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How Does Juxley Illustrate And Illustrate The Dehumanizing Effects Of Totalitarian Control

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Sania Purswani Ms. Kendall K. Sadler English Literature 05 March 2024 How does Aldous Huxley depict the dehumanizing effects of totalitarian control and illustrate the loss of individual autonomy within the society of the World State? Imagine a world in which the government controls your every move, stripping out your freedom and conditioning your every action. In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, author Aldoux Huxley envisions a future dominated by technology and controlled reproduction. The novel explores a futuristic society where individuals are already set for their roles in a place called the World State. Through the use of setting and textual details, Huxley represents the dehumanizing effects of totalitarian rule as well as the …show more content…

Lenina took two half-gramme tablets and Henry three.” (Huxley, 79). Soma serves as a symbol of the oppressive regime's control over the people of the World State. The reliance on soma to cope with harsh realities underscores the extent to which individual autonomy is taken away. The government providing them soma already shows control over them with this addictive drug that isolates them from the “bad”, like an escape. This quote also shows the normalization of soma, as it's casually being served with their coffee as if it's a routine. This normalization illustrates the loss of individual authority but also shows the dehumanizing effects of totalitarian control as individuals willingly use soma as an escape and exchange for happiness instead of facing their problems and all provided by the government. Lenina and Henry have also used soma as an escape in another scenario, “Swallowing half an hour before closing time, that second dose of soma had raised a quite impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds.” (Brave New World, pg.77). This quote demonstrates a barrier between the individual and the actual universe, showing a deliberate disconnection from reality. This escape highlights the addictiveness of soma within the society and how important this drug is too. Individuals are willing to change their problems to escape reality and find happiness temporarily. Moreover, the use of soma as a coping mechanism reflects the oppressive regime’s control over its citizens. In summary, the reliance on soma serves as a stark illustration of the government's control of the World State leading to the erosion of personal freedom and the dehumanization resulting from a supreme power within the setting. Aldous Huxley utilizes hypnopaedia to showcase the deprivation of personal freedom and the dehumanizing outcomes of totalitarian dominance

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The soma, most importantly, distracts the citizens from all the horrible actions of their society. The citizens, by having such a easy-access to it, become “enslaved” by this narcotic. They simply rely on this empty happiness to cure any feeling of sadness. All the perversions and immoral actions have become unnoticed and “cured” by the principal of soma. This relates to things today; pleasures can lead to immoral actions.

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Aldous Huxley’s compelling futuristic novel, Brave New World, takes place in an elaborately constructed society whose citizens have their intellect highly conditioned from birth to be entirely “jolly” [as stated in the text] throughout life merely through superficial fulfillment that the government is able to provide. However, the perpetually gleeful yet blind citizens are stripped of their dignity, compassion, values and morals-ultimately losing their human emotions without the realization that they’ve lost such an important aspect in life. When problems arise, the drug soma is a quick ‘solution’ to the distress it brings. An outcast to the new society, Bernard Marx struggles through his life, seeking to understand why his peer’s,

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The citizens are conditioned from birth to be pleased with their social standing and occupations. If, however, there is some discomfort they can simply take a gram of soma, a perfected drug. It is not only offered to anyone to elevate his or her mood, but refusal is highly discouraged. This is seen in the quote, “ “ (pg. ) Besides soma, the children of this fictional work are taught to engage in erotic play; thus encouraging promiscuity.

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Brave New World.print), is a quote that allows yet another carefree, ignorant attitude of the society to remain, encouraging everyone to have as much fun as possible without the mention of consequences; rules of the World State are strict, and they take away the excitement in people’s lives, but the strict rules leads to another source of fun-soma. Soma is a hallucinogen described as the ideal drug with the benefits of calming, surrealistic and a ten hour high with no side effects(Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World.print). The people of the World State have been encouraged and conditioned to love it. “And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts...”(Huxley, Aldous.

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By creating a utopia where a synthetic drug can fix all problems and limit the possibility of all emotions, there is bound to be social instability. John, a character born in the Savage Reservation, grew up accustomed to his independence. Through the refusal of consuming soma, a feel-good drug, he is able to decipher between morality and consciousness, something everyone else lacks. John’s mother, Linda, passes away in the hospital as a result of consuming soma. John exerts deep sorrow as he publically cries, catching the attention of young children: “Undoing all their wholesome death-conditioning with the disgusting outcry–as though death were something terrible, as though any one mattered as much as all that!”

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Huxley reflects, “She remained in her little room on the thirty-seventh floor of Bernard's apartment house, in bed… yet wasn't there at all, was all the time away, infinitely far away, on holiday; on holiday in some other world.” Huxley writes Linda’s character to provide a bleak illustration of the ways in which Soma allows users to abandon life and any problems accompanying it. Characters in Brave New World depend on Soma to avoid negative emotions or really any feelings at all. Soma represents a flawed idea to Huxley. He does not disapprove of the use of drugs to improve lives; rather Huxley has a problem with individuals using mind-altering substances to give up their consciousness and personal

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In this novel, soma is an opiate which is given to citizens in order to distract them from their constrictive, unsettling society and totalitarian government. It enhances the feeling of overall well being and allows the mind of the user to escape from sadness and pain. This quote exemplifies the citizens dependency on soma to keep their minds on track and not think of something or someone they don’t want to or aren’t supposed to think about. Soon after this novel’s publication, there were many pharmaceutical advancements. Advancements in the pharmaceutical field and genetic altering became prevalent shortly after this novel’s publishing in 1932.

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While describing the drug soma, Huxley writes a notable description from Mustapha Mond: “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant.” This quote holds thematic significance in a number of ways. For example, the word ‘euphoric’ and ‘pleasant’ give the idea of happiness as a result of soma. Soma is a drug that controls one’s emotions, keeping out bad thoughts.

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Would the society one day present you with a fancy commercial narcotic that would put an end to all your bad days? Huxley believed so especially with society's growing need for instant gratification seen more and more recently through the use of advertisement. Today it is also seen that the addiction of drugs has gone up amongst people all around the world. Recreational drugs are seen being used to achieve an instant height of emotions and feeling as if all your problems are taken away from you that moment. Seem familiar to Lenina’s need for soma to escape her problems “It’s awful.

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

The Powers of Soma In the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the people of the world state take Soma to keep them pleased. Soma is a very common drug used by mostly everyone, it relaxes the body and keeps everyone happy. Not only does soma make people happy, but it also keeps everyone in the world state oblivious to what's going on around them due to how powerful the relaxant is. In a similar situation, our society's addicted to using technology to distract from real life.

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1403 Words | 6 Pages

Soma is a drug that makes people feel happy and eliminates any feelings of sadness. One goal of the World State is for everyone to be joyous. Soma is highly advertised, and officials remind the people that "there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon" (Huxley 55-56). Using soma takes the user on a "soma holiday" where they can escape anywhere and feel calm and collected. With no adverse side effects, the drug becomes highly addictive, and people build a reliance on it.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

To start off with, the Brave New World gets rid of the concepts of religion. The state thinks that believing in God does not lead to eternal happiness, but instead, brings sadness and pain to the community. They know that when a person dies, the individuals are usually shedding with tears and have the feeling of frustration, thus defeating the purpose of happiness. To resolve this issue, the state decides to use soma to relieve people from their ¨sins¨ and be happy about death. Soma is a type of drug that makes people feel happy no matter how bad the situation is.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

Eyes shone, cheeks were flushed, the inner light of universal benevolence broke out on every face in happy, friendly smiles. Even Bernard felt himself a little melted” (Huxley 83). This shows that soma takes away true emotion and replaces it with false hope and forged cheer. The abundant aspects of soma

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1082 Words | 5 Pages

Human nature leads to emotion and insecurity. When real passion becomes too great for some to bear, they turn to unreal substances to acquire fake sentiments. Aldous Huxley is the author of Brave New World and he perfectly displays that people use drugs, alcohol and other substances to replace real emotion; he also describes that the media can warp the way the public views these pharmaceuticals. When individuals experience great emotional pain, they will sometimes use certain substances to drown out those negative feelings. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, a common “drug” that they refer to as soma.

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427 Words | 2 Pages

The people are being denied personal freedom and true happiness in their lives. By avoiding the underlying truth in their lives with the consumption of Soma. The citizens can 't gain any scientific or realistic truth, and the “Brave New World” society destroys all truths such as friendship and love. The truth related to human relationships and emotions such as love, sadness, compassion, and sympathy are some of those truths. Normally, people feel these emotions, and it is what identifies us as humans.

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