4. Huxley’s vision of the future is not what I would call “horrifying”; it is simply not humanity. He has created a perfect state where nothing can possibly go wrong. Citizens are free from war, pain, suffering, and unhappiness. From before birth, every aspect of their lives is regulated. There are different castes, but within those castes, abilities are the same. Emotional attachment does not exist, and the community comes first, always. At first glance this does not seem so bad. Who wouldn’t want a world without war, fear, and pain? I know many people who would do anything to be happy constantly. But in the end, life is not about consistent happiness. My opinion lies on the same plane of John Savage. As the quote says “…I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin.” Every aspect makes life worthwhile. Some hurt more than others, but if everything came for free, it wouldn’t have nearly as much value. Instant gratification, the basis of the World State, serves no purpose.
The world that we live in is far from perfect, and I’m a little misanthropic, but we give and we take, and life goes on. There are always things worth living for, and the pain to get to those things is what makes it all worth it. I want all the things that John wants and realize that some of them come at a cost. Wanting God puts one in the hands of something one cannot see. Faith is a terrifying thing, and it is far easier to dismiss the concept than to embrace it. Faith teaches people to beware of sin, for it is humanity’s downfall. But I want that too, because to be human is to sin. We cannot live without it.
I do not want Huxley’s world. It is too perfect, too farfetched, too impossible. I want life and all its brutalities. As John says, “I claim them all.”
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
BNW
3. In chapter seventeen, John is arguing the right to be human. The problem for him with the World State is that it fails to embrace all human emotion. In life, the bad is just as important as the good, and to be truly human one has to embrace both.
On page 239, John says “What you need…is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here.” He is not speaking of monetary cost, but emotional cost. To John, life is not worth living without the tears. The most meaningful things are the ones that do not come easily. I’m sure part of his philosophy comes from his extensive knowledge of Shakespeare. The constant allusions to Hamlet define John’s views on life. Hamlet is a tragedy, no doubt, and John is much like Hamlet. He would rather suffer the blows that life throws to him, or make a valiant attempt to defeat them. There is no other way to live life. One must take what they are given, no matter how bad or good it may be.
Mond stands in stark opposition to John. Life in the World State is just as it should be, without the inconveniences that John so passionately believes in. Mond, too, has read Shakespeare and therefore knows John’s side of the argument. He agrees that there is something in living dangerously, but technology comes in to eliminate the “inconveniences” of doing so. The world he has created is one free from unhappiness, and it is perfect in his eyes. The World State is set up to run flawlessly, without all the troubles of humanity.
On page 239, John says “What you need…is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here.” He is not speaking of monetary cost, but emotional cost. To John, life is not worth living without the tears. The most meaningful things are the ones that do not come easily. I’m sure part of his philosophy comes from his extensive knowledge of Shakespeare. The constant allusions to Hamlet define John’s views on life. Hamlet is a tragedy, no doubt, and John is much like Hamlet. He would rather suffer the blows that life throws to him, or make a valiant attempt to defeat them. There is no other way to live life. One must take what they are given, no matter how bad or good it may be.
Mond stands in stark opposition to John. Life in the World State is just as it should be, without the inconveniences that John so passionately believes in. Mond, too, has read Shakespeare and therefore knows John’s side of the argument. He agrees that there is something in living dangerously, but technology comes in to eliminate the “inconveniences” of doing so. The world he has created is one free from unhappiness, and it is perfect in his eyes. The World State is set up to run flawlessly, without all the troubles of humanity.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
BNW
2. There is no concept of sexual morality in Brave New World. “Everyone belongs to everyone else”, as the hypnopaedic phrase goes. The citizens of the World State are conditioned to have strictly sexual relationships with no emotional attachment. They can be loyal to no one but the State. The hypnopaedic conditioning that everyone undergoes sets up the State’s control over the individual, because to the people they are not phrases, but absolute truth. The individual knows nothing different, so they believe only the things the State tells them.
Sexual immorality provides “release” from the rigidity of the World State. The solidarity service in chapter five illustrates this point. Even though the State retains control over the individuals, it has not yet eliminated human nature. That being said, even through conditioning, human desires have not been wiped out. The need to experience strong emotion is still intact, and so the State facilitates solidarity services as a means to do so. This will channel the emotion in a way that it does not serve as a threat to the State, and keeps the people in their perpetual state of happiness.
Sexual immorality provides “release” from the rigidity of the World State. The solidarity service in chapter five illustrates this point. Even though the State retains control over the individuals, it has not yet eliminated human nature. That being said, even through conditioning, human desires have not been wiped out. The need to experience strong emotion is still intact, and so the State facilitates solidarity services as a means to do so. This will channel the emotion in a way that it does not serve as a threat to the State, and keeps the people in their perpetual state of happiness.
Brave New World
1. Huxley’s vision of the future world does contain elements present in our society today. In Brave New World, technology controls society. This begins with the surgical removal of ovaries when the time comes to produce new humans and continues with the Bokanovsky Process and hypnopaedic conditioning. Everything in the World State is regulated by some form of technology. While these are extreme examples that do not hold true to our society, technology has become a ruling force in the twenty-first century. Our school is a perfect example of reliance on technology; this assignment as well as the majority of other assignments, is done on a computer. As technology advances, meaningful human contact decreases. Advances in the cell phone brought the text message, which has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Texting is now often preferred to a legitimate conversation. Where is the human contact? It’s interesting and frightening to imagine what will happen next on this front.
Huxley satirizes the consumer society that exists when he wrote the book, and continues to exist today. Happiness is quantified by the ability to satisfy one’s needs, and a successful society is one that contains economic growth and prosperity. The ‘American Dream’ also fits this definition. This dream, in my opinion, is one that is nearly impossible to achieve. Belief in it risks destroying true happiness.
Huxley’s soma is similar to certain prescription drugs of this day and age. While they are obviously not as widespread as soma, the concept remains the same. In the World State, if anything goes awry, a citizen takes a dose of soma and it simply goes away. This instant gratification is a major control factor for the World State.
Huxley satirizes the consumer society that exists when he wrote the book, and continues to exist today. Happiness is quantified by the ability to satisfy one’s needs, and a successful society is one that contains economic growth and prosperity. The ‘American Dream’ also fits this definition. This dream, in my opinion, is one that is nearly impossible to achieve. Belief in it risks destroying true happiness.
Huxley’s soma is similar to certain prescription drugs of this day and age. While they are obviously not as widespread as soma, the concept remains the same. In the World State, if anything goes awry, a citizen takes a dose of soma and it simply goes away. This instant gratification is a major control factor for the World State.
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