Wednesday, May 9, 2012

"Brave New World" Analysis

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery,” states Mustapha Mond, as he explains the workings of the futuristic society in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”. This society is remarkably different than our own, and is intended to be a cautionary tale of how undesirable the world can become as we use technology to shape away our problems. In this world, Mustapha Mond is one of the few Controllers, the most powerful position in the government. In our current society, many people view happiness as achieving goals such as wealth and human relationships through hard work. However, Mond believes that humans are happy when they can quickly satisfy their urges without pain or suffering. By shaping the culture around this idea, many of the major problems that face humanity have been solved, however Huxley tries to point out the cost of this type of society.

While we all wish to construct strong relationships with those around us, there is a tremendous burden associated with this. Humans constantly struggle to build and maintain the relationships that society says we should create, whether with family or spouses. When we are unsuccessful at establishing these relationships, we feel sad and alone. There is further unhappiness when these relationships deviate from our expectations of them, such as when a couple gets into a fight. Finally, this struggle comes full circle when these relationships end, whether through death or separation, which is evident in America’s 50% divorce rate. The society of “Brave New World” removes these issues by removing both the concepts of family as well as long term relationships. The government engineers children in a lab, so they grow up without parents or relatives to be attached to. This means the children do not have to be connected to the ideas of their parents, which Mond would describe as “clinging to the past”. Furthermore, people in this society are then raised to avoid long term relationships and simply move from partner to partner. In a society where couples are not responsible for reproducing and raising a child, there is little need for couples to remain monogamous for long periods of time. Once again, people don’t “cling to the past” by saying in a sexual relationship with someone for a long period of time. Without these relationships to worry about, people can live more simple, stable lives.

In America, children grow up learning that they can be anyone and do anything if they put their mind to it. While this attitude leads to some amazing stories of hard work and success, many people are left disappointed with their lower position in society. Some may argue that social mobility and the promise of the American Dream gives false hope to the unskilled and unintelligent. However, any society needs people to preform these undesirable tasks. In the society of “Brave New World”, this problem is solved by the genetic engineering of humans. Every person “born” has been assigned to a specific social class, labeled Alpha through Epsilon. The Alpha’s are the most intelligent and capable, while Epsilons are rather stupid. Not only is each class engineered to fit in to their role in society, but they are conditioned to be happy with their role. “I suppose Epsilons don’t really mind being Epsilons,” Lenina observes in the book, to which Henry responds “Of course they don’t. How can they? They don’t know what it’s like being anything else.” When reading this, we may find it unsettling, as we are accustomed to the idea that anyone can become wealthy and upper-class if they work hard enough. However, everyone has physical limitations, whether they aren’t strong enough or aren’t smart enough. The new society matches everyone up with a role in society they are fit for, which means nobody struggles to move above their class and nobody fails and falls below their class. Not only does this system keep people from being unhappy with their social class, but it keeps the society calm and orderly.

One feature of the Huxley’s futuristic society that is especially similar to our modern society is the prevalent culture of consumerism. Through conditioning and teaching, humans in this society have the need to be constantly consuming. Mond describes how a culture of consumption keeps the economy healthy and allows the government to provide the new products that people consistently desire. Mond even uses this logic to explain why old texts like Shakespeare are banned, stating that “we don’t want people to be attracted by old things. We want them to like the new ones.” This culture parallels are current culture, where people are constantly purchasing new electronics, clothes and tools, even when the old products are fully functional and relatively new. In addition to stimulating the economy and providing manufacturing jobs, people game a consistent satisfaction by acquiring the new products they want. While these new technologies are not necessary for them to live their life, they have been conditioned to want new technologies. When the constant need for new products can be fulfilled by the government, it leads to a stable society.

To handle the emotional and physical burdens that humans face throughout their life, the government developed a drug called soma. Soma allows people to be more relaxed and content with their life. In our modern society, drugs often fill this same purpose. When people face problems and stresses in modern times, they often turn to drugs like alcohol, tobacco or marijuana to make them feel better. Use of these drugs has many health and legal issues, however soma has been perfected to the point where the government supplies it for free. Just like modern day drugs, soma provides an escape from reality by masking it in a haze. This drug is supplied by the government because they believe it is beneficial for people to regularly take these drugs. Soma clears people from their worries and problems, allowing them to be happy, functioning members of society. This allows individuals to clear their heads of their problems as well as keeping widespread discontent minimized.

The society portrayed in “Brave New World” is drastically different from our modern world, and almost no modern person would chose to live in this world. We can not envision ourselves living without our family, our freedoms and our values. However, Huxley’s world is one where people are consistently happy and are not burdened by many of the issues we face today. Like any society, it has it’s flaws, but that doesn’t mean that this society is inherit bad or wrong. This “brave new world” has implemented technology to correct almost all of the problems we face in life. Residents of this world don’t have to deal with maintaining relationships, succeeding in their career, or even getting sick and dying. It may be hard to imagine giving up the parts of our culture that we have grown accustom to, but we can’t ignore the benefits of a system in which everyone is happy with their place in the society.

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