Modern Society Essay, Research Paper
In many cases when you read a novel you may find comparisons between the “fictional” society and your realistic one. The author may concsciously or unconsciously create similarities between these two worlds. The novelist can forsee the future and write according to this vision. In Brave New World, Adlous Huxley evnsions the future of our society and the dangeroud direction it is headed in.
Brave New World is greatly dependant upon soma, as in our world where prescribed drugs and drug abuse are prominent. This is evident when Bernard and Lenina return from the Savage Reservation. Lenina is devestated from her experiences, so decides to take soma. it Illustates how like our world when something upsets us instead of trying to solve the probelm we use drugs to mask them.
Linda’s addiction to soma is also an illustration of the similarities of drug abuse between our two worlds. Linda’s retuen to brave new world after many years brings her to the abuse of soma. She uses it as an escape from reality. Some of us use drugs to escape from the harshness and the tough brutality of reality. We always dream of the perfect utopia and expect our world to transform into it. Some of us always look for the easy way out and drugs allow us that.
A further similarity of Brave New World to us, si when John is in the hospital after hos mother’s death due to soma abuse, and witnesses the workers receiving their soma rations. John begins to throw the soma out if the window, causing hysteria among the workers. For these workers soma is everything. They cannot imagine life without it. People addicted to cocaine, heroine and other drugs go through a similar stage called withdrawl. Living without the drugs seem unimaginable and frightening. If our world does not stop this dangerous overuse of drugs we will see ourselves evolve into the frightening direction of Brave New World and will be unable to stop it.
Physical and mental controlling (hypnopedia) is used to teach moral le
In Brave New World their society is taught moral lessons and slogans by hypnopedia. For example “a gramme is better than a damn.” Today we are forced into beleiving propaganda and advertisements. We are bombarded with ads and pressure to buy certain things, or beleive what people tell us. In Brave New World if they do not follow propaganda they are considered abnormal, and are forced out of society.
When we are young children we are soothed from our crying by music and the voices of our parents. We are told we are loved and are spoken to. Throughout our lives we are taught, valuable lessons through our sleeping moments. In Brave New World the children are also taught valuable, life changing lessons during their sleep. These lessons will be used for the rest of their lives. If we do not carefilly monitor the use of hypnotism we will be finding ourselves in a horrific situation like Brave New World
The discovery of cloning has many similarities to the decanting process. The process of cloning can produse a living creature that is a perfect copy of it’s “parents”. The Bokanovsky groups in Brave New World do the same. They create multiple, identical beings. Cloning must be closely watched. If we do not closly monitor this rapidly developing science it can get out of control and our world will evolve into the created life that Brave New World is.
Our world has many alarming similarites to Brave New World. If they are not closely monitored we will find ourselves rapidly evolving into the frightening reality of Brave New World.