Soma In Brave New World

Soma is a drug used daily by the citizens of the World State, distributed by the government. The soma causes the taker to feel peaceful and carefree, rather than a negative emotion such as doubt or jealousy. The drug is used so often that everyone living in the World State has become reliant on it. Huxley agrees when he writes, “Deprivation of soma-- appaling thought!” (382). Huxley’s point is that it would be an extremely odd occurrence for someone to be deprived of soma. The citizens force themselves to take soma, even if it doesn’t seem to affect their thoughts or emotions. They tend to use soma as an escape from whatever troubles are affecting them. According to Mustapha Mond, Resident World Controller of Western Europe, “And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma” (Huxley 401). In other words, Mond believes that any problem or obstacle that arises in the World State can be resolved through soma.

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 the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley characters in the novel live in a world where everyone is always without a doubt happy.Mustapa Mond says to John while he’s trying to prove that civilation doesn’t need nobility and heroism because there’s no need for it and that divided allegiances don’t exist because “Now you swallow tow or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are.Anybody can be virtuous now.You can carry at least your morality about in a bottle”[237-238].Soma is a drug that helps you take a “holiday” from all your troubles and escape the real world

The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of

In Brave New World, soma is used to oppress the competence to be aware of one’s personal feelings and the ability to communicate their emotions. The people in Brave New World have been so conditioned to seek drugs to forget their human feelings, they have become incapable of self-expression. Soma is a powerful drug encouraged by the government to consume whenever one gets any emotional urges. It is distributed rationally throughout the population and acts as an anti-depressant. Soma is provided by the government to distract people from any cruel realities or any human emotion that may want to question or change the government in power. It numbs people of their feelings and abolishes any emotional responses while creating a sense of euphoria and well-being. With the backing of science, the state provides them with soma to dissuade their attention from the harsh truth, while keeping them in a happy bliss. Throughout the years, scientists and doctors have seen a growing trend in the integration of pharmaceutical drugs in our healthcare, rather than encouraging life style changes. For instance, pain-reliving drugs are the most commonly prescribed medication in America. Pain-reviving medication produces a false euphoric sense of well-being and pleasure.

Soma is a hallucinogen that whenever someone takes it, they instantly become happy and more carefree. The characters use this drug as an escape from the world. They don’t want to feel pain or sadness, they constantly want to feel the need of being joyful and happy. The government uses soma as a way to gain social stability. “‘Stability,’ said the Controller, ‘stability. No civilization without stability. No social stability without individual stability’” (Huxley, 42). Stability is a major role that is needed in this kind of society. Without stability, the society will be in shambles. However, so many people in the community loves soma, because many people constantly become distressed with topics they aren’t used to. For example, when two characters named Lenina and Bernard go to a Reservation, Lenina says, “‘But it’s terrible,’ Lenina whispered. ‘It’s awful. We ought not to have come here.’ She felt in her pocket for her soma--only to discover that, by some unprecedented oversight, she had left the bottle” (Huxley, 111). Soma has become addicted throughout the community, and people can’t go one moment out of their norm. Lenina goes on saying, “‘Oh, I wish I had my soma’” (Huxley, 116). Lenina is constantly wanted soma whenever she pinpoints something wrong than her norm. This is because she was conditioned to feel this way. “‘A gramme in time saves nine,’ said Lenina, producing a bright treasure of sleep-taught wisdom” (Huxley, 89). The term ‘sleep-taught wisdom’ is meaning that she remembers this from hypnopaedia, and with the use of ‘bright treasure’, she thinks that the government is always right. However, the government is controlling the community and Lenina portrays the perfect character who believes that the government is always

In the book Brave New World, soma is described as “Swallowing half an hour before closing time, that second dose of soma had raised a quite impenetrable wall between the real universe and their minds” (Huxley 77). Soma is used to escaping pain, sadness, or anger, in other words, it’s an antidepressant, but there is more to soma that meets the eye. Without the mentioning made by the book, soma clearly is being used to distract the society from recognizing that they are enslaved. It is obstructing out the society from cognition, and making them stay unidentified about the what the government is doing to them. Later, Huxley advances his theme of the danger of all-powerful government, by using the allusion of hypnopaedia. Hypnopaedia is an allusion to hypnopedia, which is education delivered while asleep through auditory. In the book Brave New World, hypnopaedia is to control the society, by brainwashing them, and making them accept values and creed. One of the forced values is happiness. In Brave New World, Huxley states “A gramme is better than a damn” (Huxley 54). This hypnosis is made, to make the guild take soma, which keeps them happy, but actually just keeps them insensible of their enslavement.

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.

In a perfect society, humans do not need to take drugs to keep society in balance. In Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World”, society is based on keeping everyone happy. If for some reason someone becomes unhappy then there is always soma, the “perfect” drug. Humans are conditioned from the very start to be happy while performing their specific tasks. While they are children, the adults bring them to the crematorium to show the kids burning lifeless bodies.

“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

As the text states, “that second dose of soma had raised a quite impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds.”(Huxley 77). Soma is taking the mind out of reality and placing it in a new world, one without worry or sadness. Soma is used to escape problems, and therefore exemplifies the theme that soma is symbolic for something to stop sadness. Having this substance that seemingly wipes away all problems blurs the line between truth and happiness, and which is better for society. In a society with soma, everyone is happy, but this happiness is counterfeit and is not accurate to one’s true emotions. In a society without soma, some people may be happy, and some people may not. Even though one’s emotions might not live up to ideal standards, addressing the sadness and finding a different way to solve problems will truly eliminate them, instead of shrouding problems in a layer of fake

However unlike soma, in the reservation (and in modern society), Linda used a different stimulant to make herself “happy.” She used mescal, “. . .but Linda said it ought to be called soma; only it made you feel ill afterwards” (125). This parallels to the modern stimulants of today: alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, they all are fine at the time to distract you but in some way they cause dangerous to the body that are not worth the holiday.

Imagine a drug where whenever you are feeling the slightest bit down you take the drug then you are elated again, Aldous Huxley did and named it soma. Soma causes no undesirable effects and is socially encouraged to be used and even abused in the society of “Brave New World” making everyone in the society blind to what is actually happening and making life meaningless. In the modern day the closest thing to soma would be Marijuana because of its ability to make its user feel happy. Many people believe that Marijuana comes with no health risks but “only 6% of studies on marijuana analyze its medicinal properties” (Welsh & Loria) and “paranoia and irritability are common” (Khamsi) short term symptoms. Right now there is little chance that Marijuana will cause everyone to get so distracted with life and let the government micromanage everything like in “Brave New World” with it causing too many health problems.

J.M. Reinoso once said “Happiness is distraction from the human tragedy”. In the novel Brave New World, soma acts as a distraction from the unpleasant life the characters are living. Mustapha Mond, world controller, describes soma as “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant” (Chapter 3). The characters in the novel use soma as a way to relax and distract themselves in tense situations, as well as make them oblivious to the enslaved conditions in which they are living.

Brave New World was a very enjoyable book that I read in the high school and its ending was also delightful. Soma in the book was defiantly an interesting drug, but if you had read the book you would see that it had side effects and it also made people sort of dull. If such a drug existed I would probably be interested in at least trying it out, however, in the book those who took soma sort of got hooked and addicted to the drug and I feel like that is something I may not be able to prevent so my final answer would probably no to taking soma. No one should be forced to do anything that they don’t consent too and so I don’t think that everyone should be forced to take it even if it was a safe drug mainly because people will begin to slowly lose