Detriment In Brave New World

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Brave New World, written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley, is a novel about a deceptively peaceful society. Taking place in the distant future, Huxley imagines a dystopia that uses happiness to control its inhabitants; citizens are free, rather are encouraged, to take drugs and have sex as they please. Huxley argues via the novel that comfort is a detriment and suffering is the only way to grow and experience true fulfillment. Brave New World touches on many themes–happiness vs. suffering, technology vs. human emotion, and individuality vs. conformity. Huxley’s story has had a tremendous impact on pop culture for nearly 100 years, earning numerous adaptations and inspiring many of today’s beloved sci-fi tropes. More importantly, it has served as a …show more content…

Numerous technological advancements are being used in the Brave New World to maintain the mind-numbing bliss of its citizens. Among the most notable inventions is the fictional drug Soma. Soma is a government-issued, feel-good drug that citizens are encouraged to take after experiencing any degree of distress. For example, Lenina Crowne “swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and.embarked for lunar eternity” for 18 hours after the first day of her vacation with Bernard Marx, which had been particularly stressful for her given the intense culture shock of being on the Reservation. She is also shown to be emotionally dependent on soma, as the next day she remarks “‘Too awful! That blood!’ She shuddered. ‘Oh, I wish I had my soma.’” Recreational drugs like soma are commonplace, even actively endorsed by the government, in this new world. As a result, Lenina and millions of other citizens have formed an unhealthy dependence on soma to keep themselves happy; all negative emotions are immediately suppressed with a tablet of …show more content…

As a result, these children will grow up to prefer indoor, industrial spaces. The process primes them to thrive in factory environments so that they will want to work in factories, thus increasing production and benefiting the economy. Additionally, this mass conditioning ensures that all citizens have this value, rather than just a handful. In a similar fashion, social media and entertainment is a driving force today that pushes a shared set of values among its billions of users and viewers. More specifically, beauty standards reinforced by social media encourage users to appear in a certain way to be considered attractive. For example, in most Asian countries, the ideal is to have skin that is as pale and light as possible, stemming from classist prejudices that date back hundreds of years. Celebrities, models, and social media personalities in Asia most commonly have this coveted pale skin. However, these people alone do not accurately represent the populations of Asian nations–most people in Asian countries have tan skin due to genetics and the often hot, humid

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