Significance Of Satire In Brave New World by Huxley

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A little while after reading the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut, two questions came to mind. What is the connection the author is trying to make to our world, and what is the author trying to change in the world? These are all either a comic satire, or tragic satire. However, they all use sharp wit in order to discredit some of the most vile vices in our world, or just social convention for that matter. This is seen in Brave New World, the dilemma of society’s stability at the cost of civilization’s humanity and moral. In this novel about a dystopian world, Huxley portrays todays world, except backwards. The fictional World State is above everyones need, while in favor for everyone as a whole, and individual freedom is neglected. Joseph Heller’s preeminent target is the absolute power of a bureaucratic system. By exposing the remoteness of the elites(how remote human beings are about something that doesn't affect them directly), lack of free-will, and the sterility of language, Heller exposes a lingering virus that threatens societies humanity. These concepts are complementary to those of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-5. In this novel about a dull-witted man, going to and fro in time, while doing nothing to change the world around him. This, in itself, is a statement about society, how dull-witted humanity is about war. In the end, Vonnegut’s makes an assertion about what one does after a massacre, or could only do. While many suggest that Vonnegut negate free will, others believe otherwise; after all, Slaughterhouse-5 is meant to belittle untimely death under horrific situations. Satire tends to leave readers with a serious after-taste, making them chuckle sligh...

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...a, being the opium in this book. Soma is a pill people in the World State pop in order to get rid of any undesirable feelings, without any side effects, in order to maintain stability.

Happiness is achieved in this manner, just as it is also achieved through biological science, psych conditioning (so that each individual may enjoy their jobs based on their conditioning) and through excess sex, and instagratification. The question arises through Bernard, Helmholtz, John, and even Mond himself! What is the price that has to paid for the satisfaction and stability of a whole group in comparison, and what is lost when receiving instant gratification? Well Bernard felt the fear of disconnecting himself from the system, he was programmed to feel the fear off self-sufficiency, but couldn't brace himself with soma in order to ignore the fear of what he was missing out on.

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