Happiness In Brave New World

Is there more to life than happiness itself? I am inclined to say yes, as Bernard did in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World. This novel takes place in a utopian society, in which everyone is constantly happy. There is no hatred, loneliness, famine, illness, or worry, and a miniscule to nonexistent amount of pain. If one is to feel unhappy, then they are simply to take a dose of soma- a drug that induces a state of bliss. On the flip side, there is also a lack of love, family, poetry, meaningful literature, passion, and self control. These things, which are inherent parts of being a human, are rejected. This is because of the instability and havoc they wreak. They are considered a threat to society. This novel simultaneously makes the reader

Everyone belongs to everyone. Old things are to be discarded to make way for the new. Everyone blindly accepts these things because they are conditioned to do so. All except Bernard, a savage, and Helmholtz. These are the people who stand up against the structures of this society. These are the people who question it. Bernard is different from those in his caste and is unaccepted and unpopular. He is inclined to do unorthodox things, like spend time alone and actually get to know girls, rather than simply sleep with them. Helmholtz is a writer who wants to write more than the uninspired work he is employed to do. He wants to write about something important. He says, “I feel I could do something much more important. Yes, and more intense, more violent. But what? What is there more important to say? And how can one be violent about the sort of things one’s expected to write about?” The savage- also known as John- is a man who was accidentally conceived and born of a woman in a savage society. There, he was alienated because his mother held the values of her former utopian society. Despite this, John still adopted their values. He was eventually brought back to his mother’s homeland, where he was disgusted with the way people lived. He believed that the people we slaves. He calls them goats and monkeys because of their conditioning. He claims the right to be unhappy. The savage tries to make the people stand up for their