Brave New World Paper

8/13/2019 Brave New World Paper

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Lotspeich 1

Michael Lotspeich

Mr. Wolever

English II H

17 May 2011

A Brave Real World?

A world with a drug culture is the most literal sense of that expression (Beckham

par. 1). In todays society, it is spine-chilling how many of the predictions made in Huxleys

book Brave New World had come true. Brave New Worldis a novel heavily developed in the

powers and limits of technology. In treatment of psychotropic drugs, this novel was

definitely prescient both during the time period it was published and today. Huxley

criticized a world in which people medicated to avoid true emotions. This world that he

predicted has now come true. Teens today have found substance abuse, a less-than-positive

response, as a way to medicate confusing emotions experienced that have been considered

sacrilegious in society.

In the perfect society of Brave New World, most of the human qualities of life have

been altered and adapted so that they are devoid of crisis and pain (Beckham par. 4).

When people are able to remove these negative emotions, they believe to live a happy life.

But can happy be realized if there is no sadness to compare it to? Persons in this story are

isolated from normal stresses and tensions, and the novel was not able to elaborate on true

happiness. This said happiness could only be found through making mistakes necessary to

live an everyday life. If the young people were prevented from being exposed to the tragic,

most of the literature would have to be eliminated which we have found to be great.


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This literature, such as the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, or the classic childrens

book The Cat in the Hat, brings joy to the hearts of many. Meet its equivalent- the Soma. In

Brave New World, the drug of choice is Soma, which induces a powerful state of ersatz bliss

(O Neill par. 15).The characters in this story are encouraged to take a Soma to forget about

all their dreadful ideas, and instead feel jolly. But what is jolly?

Is a prescription drug such as Ritalin, or Prozac or jolly? What about an illegal drug

such as marijuana, cocaine, or ecstasy? Thats what a person may be led to believe in

society today. These drugs are used by millions to soothe frazzled nerves and flee reality

(O Neill par. 16). This sounds similar to a Soma, and can be interpreted as a similar drug

because they both constitute a veritable pandemic of escapism.

This escapism is something accomplished by many of a teens motivation for drug

use. According to a PATS survey, 65% of teens use drugs to help them feel better about

themselves (par. 11). It may be assumed that the teens are using substance abuse as a way

to have fun; unfortunately only 26% of teens thought they used drugs because they are

fun (par. 15). They seem to be pressured by a larger power to accomplish things bigger or

that they wish not to do, and because of this they turn to negative resources to reduce

stress.

Reality has a way of asserting itself (O Neill par. 43), and it is to be expected that

future generations will mock todays Y generation. Optimistically, support and guidance has

to comfortably be provided to todays teens. There are a lot of things going wrong, but a

moral resilience could bring better things if it was to be shaped and encouraged. If a way is

found to encourage young people in ways seen as best, whether it is morality, personal

responsibility, or abstinence, it would be nothing but beneficial.


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Annotated Bibliography

Brave New Worldis a novel heavily developed in the powers and limits of

technology. In treatment of psychotropic drugs, this novel was definitely prescient both

during the time period it was published and today. Huxley criticized a world in which

people medicated to avoid true emotions. This world that he predicted has now come true.

Teens today have found substance abuse, a less-than-positive response, as a way to

medicate confusing emotions experienced that have been considered sacrilegious in

society.

Beckham, Richard H. "Huxley's Brave New Worldas Social Irritant: Ban It or Buy It?"

EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 8

May. 2011. In this excerpt of EXPLORING Novels, Beckham argues against censoring

the novel Brave New Worldbecause it gives an insightful reflection of our human

behavior and values of society. This selection elaborates on reasons for censorship

of the novel, and why this should not be a case. It explains that the adults of this

story enjoy youth and vitality until the time of death. People never have to contend

with the stress of accommodating to parents, stress, pain, heartache, or joy. This is a

assumption about drug use, or somas.What is offered is an ideal of what life may

be like in the future. The purpose of this book is to examine how our human

behavior fails in order to encourage reform. While it may be prevalent in the novel,

the same is not true in real life. I will be able to utilize this resource to investigate

arguments against my paper, and create a defense against them.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.

Print. The book, Brave New World, was published in 1932 to anticipate


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developments in reproductive technology to change society. The future society

presented in this novel is an embodiment of the ideals that form the foundation for

futurism. I would be able to use this novel as a resource because it is the basis of this

paper and provides examples of the writing.

O'Neill, Terry. "We Have Seen the Future: A Poll of Moral Attitudes Shows that We Have

Reached the Doorstep of Huxley's Horrible Brave New World." Gale Student

Resources in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 8

May. 2011. Terry ONeill is a feminist attorney, professor, and activist for social

justice. She was also elected president of NOW in June 2009. She begins the

document by discussing the reproductive methods, which are not of much use for

me. What is useful is its explanation of the somas and how it applies to both the

society of Brave New Worldand the society of today. Illegal drugs are plentiful, and

their widespread use can constitute a veritable pandemic of escapism. It presents a

truth that may be inevitable, if this trend of an easy way out continues divorce rates

could continue near its historic high and marriage becomes something cool to do. A

loss of humanity is experienced and reality becomes unbearable. The people have

developed a dependence on intoxicants, which creates a confused and hopeless

relativism that was imagined in the 1920s. This would be resourceful because it

elaborates on the connections between somas of then and drugs of today.

"Two surveys on teen motivations for drug use focus on parents and stress."Alcoholism &

Drug Abuse Weekly18 Aug. 2008: 1+. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 8 May.

2011. This magazine article examines the reasons for teen drug use. It presents an

example from a PATS survey in 2008 of California teens shows a major shift in the


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reasons teens possess and use these drugs. Instead of about a decade ago when they

were used for fun, drugs were now being utilized by thirty-five percent of teens to

cope with stress. The teens felt that they needed these drugs to normalize their

lives, similar to somas in Brave New World. Other reasons presented were to study

better or to deal with a poor home life. This article also covers competing

perspectives on teen drug use. I will be able to use this article to prove my thesis

that teen drug use is similar to the use of somas in Brave New World. An easy but

poor way to deal with stressors that does not result in the stressor being solved,

only the procrastination and potentially worsening way of dealing with it.

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Brave New World Paper