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Student 10 Mrs. Verenkoff English 2H, Period 3 8 September 2010 Behind the Mask: Reflections on Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley QUOTATION: Lenina Crowne, an alpha worker, suggests to a fellow alpha named Bernard Marx that he needs to stop having “odd” ideas of his own: "I don’t understand…why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly” (92).
ANALYSIS: In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley criticizes society’s reliance on technology to disguise reality’s hardships. If the people of this new world ever encounter a difficult situation, they can simply take a drug, known as soma, that relieves them of their worldly existence. This pill is dispensed to all citizens so that when they come upon a difficult situation, they can ignore any problems and move on. After talking to Lenina Crowne, a happy, ignorant member of society, Bernard Mard, a self-conscious Alpha male, feels uncomfortable. Benito Hoover, an alpha male who never has a temper, comes to Bernard and says, “You look glum! What you need is a gram of soma” (60). The soma covers up Bernard’s sad feelings and makes him happy again. The gloomy feelings suddenly disappear and are never brought up again. Bernard Marx is also one of few people who would rather be alone then with a group of people at all times. Lenina Crowne is appalled by Bernard’s ideas and suggests him to take soma when “he has those dreadful ideas of his. He’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, he’d be jolly. So jolly” (92). Lenina believes that soma can fix any challenging situation, when really it only covers up the problem like a Band-Aid, not treating it. In Huxley’s world, people use soma to avoid unhappiness, instead preferring a fake euphoria that only exists in their minds. Brave New World has much in common with the modern world. More and more, people are beginning to use technology to escape the troubles of their daily lives. Instead of dealing with problems like unemployment or relationship conflicts, people have begun to play online multiplayer games such as Sims, World of Warcraft, and Runescape to live in a simplified, virtual world with no real life responsibilities. Some Japanese men have gone as far as having virtual girlfriends on their handheld gaming devices in order to fulfill their need for companionship without the stress of a real relationship. They can even enjoy real weekend vacations with their virtual partners, but if a player tires of his virtual girlfriend, he can turn her off or make a new one. Many people rely on games such as these to avoid the stress caused by their lives. With the increasing use of technology for a soma-like affect, modern-day people are buying into the idea that happiness can be bought, and that they can skirt responsibility by living in an alternate reality.
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