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Aspects of false happiness within fahrenheit 451
Aspects of false happiness within fahrenheit 451
Aspects of false happiness within fahrenheit 451
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Throughout literature, happiness has been perceived in many different forms and is many times not a primary necessity for all characters. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, suggests that humans should seek something else besides happiness because the masses of humans who are “happy” are forcing that emotion upon themselves when it isn't warranted. Forced happiness is a huge idea that Huxley displays throughout the novel in the citizens of the world state, especially in Lenina, Henry, and Bernard. Lenina is a huge into the brainwashed society of the world state and constantly craves an “absolute holiday” from soma to escape reality (Huxley149). The people of the world state are given false happiness in taking soma provided by the government. …show more content…
They are able to get away from the daily hell that surrounded them and create a dreamlike wonderland for their imagination to fill. Bernard states that he feels like “everyone is happy nowadays” in their caste no matter what level (Huxley101). The people of the world state are filled with the concept that they are happy and serve a purpose in their lifetime. This leads them not to find their real passions and wants and allows them to just give their sexuality to anyone around them. The caste system allows the government to condition people to be “no less thankful that [they] weren't a beta or an alpha” and keep them ok with living below others (Huxley85). The system promotes only the idea of happiness but undermines real emotion and individuality. The citizens are fed with ideas and names but do not understand what the true freedom of choices actually brings. In totality, huxley is able to use the world state as a platform to show how humans force happiness and how it should not be used to control one's life in general. The concept of real happiness and passion is brought out in the novel in many different characters in their rebellion against the world state.
Helmholtz begins his rebellion in the idea that “ [he’s] got something important to say” to the world. (Huxley80). He is infatuated with the want to put his individualistic mind down on paper. The concept of self-expression is shunned in the commutative nature of the world state culture leaving no chance for one person to put themselves out there for the world to see. John the Savage is able to share with a world state member his sense of entitlement to “freedom.. goodness… and sin” because he feels as though that is what makes him human (Huxley242). He is able to be passionate in his endeavors because of freedom and good to others because of the morals he was raised with. He wants to ability to think for himself even if he isn't happy in his own thoughts and actions. Bernard finally believes that he wants to be “more on [his] own, not so completely apart of something else” and have the ability to find his passions (Huxley100). He begins to learn about the manipulative nature of the world state and how they force the idea of happiness. Many characters begin to develop their own ideas on happiness and have their opinions about what happiness really means. Therefore, many characters are able to believe that happiness is not the only thing that matters in
life. Huxley is able to suggest that happiness is not the only thing that is important and that people should fight to find out what their passions are. Huxley instigates the idea of passionate thought in his description and actions of John the Savage. John fights for the idea of individuality and believes in love, passion, and reading. He is able to choose unhappiness willingly because he knows that his freedom is worth more than being part of a community. Huxley points out that people should find true freedom in their ideas and actions through the Savage Reservation. He points out the flaws of their reservation however they have the ability to face reality and accept the choice to manifest their destiny. He also suggests that in human nature, happiness will be created in seeking something more pure, such as individuality. Individuals who know what they love in life and can express themselves freely are able to enjoy the benefits of their success. Others who force happiness are often jaded in their descriptions of actual life and feel they must escape reality. Overall, Huxley expresses his wishes for people to find real happiness through other faculties of life. Model citizens often cannot find themselves in a state of true happiness and elect to follow the rules of an unjust society. Man has lived for centuries with the burden of happiness, one who expresses themselves through hard work and passion will find that that man is truly blessed and happy.
In the essay Why Happiness, Why Now? Sara Ahmed talks about how one’s goal in life is to find happiness. Ahmed begins her essay with skepticism and her disbeliefs in happiness. She shows her interest in how happiness is linked to a person’s life choices. Ahmed also tries to dig deeper, and instead of asking an unanswerable question, “what is Happiness?” she asks questions about the role of happiness in one’s life.
People push being happy on society as a total must in life; sadness is not an option. However, the research that has conducted to the study of happiness speaks otherwise. In this essay Sharon Begley's article "Happiness: Enough Already" critiques and analyzes societies need to be happy and the motivational affects it has on life. Begley believes that individuals do not always have to be happy, and being sad is okay and even good for us. She brings in the research of other professionals to build her claim that extreme constant happiness is not good for people. I strongly agree that we need to experience sadness to build motivation in life and character all around.
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
As Walt Disney once said, “Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.” Walt Disney is one of the best known founders for a motion - picture production company. This infamous and plausible man is among the many who support the claim that happiness can be achieved in an assortment of ways by contenting both adults and children. Maanvi Singh’s , “You Can Buy Happiness, If It’s An Experience,” Caitlin Kenney’s “Study: ‘High Incomes Don’t Bring You Happiness’” and ABC News’ “Can We Cultivate Our Own Happiness?” assert how one can achieve happiness. Genuine happiness can only be attained if one truly accepts what their lives present them with. Even though several beliefs claim that money is the key to stimulating
How does one achieve happiness? Money? Love? Being oneself? Brave New World consists of only 3 different ways to achieve happiness. Each character of the brave new world will have his or her different opinion of the right way to achieve happiness. In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley explains many people achieve happiness through the World State’s motto – “community, identity, stability”, soma, and conditioning.
In The Twilight Zone’s “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” and Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World” it is apparent that happiness comes from stability and the ability to get what one wants with little effort, however, the price for this happiness is a loss of individuality and strong emotions, making ignorance truly bliss.
Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. In America, happiness has been engrained in our national consciousness since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Since then, Americans have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. The problem however, as Ray Bradbury demonstrates in his novel Fahrenheit 451, is that those things which make us happy initially may eventually lead to our downfall. By examining Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, and the world he lives in we can gain valuable insights to direct us in our own pursuit of happiness. From Montag and other characters we will learn how physical, emotional, and spiritual happiness can drastically affect our lives. We must ask ourselves what our lives, words, and actions are worth. We should hope that our words are not meaningless, “as wind in dried grass” (Eliot).
"Are you happy?" "What is true happiness to you?" Bet you didn't know how to answer these questions. That being that these are questions not many of us actually put thought into. While reading the book "Fahrenheit 451," your mind will ponder the thought of happiness. The author Ray Bradbury really focuses the book on this idea of happiness he's created. The societies happiness is portrayed in an idea of living with a sitcom family, and dreams of adding on various walls sized televisions. People in this society do not have their own thoughts or do not express emotion. True happiness comes from acceptance of the situation and living life so you matter, make a difference and change the world somehow.
There have been philosophers that have been philosophizing for thousands of years. Discovering new ideas and different ways to think about things. Thinking in new, creative ways is an inevitable future that humanity will face unless stagnancy in the development of technology and morality occurs. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World displays this possibility incredibly and makes stagnancy look unappealing. With stagnancy and lack of new and imaginative thoughts, however, complete happiness seems like a less menacing task than before. Nobody questions why certain luxuries are not available. The whole world can be content. Why would this not be favorable for humanity? Happiness is hindered greatly by the ability to think.
The world changes so rapidly, so how could anyone predict the future? People have different beliefs of how the world will be in the next few generations, but a main concern is whether the society will improve or downgrade. Huxley is a renowned author, but after Brave New World, he can be perceived as a theorist. Aldous Huxley suggests that happiness is slowly becoming an emotion that relies on superficial experiences as it is in Brave New World.
The meaning of happiness is a vague concept. Mankind has always tried to achieve this state of well-being, even though there isn’t a clear definition. Brave New World tells the story of a society where there is nothing but happiness, just like a utopia, but it is considered a dystopian setting by the modern society. In modern society, there is a simple road that most people follow to achieve happiness: earning enough money for education, getting a university degree, a prestigious and high-paying job, and a stable marriage. To some, the road is mostly about finding ways to earn and spend money.
Many individuals wonder about whether using artificial pathways to happiness, through drugs, yields more positive or negative results for society. People enjoy the fact that they can easily escape from their stress by using these drugs. However, these drugs also can lead to terrible consequences, such as becoming more oblivious to reality or overdosing. In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Huxley criticizes society’s reliance on drugs to provide citizens with artificial happiness. By writing about soma, a made-up drug that the government distributes in order to ensure that their citizens remain happy, Huxley implies that the allowance of similar drugs can lead individuals to become dependent on them and fine with their lack of freedom,
Happiness: an idea so abstract and intangible that it requires one usually a lifetime to discover. Many quantify happiness to their monetary wealth, their materialistic empire, or time spent in relationships. However, others qualify happiness as a humble campaign to escape the squalor and dilapidation of oppressive societies, to educate oneself on the anatomy of the human soul, and to locate oneself in a world where being happy dissolves from a number to spiritual existence. Correspondingly, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Krakauer’s Into the Wild illuminate the struggles of contentment through protagonists which venture against norms in their dystopian or dissatisfying societies to find the virtuous refuge of happiness. Manifestly, societal
However, to Lenina and the World State, theses beliefs promote happiness with repercussions- essentially, they strived for eternal happiness, without ever having to experience any negative emotion. The ending of the novel may have been Huxley’s commentary on this belief; one cannot escape reality, and for the Lenina and the World State, reality would be the emotions that they are trying to avoid (such as sadness, anxiety, anger, etc.). Lenina has never had to experience any negative emotions; she has always avoided them, through sex, drugs, and so on. However, reality caught up to her when she went to visit John; she was brutally beaten, and whipped back into
...dure the hardships of life in order to enjoy the blessings. Sadness is a defining characteristic of a human being: “In spite of their sadness-- because of it, even; for their sadness was the symptom of their love for one another-- the three young men were happy” (Huxley 242). Sadness is a symptom of joy. Loss is a symptom of love. But Huxley knew that it is worth it to feel both pain and happiness instead of nothing. Without these defining characteristics of humanity, all that remains is a stable, well-oiled machine, certainly not a group of human beings.