Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

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Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World kindles many questions about today’s social order and considers the questionable society exposed in the book. Throughout the book Huxley presents a world much different than the one we are accustomed too. Some question whether the novel portrays a dystopian or utopian civilization. There are a variety of advantages and disadvantages of Huxley’s world compared to the one we live in today. Two major disadvantages considered include the lack of family, monogamy, and social organization; as well as the need for soma in lieu of happiness, or rather the ‘fake’ happiness it offers. In contrast, the benefits of the society consist of the concepts behind the elimination of conflicts, commitments, or worries. Everybody…show more content…
If there were a world in which everyone was happy, or at least believed they were, there would be no violence, no disputes, no injustices, and no surge for power or money. Everyone would be content with what they were and how they were. If you consider the amount of violence in today’s society, there is no uncertainty with the fact that it has made our world a corrupt one. Eliminating that alone, would bring about world peace, but with that there is also controversy between its removal and people’s right to life and the liberties they possess. This is due to the fact we would have to completely eliminate people’s freedoms to resolve those problems. Another positive is the lack of commitment. Individuals would not have to worry about judgment, love, marriage, caring for someone, competition for the right person, finding your partner, or even reproduction. Without commitment we cut all ties. People only have to rely on themselves and there are no worries because there is nothing that is tying them down. It’s almost as if they are emotionless. Most agree that eliminating this alone would help a lot of people feelings and heart ache that are caused by monogamy problems, trust issues, faithfulness issues, and any other problems that relationships can cause. By eliminating these huge factors, many people would be very happy. There are a variety of other benefits the society…show more content…
People are afraid. There are accidents, distrust, violence, and tragedy. Taking away those alone would give people a feeling of satisfaction and safety. They would be more comfortable in society and would spend a lot less time worrying about their future and problems they might come upon. In the story, the elimination of disease is a huge factor. However, there is a limit to how much you can control those things. In this alternate world, there is no disease, but with the overuse of soma and the ability to stay looking young for a long period of time, the citizen’s life span is significantly decreased. With this though, the conditioning they are put through as infants prepares them for death as if it were a normal occurance, not bad, just something that everyone does. It’s not something to be scared of. It is just inevitable. This is why the nurse gets scared that the savage has disrupted the children’s conditioning. In a sense, the happiness and stability caused by the removal of disease is
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