Brave New World Essay, Research Paper
Brave New World is a classic novel by Aldous Huxley that tells of a prediction for the future. The events that occur throughout the story are quite frightening if one thinks that this could actually occur. From the time this book was written up until present day, some of the things Huxley predicted have happened.
One thing widely discussed in brave New world is soma. Soma, in the novel is a drug that people are on constantly. This drug can be compared to alcohol, in a pill form and there are no after effects with soma such as headaches and vomiting. So many people using are using drugs in today s society for many different reasons. This just goes to show a similarity between today s people, and the people in Brave New World. The difference in the use of these two drugs is that today, in the United States the use of drugs other than for medicinal purposes, is illegal. Getting high is strictly prohibited in our country. In the Brave New World community, the use of soma is highly recommended and legal as well. Whether the drugs are legal or not makes any difference as to people using it. In two worlds, drug use is widely used.
Human sexuality is a major topic discussion in Brave New World. Huxley describes a society where everyone belongs to everyone meaning this in a sexual manner. In the novel, monogamy is a forbidden word, and simply it does not exist. People do not get to know each other hardly at all before they give themselves away and sleep together. The word mother is profane, and hardly ever used. Today, people are more reluctant to sleep together after a first date taking into consideration pregnancy and sexual transmitted diseases. However, there is a similarity in this if you look at it from another point of view. Prostitution although illegal is exercised in the United States. Even though the morals are two totally different things between everyone belonging to everyone, and monogamy, people in both worlds bend the rules and slip away from what they are supposed to do. For instance, Lenina, in Brave New World enjoys spending a longer time with a man than one night. Also, men and women today who are married and committed to each other go off and sleep with others.
In Brave New World, Huxley shows segregation among social classes. There were five main classes discussed in the novel these were alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. Each group had a different purpose in the world and its productivity. These classes were conditioned to behave in certain ways and to have certain characteristics. Alpha was the highest class and had the most privileges, and epsilons were at the bottom of the social ladder withholding the meaningless jobs, such as an elevator operator or a position similar to that one. Segregation has been practiced widely in the past years, and still is subtly today in the United States. Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan looked down upon the Negro race, killing and oppressing these people for no reason other than the color of their skin. Jewish people, Indian people, as well as many other races and religions have also been persecuted against for things they can not help or their own personal preference. This practice of prejudice can be seen in Brave New World as well as in today s society.
Although today s society has not even come close to the extremes of Brave New World, it seems as though as time goes by it only comes closer and closer.