Dystopian Society

On the surface, Brave New World may look like a simple book with insignificant meaning, but when readers dig deeper into the text, it holds dozens of lessons and morals for a “modern” society. The book addresses the problems of removing individuals’ identities and it also acknowledges how happiness often masks deeper problems. This novel discusses the dehumanization of humanity and the idea that technology can control society. Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, investigates the consequences of a society where the government grants free will but not freedom.

Government control is enforced through the use of soma, a hallucinogen that is known to sedate and distract individuals from realizing their enslavement, and this drug is exploited as a way to escape reality. However, this abuse ultimately leads to mental corruption. The majority of society consumes this substance to combat pain, worry, and tension. This narcotic is used in everyday life and “served with coffee” (Huxley 75) to help fill people’s days with mindless acts. Soma gives a feeling of euphoria, often times withdrawing the feelings of depression and illness. “Soma, the perfect pharmaceutical, soothes pain” (McQuail) leaving individuals in a state of pleasure and nirvana. Within the corrupt society, a few characters refuse consumption of the hallucinogen. These individuals are regarded as

In Brave New World Aldous Huxley, creates a dystopian society which is scientifically advance in order to make life orderly, easy, and free of trouble. This society is controlled by a World State who is not question. In this world life is manufactured and everyone is created with a purpose, never having the choice of free will. Huxley use of irony and tone bewilders readers by creating a world with puritanical social norms, which lacks love, privacy and were a false sense of happiness is instituted, making life meaningless and controlled.

From reproductive rights, morality, and drugs, Huxley develops a futuristic approach to mankind. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley serves as a cautionary tale about contemporary American culture by illustrating the technological and scientific advancements within a society to establish power and the affects it may have on mankind.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s most famous novel, and other similar pieces of literature, focus on a dystopian society where “progress” no longer benefits the the people. Instead, it oppresses them, they are subjugated to the will of the society for the benefit of those at the top of that social system. Those whose only goal is to perpetuate themselves. Individuals within that system whose actions and beliefs match the will of the society are know as being orthodox, while those who don’t fit into the rigid hierarchy established by the society are considered outsiders, who must be forced back into line. Huxley saw this occurring in his society and it has grown even more dramatic today. In order to illustrate his pessimistic thoughts on the trends of society, Huxley created a series of outsiders, primarily Bernard Marx, Mustafa Mond, Helmholtz Watson, John the Savage, and Linda, and uses them to demonstrate how the system uses various methods, chiefly, conditioning and the power of institutions to force the outsiders back into Orthodoxy even to the expense of their lives.

In the Sci-fi futuristic novel “Brave New World”, published in 1932, Aldous Huxley introduces the idea of the utopian society, achieved through technological advancement in biology and chemistry, such as cloning and the use of controlled substances. In his novel, the government succeeds in attaining stability using extreme forms of control, such as sleep teaching, known as conditioning, antidepressant drugs – soma and a strict social caste system. This paper will analyze the relevance of control of society versus individual freedom and happiness to our society through examining how Huxley uses character development and conflict. In the “Brave New World”, Control of society is used to enforce

The World State forbids the citizens from experiencing any negative emotion, for fear of losing control. Soma, Latin for sleep, renders its users to a coma-like blissful state, which Congdon describes, borrowing the statement from Huxley himself, that soma allows the citizens to,“periodically escape from the pressure of routine and worldly cares”(Congdon). Citizens are conditioned to use the drug at the slightest challenge to the cultural norms, preventing any thoughts of rebellion or contempt against the government.

Dystopian societies are themes often used in writing. A dystopian society is the imbalance of power between certain citizens and the government exerting total control over those people. One such example is Hitler and his Nazi regime. If one were to analyze the data, one could examine decisions Adolf Hitler made in creating the dystopian society of Nazi Germany, and the impact those decisions had on the citizens at the time; additionally, a review of how authors use dystopian-themed stories as a means to educate readers about dystopia will be addressed.

Appealing towards social familiarity can function as one’s anchor for their literary audience to hold on and connect with; however in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, his presentation of society in future serves to challenge our very expectations on the extent of depths of immorality mankind can subject itself to. The horrific justifications of manipulative practices such as infant conditioning and sleep-learning indicates both Huxley’s skepticism towards motives behind radical social experiments and the underlying danger of his audience being indifferent towards the weaponization of such experiments. (AUDIENCE) Furthermore, Huxley’s development of the World State caste system and its effects of alienation towards characters such as Helmholtz and Bernard in BNW act as indirect criticism towards the recent emergence of superpowers with social frameworks determined to undermine human individualism.(CONTEXT) Both motifs also contribute to a sense of all-around absurdity in BNW’s society and its focus around the complete rejection of past conservatism, allowing Huxley’s to express his personal opposition towards the anti-traditionalist movements dominating contemporary thought at the time. (AUTHOR) The manifestation of these

It is important to note that the citizens in Huxley’s novel are always happy. While happiness in its purest form is greatly treasured in our modern society, happiness in World Society existed in the form of a drug by the name of ‘Soma.’ In their society, the commonly used, “euphoric narcotic pleasantly hallucinant” drug symbolizes a state of happiness that is rarely attainable in the contemporary era” (37). However, it is significant because it symbolizes the powerful impact that science and technology have on society. In situations of unease and apprehension, and also in individuals are not only encouraged to, but conditioned to take doses of Soma, which brings them back into a state of high which ensures absolutely little to no acts of rebellion. Furthermore, Soma is commonplace that it is “served with the coffee” (50). This come to illustrate the immense amount of influence that scientific innovation and government regulations have on individuals to the point where it becomes integrated into their everyday lives. While the usage of drugs is greatly ridiculed in the modern world, it is encouraged in World Society, and this comes to demonstrate how great emphasis on scientific innovations can be destructive, stripping away natural human

Huxley’s imaginative examples of how we prioritize superficial desires illustrate to the audience that our society needs to care more about our lives and the lives of those around us, instead of looks and drugs. For years we have used our technological and scientific improvements for our shallow desires, not for the health of our society. The parallels between Huxley’s society and ours exist because his brave new world represents an exaggerated version of our world, he meant his novel to display the faults of sophisticated

“Whenever anyone felt depressed or below par, he would swallow a tablet or two of a chemical compound called soma.” Through Chapters Revisited, it is understood that in Brave New World, society is put under the theme of the controller by enabling him to hold the key to their happiness and comfort ability through soma. The people of this society became so accustomed to this routine that they became reliant on soma, leaving them exposed to manipulation. “…Why don’t you take soma when you have those dreadful ideas of yours? You’d forget all about them (92).” Huxley uses satire of soma to show how society is inclining closer and closer to the reality of soma because of how easily prescription drugs are given out as well as consumed for any minor issue. Douglas Van Praet writes an article concerning how marketers manipulate you without your knowing. “The only way to overcome these unconscious influences is to better understand the process of decision making by becoming aware of the environmental cues that can trigger these learned behaviors.” By reviewing the satires Huxley has portrayed, it leaves readers with a new understanding of the need to be aware of the influences put on society in everyday life. Brave New World pitches the idea of what conveniences are worth the price of printing society in a place

Every single member of the brave new world is addicted to a drug called soma. The world controllers use it to prevent aging and unorthodox behaviors such as being disappointed or experiencing strong emotions. On Bernard and Lenina’s date, he refuses to fall to taking soma and would rather be himself, but eventually the conditioning forces him into swallowing four tablets in order to forget the awkward encounter in the helicopter. Lenina is appalled by the sight of the ocean and the thought of not wanting to be a part of the social body. The soma restricts people from being able to appreciate real happiness, because in order to do that one must experience the opposite. Bernard is able to discover this and, as expected, is ridiculed for his views. The fact that nearly every civilized person is addicted to soma makes one question whether it truly is making them happy or just turning them into mindless followers of the rhetoric instilled in them from birth. Depending on the soma once again, Linda returns to society for a brief stint before being put into a permanent holiday. The doctor thanks Bernard for giving him the “opportunity to see an example of senility in a human being” (Huxley 155). Because of their views on aging and ugliness they consider her a nuisance and a threat to the conditioning of people who may interact with her. When anything has a chance to de-civilize high caste workers, the world controllers make it a point to put an end to whatever is

Dystopian novels have become more common over the last century; each ranging from one extreme society to the next. A dystopia, “A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control,”[1] through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, criticizes about current trends, societal norms, or political systems. The society in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is divided in a caste system, in which humans are not individuals, do not have the opportunity to be individuals, and never experience true happiness. These characteristics of the reading point towards a well-structured

To write an effective dystopian novel an author must create a plausible future world tormented by an abusive governing body. The country of Oceania in George Orwell’s 1984, whose people suffer torture and oppression at the hand of what is know as The Party is a prime example of one of these societies. This is also true for The World State in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where mass production and mental conditioning are applied to humankind. While these two novels both feature a post-war dystopia, they contradict each other on the fundamental level of how the society is controlled. Huxley believed that a society independent of desires such as love and true happiness would function with greater success than one where they were merely forbidden.