The customs of societies range, based on regional and or cultural barriers, but the one principle all societies base themselves on is stability In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the concepts of community, identity and how the relate to stability are explored. The maintenance of stability within the society in Brave New World comes at the price of the oppression of individuals through caste systems, moral training and the sacrifice of truth for universal happiness.
The essence of community within the text is to help the citizens merge within the standards of the society-- also known as compliance. To create a sense of solidarity within the community, compliance is an essential trait of the members; Huxley creates this through the idea of inherent …show more content…
Mustapha Mond often makes references to the upholding of stability in society; to maintain a stable environment, sacrifices must be made for the general wellbeing of the people. One way an atmosphere of stability is maintained, is using soma as a substitute for feelings. Soma causes the members of this society to ignore thought-provoking feelings, so intractable emotions are not provoked. This effectively traps the mind in a state of relinquishment. Character’s in the upper-class that were more self-aware often find themselves searching for something: Bernard at one point, declares that he wants “to know what passion is”; he feels trapped because he wants “ to feel something strongly” ( Huxley 92). Helmholtz also identifies with this feeling, while Bernard feels ostracized because his physique, Helmholtz feels alone because of his intellectual traits. Helmholtz often whines that he has “a feeling that I’ve got something important to say and the power to say it-only I don’t know what it is, and I can’t make any use of the power” (Huxley 72). The combination of the use Soma and years of Hypnopaedic teachings have obstructed this feeling; but in the name of stability it validates its lack of purpose within the text. Soma prioritizes “happiness” over truth, because the truth has the ability to contradict a stable body. Mustapha Mond is the primary upholder of stability: he believes that “universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can’t” ( Huxley 205). Efficiency is often valued over effectiveness, why do the right thing, when you can do things right? Characters such as Helmholtz and John are always aiming to be effective, while others such as Lenina and the Director are targeting being efficient. Given that Helmholtz and John are trying to be effective, they have to be exiled, so they do not spread their passions. If passion, and fervor are introduced into this society, instability
The essence of community within the text is to help the citizens merge within the standards of the society-- also known as compliance. To create a sense of solidarity within the community, compliance is an essential trait of the members; Huxley creates this through the idea of inherent …show more content…
Mustapha Mond often makes references to the upholding of stability in society; to maintain a stable environment, sacrifices must be made for the general wellbeing of the people. One way an atmosphere of stability is maintained, is using soma as a substitute for feelings. Soma causes the members of this society to ignore thought-provoking feelings, so intractable emotions are not provoked. This effectively traps the mind in a state of relinquishment. Character’s in the upper-class that were more self-aware often find themselves searching for something: Bernard at one point, declares that he wants “to know what passion is”; he feels trapped because he wants “ to feel something strongly” ( Huxley 92). Helmholtz also identifies with this feeling, while Bernard feels ostracized because his physique, Helmholtz feels alone because of his intellectual traits. Helmholtz often whines that he has “a feeling that I’ve got something important to say and the power to say it-only I don’t know what it is, and I can’t make any use of the power” (Huxley 72). The combination of the use Soma and years of Hypnopaedic teachings have obstructed this feeling; but in the name of stability it validates its lack of purpose within the text. Soma prioritizes “happiness” over truth, because the truth has the ability to contradict a stable body. Mustapha Mond is the primary upholder of stability: he believes that “universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can’t” ( Huxley 205). Efficiency is often valued over effectiveness, why do the right thing, when you can do things right? Characters such as Helmholtz and John are always aiming to be effective, while others such as Lenina and the Director are targeting being efficient. Given that Helmholtz and John are trying to be effective, they have to be exiled, so they do not spread their passions. If passion, and fervor are introduced into this society, instability