How Far Is Too Far On Government And Giving People Happiness?

In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the government controls every aspect of citizens' lives, including their thoughts and actions, resulting in a society where individual thought is suppressed in favor of sameness and uniformity. Citizens lack free will as they are conditioned from birth to fit into their assigned social class and perform their predetermined roles. The government has created a perfect society based on stability and happiness, but it comes at the cost of individuality and creativity. Any deviation from the norm is met with punishment, and citizens are under constant surveillance. Death is eliminated through the use of a drug called Soma that induces pleasant hallucinations.

Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness. That's why I have to keep these books locked up in the safe. They're smut." -Mustapha Mond (234). Instead of relying on fear to control the people and letting them choose from their own perspective, the government controls them through happiness; a fake happiness which is put into their heads as they grow up. In the novel, according to the World State, happiness is combined with stability. The basic goal of the brave new world is, supreme: the "happiness" of all, even if the consequences lead to the loss of freedom and free will. We can see how important it is for the state to improve happiness upon the people when Mustapha Mond says: "The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there's soma." (220). The government's goal is to control people but it uses a very inhumane way. People aren't experiencing what life is really about because the state wants to keep people away form questioning. The essay Brave New World Society's Moral Decline found in www.123helpme.com, talks about Huxley's beliefs and predictions of the future when he was writing the novel. Some of these, he believed were

As analyzed by social critic Neil Postman, Huxley's vision of the future, portrayed in the novel Brave New World, holds far more relevance to present day society than that of Orwell's classic 1984.  Huxley's vision was simple:  it was a vision of a trivial society, drowned in a sea of pleasure and ignorant of knowledge and pain, slightly resembling the world of today.  In society today, knowledge is no longer appreciated as it has been in past cultures, in turn causing a deficiency in intelligence and will to learn.  Also, as envisioned by Huxley, mind altering substances are becoming of greater availability

One may think that the society in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a gross representation of the future, but perhaps our society isn’t that much different. In his foreword to the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned this statement when he wrote: "To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda...." Thus, through hypnopaedic teaching (brainwashing), mandatory attendance to community gatherings, and the use of drugs to control emotions, Huxley bitterly satirized the society in which we live.

Throughout the book, multiple characters indulge in soma, a drug that gives the user a pleasant sensation of relaxation, known as a "soma holiday". Soma holidays allow the user to escape the unpleasantness of reality. The consumption of soma is considered normal and a necessary part of daily life. Ironically, our society considers drug use to be both abnormal and immoral. Like promiscuity, soma usage is considered normal because it is regulated by the World Controllers. Soma’s properties turns into one of the World Controller’s most powerful means of management. After partaking in soma, the people no longer feel the need to ask questions or defy the structures of society. The soma rations are an insurance against any social unrest. It removes initiative and ultimately restricts

Brave New World, he creates a dystopian world that people are controlled in. Huxley used

Government: this word is used to define the system that maintains the state and her people. This system is run by officials who, hopefully, have the nation 's best interest at heart; but these best interests for a country often find themselves conflicting in their particular perspectives. In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the government has chosen to preserve the interest of state and this dystopia is the result of mankind choosing the wrong faction in the conflict of interest. To clarify, the principles, theories and arguments presented here in are democratic in orientation and not communistic, because the arguments aim toward freedom and rights. Those in control in Brave New World have misguided the nation’s populace into

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

In the book Brave New World, the government has complete control over the citizens. From conditioning to drugs, the government finds ways to use its power over the people. In many ways, this relates to our world and our government, and in this novel, Huxley warns us about letting the government take control over

Adolf Hitler once said, “The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time…until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” The motif of governmental control manipulates the individuals in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Society within Brave New World is conditioned to follow specific guidelines and to possess the same beliefs. The bureaucracy dominates the population of the New World socially, mentally, and physically. The motif of executive authority and domination assists in establishing characters, mood and atmosphere, and the additional theme of using technology to manipulate characters.

In light of current events, society is more concerned than ever about just how much power the government has over people. Individuals are concerned that those in charge might implement policies that could deteriorate certain groups’ quality of living. To some, this may be foolish, but as is shown in some novels, this could happen, and when it does, it is hard to combat. In both George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World authors depict societies under strict government control. These instances display to readers the issues that arise when governments lead through excessive limitation and by demanding conformity.

In Huxley’s well renowned novel, Brave New World, in an attempt to alter society, the government uses various techniques of psychological manipulation to control the way citizens think, behave, form their personalities, and live their lives. A huge theme in this novel is control and power. The leaders of the World State use various forms of manipulation to create an ideal utopia. Psychological manipulation is a type of social behavior that pursues to alter the actions of an individual through violent or devious undertakings. Manipulative behavior is not something that is easily identifiable because these individuals are usually good liars, are deviating, and only target vulnerable people. During every crisis such as World War I, the Great

Soma is the answer to all of life's problems and is invented in an attempt to distract society from worry, tension, and pain. The drug is rationed by the government and is normally consumed after a hard day's work. In this utopian society, people choose to "know no pain" (Clareson 238). Instead of suffering, people fill their days with the mindless acts they were predestined to perform. At the end of each day, everyone gathers in crowded distribution rooms and waits eagerly to receive the one thing that truly makes the day worthwhile, which is his or her ration of soma (Huxley 215). This valuable drug goes beyond the literal meaning in which it is being used and becomes the one thing that everyone really lives for. The idea in the novel is that pleasure is the most powerful motivator (Clareson 238). So by giving the masses pleasure, the directors keep the world running smoothly. The directors also eliminate the time between desire and fulfillment, so one cannot help but take the quick fix of soma rather than using logic to figure out his or her problems. It is the mass' motivator and problem solver, and brings the people all the great moods and feelings that they could possible ask for because of its hypnotic power to relax the mind (Meerloo 236). Unfortunately, when the futuristic people take this drug, they eventually

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World incorporates the political ploy of brainwashing and uses it to promote the common belief. While the term “brainwashing” was coined during the Cold War era, it still carries heavy implications and often suggests harsh techniques. Subsequently, brainwashing can be seen as ridding a person of their own ideology and replacing it with a more suitable collection of thoughts. Through techniques of mass education, thought control, and depravation of critical judgment, the World Controllers in the Brave New World are brainwashing their citizens and creating a perpetual state of dependency and confusion, serving as a warning for modern civilizations.

The effects of soma are very “drug-like”. Soma is often used by the government to control or condition the members of Brave New World.The use of soma or drugs in Brave New World is different than today and the past’s usage of drugs. During the 1930s, substance abuse and addiction began to rise. In World War II, amphetamines were widely distributed to soldiers to fight fatigue and improve their mood and endurance. Marijuana and a large wave of opiate addiction began to rise greatly. Today, marijuana is the most common illicit drug used.An estimated $193 billion are spent on illicit drugs today. Like today, people during the 1930s used these drugs as “feel good” drugs. Substance abuse and addiction is still a rising problem in today's