Drugs In Brave New World Persuasive Essay

The use of drugs is often correlated to happiness but can one truly achieve true happiness through them. The book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley is about a “utopian” future where their society is conditioned and genetically modified. They are taught they all belong to each other. In this society one must take soma to feel no emotion because it helps stabilize their world. Also it is used to keep them happy. Many people in today's world also use drugs to keep them happy and as an escape. While many rely on drugs to maintain a happy life one will never be able to find true happiness.

One may not find true happiness from drugs because they give temporary happiness to escape reality.  In the book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley those living

in that world take soma to not face their emotions or reality and maintain a happy life. While talking to Bernard Lenina said “why don’t you take soma when you have these dreadful ideas if yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable you’d be jolly. So jolly” (Huxley 92). In their society one must take soma  in order to keep them from facing all emotions and reality because they are considered bad. The drug keeps them happy all the time and make sure they are not stressed and feel relieved. It gets rids of any negativity they have or doubts so their world stays stable. When they don’t take any soma they come to a low and need more. Although in the book it state that drugs make you happy in reality it only gives a temporary high before bringing you into a low. In real life the happiness one feels with drugs is a high that will not last forever. In the article “Drugs and Depression” it talks about how people use it as an escape but in reality it is only increasing the dopamine one has to make them seem happier before leading them to an all time low (Drugs and Depression). People use drugs for multiple purposes whether it is from escaping reality fow a while to avoiding responsibility. Those who use drugs most times have issues whether they are family related or work related or any personal issue. While on the drug your brain releases a more dopamine a chemical that makes one happy but once it starts to go down they come back to reality. That happiness one felt goes away and brings them into this low because they are back to reality and realize it did not last. Therefor you’re not truly happy because it is a temporary feeling. Also using drugs for a long period of time can also lead to addiction.
    Relying on drugs to keep you happy can become an addiction and make you miserable instead of happy.

The controller was talking to a group of students about their society and how it works. During his talk he states “there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a week and two grams for a trip to the gorgeous east three for a dark eternity on the moon” (Huxley 55-56). The people in “Brave New World” rely on soma to say joyful. They use different amounts depending on how long they want it to last. When they are off it they are miserable and don’t know what to think. Since they are not used to being off soma they start to feel all these emotion and makes them feel worse and want more soma. They rely on it so much they become dependent on it and causes an addiction. In their society it’s normal to take multiple amounts of soma. In reality it’s an addiction they have. Drugs can be very addictive and addiction can bring you to a downfall. In the article “Drugs and Happiness” it talks about how if you are addicted to drugs stopping become hard and you can get down on yourself. Also since the effects drugs offer is not long lasting relying on them will always lead you to unhappiness (Drugs and Happiness). The high one receives is temporary and once it starts to wear off you have to deal with what comes after. Withdrawal from drugs is a very hard experience.You feel weak and start realizing what actually is going on, that nothing has changed and you are back to facing reality. You let it get to you and put yourself down. Drugs not only becomes an addiction but it also has a harmful effects to not only the consumer of the drugs but also those around

them.
Those who rely on drugs for happiness later on have problems and they affect those around them. In the book John suffered the consequences for having those around him taking soma. His mom started taking soma and soon she forgot about him and didn’t feel anything towards him. When his was mother dying she didn’t know John this hurt and angered him. Eventually of the use of soma lead him to suicide (Huxley 241-259). In the end of the book John kills himself because not only was he looked down upon but also because he hurt and did not like how the society was. While everyone was happy John was feeling all these emotions and carried the weight of others who were on soma. He was always told to take soma but he refused. When his mom did not recognize him it took an effect on him and he had to suffer the consequences. He felt mad but also upset. Drugs are not always good and can lead to harmful effects on themselves and those around them. Reality is being on drugs affects not only the one taking them but also those around them. From personal experience when someone who was close to me used alcohol as their drug it hurt not only him but also his family. He relies on it so much without he did not know how to act. He would come home drunk and his daughter would worry about him and soon got scared of him. His wife also had enough and threatened to leave him if he didn’t stop. When someone you care about is on drugs they are not aware of what they are saying or doing. It can put this feeling of fear and worry in those close to them. Also it can ruin the relationship they had with their friends family or kids. Especially once they come off the drug after relying on it too much they can become depressed and one may not know how they will act. Not only are they hurting but also those around them and no one is truly happy.
True happiness comes from the experience one goes through not from a high. In the book John refuses to take soma and finds joy in what others find wrong or bad. He feels all these emotions that everyone else does not feel. He enjoys reading and learning about the past, it made him happy. He also used poems he read as a way to express himself. (Huxley 184, 195-196). Since in their society it was not acceptable to read or show emotion he was always looked down upon by doing so. In the book it is not normal for someone not to take soma. While everyone felt relieve and happiness from sleeping with each other and taking soma John experience true happiness by reading. His love for reading lead others to look at him differently. He experienced true happiness from reading. He also used what he read as a way to express himself. He expressed what he felt toward Lenina by reciting poems he knew. True happiness comes from something you enjoy not something you take. In today's world we achieve happiness through our experiences. Also in the article “ The Difference of being happy and being high” it talks about how meaningfulness plays an important role in our well-being and a life well lived. Later on in the article it mentions that those who suffer more and experience more but also help others are more happier than others. Lastly they say that meaningfulness and genuine accomplishments are the most important parts of finding true happiness (The Difference of being happy and being High). True happiness comes from experience. Although things are hard you will find happiness at the end because you made it through. True happiness can be doing something one loves to just helping someone out and that feeling you have after is what matters the most. The feeling of accomplishments joy and self worth. When one feels those emotions it is not comparable to anything. That feeling you get you won’t find with drugs.
When will never achieve true happiness through drugs. They only give happiness that temporary and keep you from facing reality as well as they become an addiction. Also the use of drugs for happiness have bad consequences. Most important true happiness comes from experience this one goes through not drugs. While many people in today's society use drugs just like in the book to find happiness it will never lead to anything good. Don’t rely on drugs to give you true happiness. Go out into the world and experience new things to achieve true happiness