Aldous Huxley's Impact On American Society

Having been a somewhat of an outsider in his life, physically and mentally, Aldous Huxley used what others thought as his oddities to create complex works. His large stature and creative individuality is expressed in the characters of his novel, Brave New World. In crafting such characters as Lenina, John, Linda, Bernard, and Helmholtz, not to mention the entire world he created in the text itself, Huxley incorporated some of his humanities into those of his characters. Contrastly, he removed the same humanities from the society as a whole to seem perfect. This, the essence and value of being human, is the great meaning of Brave New World. The presence and lack of human nature in the novel exemplifies the words of literary theorist Edward Said: “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Huxley’s characters reflect the “rift” in their jarred reaction to new environments and lifestyles, as well as the remnant of individuality various characters maintain in a brave new world.

The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of

In the novel Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, the use of “soma”, a drug similar to an opiate, is used to help control peace and the world. Since soma has been used to configurate the world, there has been no war, mental disabilities, depression or sickness throughout the people. The people are given soma every day to function throughout society without having to deal with stress, anxiety, depression or any other negative feelings, the soma blocks out “feelings” in order to properly thrive without any implications. Soma is not just only used to hide feelings and keep the people feeling youthful, but also to keep the community become more societal and unified. Soma is depended on through the society to deal with any problems, whether

Drugs would be used to forget about what happened during the day, to relax after a stressful event, to be away from the real world and in a place of make believe, and many other reasons. He predicted this by saying, “And if

In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, there is a drug used and mentioned throughout the story called Soma. The characters have been conditioned by birth that Soma is always the answer when you feel alone or sad. This drug is used so people can go on "holidays" from their reality and is used as payment for the lower caste groups. People want Soma because they go on these highs and live in their "Heaven" to escape reality. After all, they do call Soma "All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects"(Huxley 54). Soma becomes a tool to control the people in society.

The World State forbids the citizens from experiencing any negative emotion, for fear of losing control. Soma, Latin for sleep, renders its users to a coma-like blissful state, which Congdon describes, borrowing the statement from Huxley himself, that soma allows the citizens to,“periodically escape from the pressure of routine and worldly cares”(Congdon). Citizens are conditioned to use the drug at the slightest challenge to the cultural norms, preventing any thoughts of rebellion or contempt against the government.

We can see that in this world people are conditioned to like drugs and things like that so it's no wonder they become addicts to the thing. In the real world drugs are seen as bad as robbing a bank, but in the book taking drugs is as normal as showering, we can see this comparison when Linda says “What I had to suffer—and not a gramme of soma to be had. Only a drink of mescal every now and then, when Popé used to bring it. Popé is a boy I used to know. But it makes you feel so bad afterwards, the mescal does, and you're sick with the peyotl; besides it always made that awful feeling of being ashamed much worse the next day. And I was so ashamed.” (pg. 120) We can see that in the book the reservation is a reflection of our world and taking alcohol as much as linda did is bad and seen poorly, but back in her world is was as common as anything else which is why she suffers a lot when she loses her access to drugs. Another time we see this socially acceptable behavior is when Huxley show us Lenina's addiction to soma “Lenina felt herself entitled, after this day of queerness and horror, to a complete and absolute holiday. As soon as they got back to the rest-house, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity. It would be eighteen hours at the least before she was in time again.” (pg.

Did you know that in 2011, almost five people per hour dies of a drug overdose in the U.S alone? Good morning/afternoon everyone, isn’t it shocking to learn how easy it is to die of a drug overdose, yet, it seems, people in Brave New World are willing to take them in order to retain a permanent happiness holiday 24/7. Drugs both play a massive role in Brave New World and our modern society. I’m sure if I were to ask you if you knew of anyone who has ever tried drugs, I think we all would know the answer. It seems that in The World State you cannot find one person who doesn’t take drugs. Throughout this seminar we are going to see how drugs play an important role in both Brave New World and our modern day society for different reasons but also for some of the same reasons.

The Brave New World society encourages the use of a drug called “soma”. The drug sedates and calms those who take it, making them distracted from what is going on in the world around them. The characters in the book take the drug when they are feeling any kind of emotion or just for

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the use of drugs has a major impact as to how society will function in the future. Huxley’s vision for the future is very similar as to how the world is run today. By creating the idea of soma, a drug that is regulated by the government and given to every person in the World State, Huxley is constructing a society that is dependent upon narcotics that aim to achieve peace and happiness among all working classes. Huxley’s attempt to predict the distribution of drugs was accurate regarding the regulation of drugs through the government; however, the reality of drugs in modern day has drastic differences compared to his vision.

Since the 20th century, many medical professionals and researchers have been attempting to utilize psychedelic drugs in psychological illnesses treatments. In many testing cases, these psychedelic drugs were having hallucination effects on the patients. For examples, psychedelic drugs such as LSD and methoxamine are capable of changing a person’s moods, feelings, or even behaviors in either positive or negative ways. However, after decades of restriction on psychedelic drugs in 1960s, hallucinogens have been researched constantly in order to find a proper ways to utilize them in medicine. In other words, medical experts have been testing these drugs occasionally on patients, raising questions about medical ethics as a result. For instance, various patients reported to experience drug addiction, violent or suicidal thoughts, and physical syndromes such as coma, seizures, or loss of muscular coordination. Therefore, not only the testing of psychedelic drugs causes ethical debates, but the use of these drugs in general also questions whether they should be used in medicine at all.

Government control is enforced through the use of soma, a hallucinogen that is known to sedate and distract individuals from realizing their enslavement, and this drug is exploited as a way to escape reality. However, this abuse ultimately leads to mental corruption. The majority of society consumes this substance to combat pain, worry, and tension. This narcotic is used in everyday life and “served with coffee” (Huxley 75) to help fill people’s days with mindless acts. Soma gives a feeling of euphoria, often times withdrawing the feelings of depression and illness. “Soma, the perfect pharmaceutical, soothes pain” (McQuail) leaving individuals in a state of pleasure and nirvana. Within the corrupt society, a few characters refuse consumption of the hallucinogen. These individuals are regarded as

It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function

As the writer was slowly dragged down by various drugs due to the peer pressure and his naïve curiosity, he found the further addiction and experiments

The author is a young man who obliviously is not self-effacing about his own usage and enjoyment of drugs. He used LSD, which in the fall of 2001 he realized that he had not seen the drug in ages and it was nowhere to be found; not for others or even for himself and statistics showed the decrease of the acid and its usage also. Dissatisfied with the situation He went to see his friend, Professor Peter Reuter who is a