The citizens of the World State are rigidly controlled and thus have no free will. When Lenina is talking to Henry Ford about the fact that regardless of their caste, all humans are equal after death, she remembers waking up in the middle of the night and hearing that “everyone works for everyone else. We can’t do without one. Even Epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons.” (64). This illustrates how powerful the mind-numbing repetitiveness of the beliefs and rules that form the basis of their society are, and not only do the citizens lack free will but they do not know what free will is. The citizens of the World State are unable to think for themselves beyond what is given since they have been brainwashed and conditioned to
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According to Robert Baker who wrote Brave New World: History, Science, and Dystopia, “dystopian societies often replace nature with a replicated environment.” This is an imperative and central characteristic that is present in their society. People are scientifically made in test tubes as a replacement of natural birth through the Bokanovsky process which “is one major instruments of social stability.” (5). The population is made much easier to manage with the Bokanovsky process as they lack individuality. The test tubes that contain the embryos represent the confinement that pervades the novel, symbolizing the constraint placed on every aspect of this ‘utopian’ population. The embryos are literally bottled, but “metaphorically the citizens are trapped by the boundaries that are set by the authorities” (Clareson). Another example of the replacement of nature can be seen at the beginning of the novel, when Mustapha Mond describes life before Ford and says, “Mother, monogamy, romance. [...] My love, my baby. No wonder those poor pre-moderns were mad and wicked and miserable. The world didn’t allow them to take things easily, didn’t allow them to be sane, virtuous, happy.” (35). The concept of family has been completely eradicated from their society and is seen as revolting. Family is condemnable since it leads to emotions such as love which …show more content…
When Mustapha Mond is trying to convince John the Savage that soma has solved one of humanity’s greatest problems, he states that “if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering.” (209-210). Mustapha claims that soma, a hallucinogen that is described as the “the perfect drug” (46), offers a way to deal with unpleasant emotions which lead to inefficiency and conflict and therefore instability. Soma, combined with conditioning, acts as a distraction by keeping people from considering their circumstances and what might be missing in their society. Sex as a natural form of drug is also encouraged and abused to the extent of a commodity. This is demonstrated when “two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing [...] a rudimentary sexual game.” (26). In the novel, sex is used for pacification by means of distraction. It has been dehumanized and lacks passion and emotion; it is treated casually and publicly rather than as a
According to Robert Baker who wrote Brave New World: History, Science, and Dystopia, “dystopian societies often replace nature with a replicated environment.” This is an imperative and central characteristic that is present in their society. People are scientifically made in test tubes as a replacement of natural birth through the Bokanovsky process which “is one major instruments of social stability.” (5). The population is made much easier to manage with the Bokanovsky process as they lack individuality. The test tubes that contain the embryos represent the confinement that pervades the novel, symbolizing the constraint placed on every aspect of this ‘utopian’ population. The embryos are literally bottled, but “metaphorically the citizens are trapped by the boundaries that are set by the authorities” (Clareson). Another example of the replacement of nature can be seen at the beginning of the novel, when Mustapha Mond describes life before Ford and says, “Mother, monogamy, romance. [...] My love, my baby. No wonder those poor pre-moderns were mad and wicked and miserable. The world didn’t allow them to take things easily, didn’t allow them to be sane, virtuous, happy.” (35). The concept of family has been completely eradicated from their society and is seen as revolting. Family is condemnable since it leads to emotions such as love which …show more content…
When Mustapha Mond is trying to convince John the Savage that soma has solved one of humanity’s greatest problems, he states that “if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering.” (209-210). Mustapha claims that soma, a hallucinogen that is described as the “the perfect drug” (46), offers a way to deal with unpleasant emotions which lead to inefficiency and conflict and therefore instability. Soma, combined with conditioning, acts as a distraction by keeping people from considering their circumstances and what might be missing in their society. Sex as a natural form of drug is also encouraged and abused to the extent of a commodity. This is demonstrated when “two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing [...] a rudimentary sexual game.” (26). In the novel, sex is used for pacification by means of distraction. It has been dehumanized and lacks passion and emotion; it is treated casually and publicly rather than as a