Remnants of Hope in Zamyatin’s We and Huxley's Brave New World

Clareson says, "They have sacrificed the past and the future for the pleasure of the moment, shortening that time between desire and consummation to nothing, or escaping time and space with soma" (Clareson 238). They try to forget what has happened with their lives and go on a soma holiday. There is a character in the story name Lenina, who has a problem with soma. She is able to take soma like anybody else in the world. When she goes to the reservation she learns to live without soma. On the reservation she see something that she can’t unseen. She tries to find a way to get her mind off of it and all she is thinking about is the drug that can make the pain and suffering go away. When she is back from the reservation she takes too much soma and puts her into a coma. She is able to release all of the bad things that have happen flied away. According to Medication and Social Control, says, “In fact, soma was such a part of their culture that it was considered unnatural to not require its use to get through the day. For example, in describing Benito Hoover, a popular member of the World State, the narrator commented, “Benito was notoriously good natured. People said of him that he could have got through life without ever touching soma”( Medication and Social Control). There is another character in the story is named John. He tries to tell people to not take their daily ration of soma and instead live without soma which would give the people freedom over the drug (Huxley 219). Obviously, the people of a Brave New World are upset with what John says and they give him treats to his life. A fight breaks out and the police control the mob by soma gas. This scene in the story, makes the realization that soma is more than just a drug. The people of the Huxley Brave New World, find that when they live without the drug for too long, they start to crave it. They also go into a state of where they start

Both Lenina and Linda use soma to escape from the realities of the world. Soma is a symbol for instant pleasure, and to avoid unpleasant situations. Lenina’s use of soma suggests that she is trying to suppress feelings of embarrassment, depression, and later her infatuation with John. Resembling words that of a drug addict, Lenina says “I

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

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

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

Citizens of the World State rely on this drug to fix their problem as shown in the book; Lenina has problems such as confronting herself when she doesn’t take Soma. Could you imagine our world like that? I believe that our world is already partly like The World State and are heading towards a Brave New World in the future. The totalitarian Government of the World State supports the use of Soma as it ensures all citizens conform which in turn is the stability of their created world. As the Government wants the World State to be stable, they provide Soma for free to all

Several conflicting frames of mind have played defining roles in shaping humanity throughout the twentieth century. Philosophical optimism of a bright future held by humanity in general was taken advantage of by the promise of a better life through sacrifice of individuality to the state. In the books Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 clear opposition to these subtle entrapments was voiced in similarly convincing ways. They first all established, to varying degrees of balance, the atmosphere and seductiveness of the “utopia” and the fear of the consequences of acting in the non-prescribed way through character development. A single character is alienated because of their inability to conform – often in protest to the forced

(“One person’s utopia is another’s dystopia, but both perspectives have one thing in common—hope for humanity is taken away when all the

In this passage, Neil Postman compared the main visions in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984. Postman’s assertion was that Huxley’s view is more relevant to society today than Orwell’s.

The drug, soma, in particular is emblematic in its pervasive influence into the World State, of the power of

other experimental drugs to get high. Lenina starts taking Soma to get high and be “happy”, “As

In conclusion, it is safe to say that Huxley 's utopia went about achieving its status in the wrong way. Mankind has lost its free will to the controlling powers of a system. This system cannot be called government, as it is more akin in characteristics to slavery. Man no longer has freewill and order is kept not through respect and intellect, but via degeneration and conduct. The former sections of this essay present strategies and techniques used to maintain order in a society of individuals. Finally, it may be argued that the Brave New World protects society by locking them in a cage of ignorance; however, this is at the cost of freedom, and this is unacceptable. Mankind needs be free in order to progress as has been explained. Protection is all well and good but not at the cost of

This again shows Lenina's attempt to escape from the harsh reality of her brainwashed society. All the times that Lenina resorts to soma use, it is due to a recognition that her life and world are not perfect and in control, but rather full of people who have no grasp on real freedom and control. Though she does not directly fight the power that dominates society, her apperception of the problem exhibits a greater intelligence and understanding of the Brave New World.

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

The pre-modern world created a system of life while the new system creates a meaning of production and miserable emotions hidden behind the drug soma. The use of this technology is ironic because of the intention to take society away from misery but has only increased misery but enforced a drug to hide the effects.