Crossing the Line From Our World From Theirs
Stability and unity are things that many communities strive for. But what is sacrificed when stability is pursued? Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, is a fictional novel about a dystopian society in which people are controlled by pleasure and trivialities. In his book, Huxley warns us that our society is slowly turning into something similar to the World State; this, however, is not the case.
In the World State, many technological aspects are very different to today’s society, while still having some similarities. In the real world, mothers and fathers take care of their children. In Brave New World, mothers and fathers are all replaced by the Bokanovsky Process, “one of the major instruments of social stability” (Huxley 8). The World State believed that monogamy, parenthood, and romance are factors that contribute to social instability. Social instability is something that is not tolerated, so they did away with parents and replaced them with science and technology. The result was the Bokanovsky Process, a tool that allowed The World State to raise children how they saw fit. Free thinking and individuality are things that can lead to conflicts and conflicts of any kind are not tolerated in the World State. Hypnopaedia is the process of indoctrinating children where the World State molds them into functional and civilized citizens of society. The real world has nothing as frightening as Hypnopaedia but there are things that do come close. Advertisements and commercials are played daily on television, most are directed at children. These things influence kids and affect their actions and way of thinking.
Social aspects are also something to be considered when comparing our world and The World State. Once The World State took control, social norms and interactions were changed in order to keep society stable. Promiscuity became more acceptable in The World State for they believed that “chastity means passion, chastity means neurasthenia. And passion and neurasthenia mean instability” (Huxley 161). In our world, promiscuity is sometimes evident in many young people’s lives. Sex is viewed as a method of pleasure rather than something more intimate and meaningful. Karl Marx once said that “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” But this is the exact opposite in The World State. There, opium is the religion of the masses. Soma or “Christianity without tears” (Huxley 162) is a drug The World State uses to keep their people in line. It is taken almost religiously and is an important aspect in their lives. While not many people in our world take drugs frequently, addicts display a similar behavior when it comes to their drug of choice. Again, however, Soma is used to bring people together and to make connections. In our world, drugs cause addiction which isolate and disconnect addicts from their loved ones (Hari). Two similar objects can be seen as polar opposites when put into two worlds that are very different.
In Brave New World, Huxley warns us that our world is slowly turning into The World State. While our world is similar, it is far too different to become it. The World State did not come about through a slow transformation of social norms and technology. It was created through the eruption of strife and conflict that lead to the destruction of culture, religion and art. While there are many conflicts today, not many are large enough to affect our culture and society, and very few are fought to destroy what the culture and art of today. While our world can sometimes reach the line into their world, it will never truly cross it.
Stability and unity are things that many communities strive for. But what is sacrificed when stability is pursued? Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, is a fictional novel about a dystopian society in which people are controlled by pleasure and trivialities. In his book, Huxley warns us that our society is slowly turning into something similar to the World State; this, however, is not the case.
In the World State, many technological aspects are very different to today’s society, while still having some similarities. In the real world, mothers and fathers take care of their children. In Brave New World, mothers and fathers are all replaced by the Bokanovsky Process, “one of the major instruments of social stability” (Huxley 8). The World State believed that monogamy, parenthood, and romance are factors that contribute to social instability. Social instability is something that is not tolerated, so they did away with parents and replaced them with science and technology. The result was the Bokanovsky Process, a tool that allowed The World State to raise children how they saw fit. Free thinking and individuality are things that can lead to conflicts and conflicts of any kind are not tolerated in the World State. Hypnopaedia is the process of indoctrinating children where the World State molds them into functional and civilized citizens of society. The real world has nothing as frightening as Hypnopaedia but there are things that do come close. Advertisements and commercials are played daily on television, most are directed at children. These things influence kids and affect their actions and way of thinking.
Social aspects are also something to be considered when comparing our world and The World State. Once The World State took control, social norms and interactions were changed in order to keep society stable. Promiscuity became more acceptable in The World State for they believed that “chastity means passion, chastity means neurasthenia. And passion and neurasthenia mean instability” (Huxley 161). In our world, promiscuity is sometimes evident in many young people’s lives. Sex is viewed as a method of pleasure rather than something more intimate and meaningful. Karl Marx once said that “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” But this is the exact opposite in The World State. There, opium is the religion of the masses. Soma or “Christianity without tears” (Huxley 162) is a drug The World State uses to keep their people in line. It is taken almost religiously and is an important aspect in their lives. While not many people in our world take drugs frequently, addicts display a similar behavior when it comes to their drug of choice. Again, however, Soma is used to bring people together and to make connections. In our world, drugs cause addiction which isolate and disconnect addicts from their loved ones (Hari). Two similar objects can be seen as polar opposites when put into two worlds that are very different.
In Brave New World, Huxley warns us that our world is slowly turning into The World State. While our world is similar, it is far too different to become it. The World State did not come about through a slow transformation of social norms and technology. It was created through the eruption of strife and conflict that lead to the destruction of culture, religion and art. While there are many conflicts today, not many are large enough to affect our culture and society, and very few are fought to destroy what the culture and art of today. While our world can sometimes reach the line into their world, it will never truly cross it.