As man has progressed through the years, societies have tried to arrive at a utopian society, where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, or sadness’ are unheard of. Only happiness exists. But after reading Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, one comes to realize that this is not, in fact, what the human being really craves. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World out of fear of society’s apparent lack of morals and corrupt behavior during the early 1900’s. Huxley believed that the future was doomed to a non-individualistic, conformist society, a society void of the family unit, religion and human emotions. Throughout the book, Huxley predicts many events for the future, most of which concentrate on an immoral society. The most important of these predictions include greater sexual freedom, brain-washing/sleep-teaching, the use of artificially pleasing drugs. Huxley’s future is created largely by perverted sexual freedoms, which in turn cause corrupt individuals, entirely lacking ethics and morals. It is a common belief that each time medicine reduces the risk of unwanted diseases and pregnancies, society, on the whole, will increase its sexual activity.
Huxley’s prediction of promiscuity is based on a common theory of sexuality: As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends to increase. Aldous Huxley’s civilization is structured around the use of a pleasure-inducing drug called “soma”. Soma is a means of drowning one’s sorrows to make them feel better and to create a positive feeling towards those who supply such happiness. Such a drug, therefore, becomes the perfect tool of the dictator, as it creates a more submissive and conformist society, a society that is easier to control. Soma becomes the perfect escape from reality, because its use is public, thus, allowing for the happiness to be shared among friends for an all around greater high. Soma is used in Brave New World the way alcohol, smoking and drugs are used in today’s society. Soma also gives the people an artificial happiness. This must be done otherwise there would be no feelings. I believe that to experience true happiness one must experience sorrow. Sense the society is supposedly always happy they don’t really experience true joy and it must be given artificially. I think that the savage understood this when he was arguing with Mustapha Mond: “But I like the inconveniences.” “We don’t,” said the Controller. “We prefer to do things comfortably.”
The Essay on Brave New World Sexual Freedom Lenina
Sexual Behaviour as the Means Order Sexual behaviour has been changed and moulded into a revolution over the last 100 years. The changes in our societies have allowed the freedom of public displays of affection. Woman have also played a large part of the sexual revolution. They have gone from doing all that men want to asking men on dates. With this sexual freedom problems have arrived. Rape and ...
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin”. In fact,” said Mustapha Mond, “you’re claiming the right to be unhappy.” “All right then,” said the Savage defiantly, “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.” “Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by
unspeakable pains of every kind.” There was a long silence.” “I claim them all,” said the Savage at last. Mustapha Mond shrugged his shoulders. “You’re welcome,” he said (240).
The Essay on Individualism-Collectivism
Collectivism is the subjugation of the individual in favor of the group- whether such group pertains to a certain race, class or state. It subscribes to the idea that man is chained to collective action as well as collective thought for the sake of what is known as ‘the common good’ (Rand, 1988). A collectivist will always insist that the claims of groups, associations or the state must normally ...
I believe this is a big point Huxley makes here. In order to make everyone the same one must take away the other’s right to think and therefore their individualism. They can’t experience real emotions and act according to them. Individualism and thinking is what causes competition. The result from competition is new ideas and better things making life easier.
In conclusion the future evens of which Huxley predicted are becoming realities. The immorality has skyrocketed in today’s society. Habit forming artificial pleasers come in many forms. And although communism isn’t as big as a scare as in Huxley’s days, it is important to support individualism.
