score on her test from the Authentic Happiness Inventory. The test designed by Chris Peterson of the positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. This test is intended to numerically score ones level of happiness. In a scale of 1 to 5, Jennifer got a grade of 2.88. This indicated she was below average for most rankings such as “age, education level, gender and occupation” (422). Senior states she is at the 50 percent mark for her given zip code. She stated that liking her

happy life. The individuals in Huxley’s Brave New World are “conditioned” to do the same

Cursed to a life of isolation because of his appearance, values, and outrageous thoughts, John was alienated mentally, emotionally, and physically in both the Savage Culture and the World State Culture. Torn between keeping true to his virtues and conforming to society, the treatment of John highlights the values of both cultures in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

The true meaning of happiness is different for everyone. For most people, it is feeling satisfied with every aspect of their life. The society of Brave New World does not know the true meaning of happiness because they have never had any form of true conflict show up their lives. When trouble comes up in their life, they avoid fixing it by taking soma. By taking soma, they base their happiness off a fake reality, therefore, it creates no true relief. Not having any form of conflict in their life creates a problem within itself because then they never get to experience true joy.

Since the beginning of modern civilization, people have fantasized about a world without conflict, disease, aging, and violence. In Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, Brave New World, the protagonist John the Savage travels from the Savage Reservations to a completely new society in which people are being controlled by the government. Once there, he realizes that he cannot exist in this strange place because the people lack humanity and genuine happiness. In the novel, Huxley reveals that true happiness depends upon the ability to confront and experience a wide range of emotions, both adverse and favorable.

True happiness and artificial happiness are two similar, but very distinct emotions. The society in which one lives and the surroundings draw a fine line between the two. Happiness is pleasurable satisfaction which results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good, while artificial happiness can be defined as a state of happiness because it is the effect of relying on a substance to make one happy, therefore making it artificial since it does not come naturally. Happiness is not tangible, but can be achieved through many experiences. The famous American philosopher, Ronald Dworkin, criticizes meditation for artificial happiness in his book. A patient escapes her own consciousness through meditation and keeps her

In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, a new society is created to secure happiness for all the people living in it. By doing this, they sacrifice truth, choice, family, science, and art. The government provides them with everything they need to be happy in life because they agreed to give up complete control of their lives. If I were given the choice, I would live in the world we live in now rather than the Brave New World. Like John, a “Savage” born outside the world and then brought into it, I think, “Well, I’d rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you were having here” (Huxley 179). Even though there would be times when I am uncomfortable, unhappy, in pain, even though I would have to experience loss and disappointment, at least I would be living a full life full of emotion and some purpose.

There are five social classes, Alphas are ranked the highest then the Epsilons are ranked the lowest. The Alphas are certain to become the most successful and outstanding. They worked in the same place since birth, and wrote false advertising phrases. They enjoyed all their advantages in their pursuits of life. The Epsilons, were very unfortunate, and were used to feeling less important than everyone else. Their job field included the friendly workers; such as coal miners, elevator operators, and steel workers. Every person from each different working field appreciated the work and found themselves indeed happy with their daily tasks. The key for happiness of the people in Brave New World was to try "creating people like their unavoidable destiny" (Huxley 37). “By brainwashing the people they saw happiness in their own attempts” (Huxley 34). John, who was naturally born, was astonished when he arrived to their community. He couldn’t comprehend how people could live under total control and not be aware of the fact that they never knew true happiness. He questioned how those individuals were so content doing the most simplistic tasks. They worked the jobs that the community assigned them. No questions asked, being under control, therefore they couldn’t discover happiness in their society.

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 Happiness Hypothesis Jonathan Haidt talks about how our brains work and how best to find happiness with the different ways it works. Haidt describes the different ways a positive and negative person’s brain works and how each can find happiness through various and different methods. He also discusses different aspects of society that can affect our level of happiness. All of these things can be considered to find the best way to raise your level of happiness.

From the moment of birth, to the moment of death, humans are flooded with emotions both good and bad. Individuals are continuously seeking fulfillment, some failing to find it while others succeed. Many seek adoration; love, accomplishment and greatness. In literature, authors take the readers on journeys that allow imagination, granting the possibility for the reader to grasp inner desires and decide what is truly important in life. Literature allows readers to dive into a different world where happiness and fulfillment is plentiful and eternal, also described as a utopia, while other pieces of literature direct the reader into a world of dissatisfaction which is a dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is in 26th century England. With

The novel, Brave New World, open with a tour of the Hatchery, which shows how the babies are made and trained for their caste system. We meet a new character Bernard who works there and goes on a date with Lenina and have sex. Bernard and Lenina go to a reservation, where they meet John the savage. John really likes Lenina. Bernard and Lenina take John with them. When they arrived John loves their world and gets more attracted to Lenina. When John meets the director John calls him dad. John is the director son which is really bad because in their civilization they do not have parents anymore. John's mom dies for overdosing on soma and John does not understand why nobody is reacting and starts hating their society . John stays in a lighthouse

In the article In Pursuit of Unhappiness is declaring that you can have everything to be happy. My opinion on this is, I think that you don’t have to be happy to live a productive life. You can live a productive life and not be happy.

It was my last day at Earthquake Relief Camp, and I witnessed the same terror in all quarters. It was terrifying to see the despairing faces of masses of people. The recent Earthquake had taken away smiles from a lot of faces. But, as Albert Camus wrote, “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer,” there was an old man in my camp, who recited tales of Lord Buddha to children, seemed too busy to get worried. I spoke with him.