Substance Abuse In Brave New World

In the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley gave many warnings for the future. Huxley drafted this book to be envisioned as a perfect world, but not everyone is perfect. Huxley’s world that he envisioned is slowly turning into a reality in our world today. The use of drugs in Huxley's world was overused and abused. The people in Brave New World consumed these drugs to cover up the ugliness. They wanted to cover up their true emotions. These events mix well in today's society. Today people tend to consume drugs to take a step out of reality and to not deal with any issues. Huxley's warnings of substance abuse are more present today due to them being used to take a step out of reality, he also warned us about how dangerous they are, and the effects

“The word Soma comes from an unidentified drug that was used in ancient Indign Vedic Cults as part of religious ceremonies'' (“Brave”). People in Brave New World consume this drug to take a step out of reality. People in today's society consume recreational drugs to feel the same way. This means Huxley's warning about the future was correct. In the book, Huxley explained how Soma can check you out of reality. “And do remember that a gramme is always better than a damn,” (Huxley 90). This quote confirms that Lenina knows that Soma replaces all human emotions to feel numb. In today's society people take recreational drugs to make them feel better, also to put them in a better mood. “Self-medicating is when a person uses a substance to numb the pain they feel” (Stevens). This proves that the problem of substance abuse is to try to fill the void. Huxley gave the readers a clear warning on why people take these

Huxley’s book Brave New World also had issues with trying to fit in. The “trend” in the book is Soma. “Half an hour later they were back in his rooms. Bernard swallowed four tablets of Soma at a gulp, turned on the radio and television and began to undress” (Huxley 92). Bernard only took Soma because he felt the need to fit in with the rest of society. Younger children tend to use drugs to “fit in” with all of their friends. A study that was found in a research said, “Previous research has provided evidence for both selection and socialization in relations between individuals’ own substances and their peers’ substance use. That is, individuals are more likely to choose to be friends with people who are like themselves in their use of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances. In addition, friends influence each other's substance use over time , so they become more like each other in use” (Lansford). In other words, individuals are going to influence one another to keep doing the wrong thing. People always want to fit in with everybody and that's Huxleys and today's issue. Huxley gave a fitting example of the danger of influencing, especially when using