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How to define happiness
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Who do you think are the happiest: the citizens of Utopia, those of Bensalem, or those of Brave New World?
The book definition of happiness is a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. The true meaning of happiness varies from person to person. Everyone has a different definition of what happiness means to them and what can make one person happy, can make another person unhappy. For the citizens of Utopia, those of Bensalem, and those of Brave New World, they all claim to be very happy living in their own “utopias”. However, the real question is are they really happy with the way they are living or are they pretending to be happy because that is what they were taught to believe happiness really is. In this essay, I will be writing about the citizens of Utopia, Bensalem, and Brave New World and explaining which of these citizens I believe are the happiest and why.
In Utopia, Hythloday talks about living on the island of Utopia and how he was happy living there. He says he was happy living there because he liked the way the government was run there and how no one had to worry about money or private property. He believes in communal property because it reduces pride, greed, poverty, and the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy. Since Hythloday also believed that money was the root of all evil, that the unequal distribution of goods is unjust, and that money itself does not bring happiness, the island of Utopia was the perfect society for him. Besides the economic equality in Utopia, he also liked the learning, the studying time for the philosophic types (like himself), and the choice of what religion you wanted to be. Hythloday’s definition of happiness is the improvement of the mind.
As for the other citizens on the island of Utopia, I don’t think they were as happy as Hythloday was. They had to live on a set schedule that they had to follow every day. I would think it would get very boring after awhile doing the same thing day after day. Everything they did from the minute they woke up in the morning to the time they had to be sleeping at night was on a set schedule. They did have time set aside for free time, but even with that they didn’t have much of an option of what they could do.
In Utopia, hubris is believed to the root of everything wrong in the world. In both book 1 and 2, More tells how hubris ruins everything and causes people to become greedy and uncaring towards others. Hythloday believes that people in Utopia are happier because they do not worry about food and are concerned about the public. While people of other places are full of greed and are too prideful to help another person in need.
This passage means that everyone are created, trained the same and none of them have their own life or own thoughts or emotions which is unfortunates. The utopia is trying to unify everyone. They scold people that are unique individuals and when they come across a different individual, the individual is sent to a psychologist and is mentally fixed. Also, the State wants people to just have fun and play games with people rather than people being mothers and fathers of kids and feel the pain. Marriage is frowned upon while people are encouraged to have erotic fun. The controller of a perfect society wants people to intercourse for their happiness and not for them to build a family. They are satisfied with the happiness they get from the things they use. This could state that the citizens in Brave New World are genuinely happy, this is more a result of ignorance and blindness rather than a truly fulfilling sense of bliss. However, one person in Brave New World tried to consent his individuality in the society and he end up to be a dangerous citizen. The person that object his individuality was Bermard Marx who’s an Alpha plus and does not believe in the promiscuous nature of his society. He feels isolated from the rest of society because he attempts to do dissimilar things from
Many people value the tangible over the complex. However, viewing the world solely through this definite lens is an oversimplification. Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We explores this flaw in a society founded solely upon its government’s definition of the “ultimate happiness.” To reach utopia, it eliminates inefficiency, crime, and despondency, by promoting state-led happiness. Despite these admirable goals, the One State’s methods sacrifice freedom, individualism, and, ironically, happiness itself, ultimately failing its mission. Zamyatin explores the emotionless routine within the One State to assert that happiness cannot exist when controlled and rationalized.
Utopians work for the commonwealth and in result no one worries about hunger or payment, “products of each household are taken to designated houses there and each kind of goods is separately stored in a warehouse. From then each head of household goes to get whatever he and his household need” (More 1713). This system allows Utopians to prosper because if one household does not do well that year and another does well, this results in a balanced scale, this system is seen in America today also known as government assistance. Subjects on the other hand have to work and pay taxes to their ruler, this results in his prosperity and the different groups based on their income, “People, thus, cannot persist in a state of anarchy and without a ruler who keeps them apart” (Khaldun 1732). Utopians have multiple rulers who keep the peace and expect no pay while subjects have a single ruler who relies on his subjects to prosper.
The definition of a utopia is an imagined place or state in which everything is perfect. In book four of Gulliver’s travels Gulliver discovers a group of people called the Houyhnhnms and the group displays qualities of a possible utopia. The Houyhnhnms are very rational in their thinking, and try their best to stay away from entertainment and vanity. However the Houyhnhnms could not be considered creators of a utopia because they emphasized unrealistic rules and because of their treatment of the Yahoo people within their society. Instead it is the Lilliputians people who display the most signs of a potential utopia in Gulliver’s Travels.
When we look to define happiness, many different ideas come to mind. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary uses three definitions for happiness: good fortune, a state of well being and contentment, and a pleasurable satisfaction. In Brave New World, Aldus Huxley argues that a society can redefine happiness through the government’s manipulation of the environment and the human mind itself. The government accomplishes this by mind conditioning throughout the process of maturing, keeping a caste-based society, and obliterating problems. The government thus defines happiness as the absence of all conflict. This differs from happiness as the American society sees it: the ability to pursue and enjoy individual desires.
From the moment of birth, to the moment of death, humans are flooded with emotions both good and bad. Individuals are continuously seeking fulfillment, some failing to find it while others succeed. Many seek adoration; love, accomplishment and greatness. In literature, authors take the readers on journeys that allow imagination, granting the possibility for the reader to grasp inner desires and decide what is truly important in life. Literature allows readers to dive into a different world where happiness and fulfillment is plentiful and eternal, also described as a utopia, while other pieces of literature direct the reader into a world of dissatisfaction which is a dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is in 26th century England. With the help of advanced technology and drugs, happiness fills the lives of the people living at that time period. But, the people are missing out on one of the most important feelings of life. That is sorrow or unhappiness. The society in Brave New World is very different from modern-day society; many aspects of life are removed such as family, monogamy, and religion. The citizens of Brave New World live in false happiness with all the necessities of life provided for them but have the lack of an inferred deeper satisfaction. In Brave New World happiness is the lack of unhappiness because the inhabitants can never truly know what happiness is without experiencing true unhappiness. The lifestyle in Brave New World is built on the notion that happiness is the only thing necessary in one’s life. This novel suggest that the reader should seek things besides happiness because the citizens in the World State live bleak and monotonous lives which show the faults in this so-called ‘perfect’ society. In thi...
The Utopia Reader defines the word utopia as “a nonexistent society described in detail and normally located in time and space.” (p.1) I would best define utopia as a fictional dream- paradise land where everything is peaceful, perfect and all runs smoothly. There is no crime disease, or pain. People are happy, kind and fair and have each other’s best
To begin, an overview of utopian history is needed. The utopian lineage is as old as the Earth itself. Specifically, it started in the Garden of Eden, which is considered the ultimate utopia. After that, the next major utopia is described in Plato’s The Republic. According to Plato, as along as the major people classes live justly with one another, the overall society will be in harmony. Next published was Thomas More’s Utopia.
A utopia is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities. Utopia provides perfect life for its citizen. Best definition is perfect society. ("Utopia - Definition, Elements, Concepts, Societies, Communities," 2016, p. 1)
Most Humans believe that, however, Utopia is the perfect place to reside in. But if
When thinking of Utopia, most people picture a world with no evil or suffering, instead everyone would be happy and successful. Most people who describe this ideal world don’t understand what evil and happiness mean. They think happiness means feeling good rather that being fulfilled. The idea that it could be necessary or that we allow inhuman things to happy isn’t any easy pill to swallow.
The Utopians live a very simple lifestyle. They work, and in their spare time play games, read, and socialize. Other forms of entertainment, such as gambling and hunting are looked down upon. They only eat what is necessary, and their houses are built simply and furnished only with what is necessary. Thus, their consumption is very low. Utopians do not need material possessions for happiness. Happiness for them comes out of living an honest life and working hard to produce for themselves and for the entire nation.
James Hilton's “Lost Horizons” tells the story of a random group of characters who become stranded in a strange lamasery. Located among the Himalayan Mountains, this place called Shangri-la seems to have strange effects on anyone who resides within the valley (Zurich). These individuals, their reactions and this new utopia are the basis for a story that raises the question if given the chance, who would choose to live in a place like Shangri-la?
A perfect world we all would like to have one, but it’s hard to do. Society is never perfect, it will always have it’s problems. Problems separate society from society so everything is not the same, and you don’t get bored with it. Problems make the world interesting. Living with freedom, has it’s benefits. Imagine, feeling love, feeling pain, so you don’t mess up again, seeing the beauty of the world. It’s important to realise that in a Utopian society basically has emotions, colors, even the freedom to chose is taken from you. Living in a democratic society is the better option than everything being perfect in the world.