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Brave New World

In Aldous HuxleyÆs (1950) Brave New World, we are presented with a future dystopia or dysfunctional society. While the novel appears to present a utopia, in which pain, depression, and the struggles of living are removed from daily existence, in actuality, the society is rather frightening and closely resembles modern society and its ills. In the society of Brave New World, people worship capitalism and its icons (Henry Ford) as idols. Any negative moods, pain, or depression is alleviated through the drug Soma. In this society, the increasing authoritarian nature of the state does not tolerate any norms except for the ones its leaders have defined and established. This analysis will compare aspects of HuxleyÆs futuristic society with contemporary American culture and society.

The society in Brave New World is one where the unpleasantness of depression, pain, illness and aging have been eradicated through state mechanisms from technology to the invention of drugs that act as a panacea for all ailments. The society in Brave New World is one dominated by science and helmed by dictators. Even free will is removed from human beings by conditioning and tolerated due to doses of drugs that induce happiness. The problem with this scientific dictatorship is that it has eliminated, along with all social and individual ills, the capacity for human feeling, emotion and individual expression. We see this in the character of Savage, when he proclaims to Mustapha Mond, the Controller, ôBut I donÆt want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin,ö (Huxley, p. 1950, 163).

Those in control of HuxleyÆs society wish to remain in control of all aspects of human functioning, including elimination of free will, disease, aging, and even sexuality. Overpopulation has led to government efforts to control reproduction. In commenting on this conditio

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Brave New World. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 21:26, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710156.html