Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a novel taken place in the future. It starts off by explaining the process of how people are "created." With a scientific process called the Bokanovsky process, hundreds and thousands of identical human embryos are created every single year. But, everyone has a different caste. For example, if you are born an Epsilon, you are destined to become a laborer. Each caste is conditioned throughout the first couple of years of their lives so that they can become what they are destined to be and so they will abide by society's strict rules. No one is allowed to have relationships, only sexual ones. They are also allowed to take a drug called soma, which causes them to forget their troubles and sadness. If they are feeling any sadness whatsoever, they take this and they become happy and oblivious to the strict world around them. Lenina Crowne, a person who works at one of the nurseries for the conditioned children, is a typical citizen in this strange futuristic world. She knows the rules, and she abides by them. But she cannot help but be attracted to the strange character Bernard Marx. Bernard seems like a normal person, to us. He refuses to take soma and he sees the faults in his government. But when Bernard and Lenina take a trip to another country, he discovers that he impregnated a women there many years ago who ended up having his baby, named John. This country is very different from his own, though. It is not modernized. It is comparable to an Indian reservation. So when Bernard goes home, now everyone is looking at Bernard with weary eyes. They notice his differences easily now and see that he is not like them. But everyone is extremely intrigued by John. He is so different from the people they are used to being surrounded by. Even Lenina is attracted to him and tries to seduce him. But will John be the downfall to their Utopian society? Or will the citizens of this Brave New World learn to accept his differences and learn to integrate new things into their world?
Questions:
1. How would you feel if you were not allowed to have relationships with other people?
2. Describe your perfect Utopian society.
3. What do you think will happen to John after being exposed to such a different world? Do you think he will end up living there and adapt to their rules and customs, or do you think he will go back to his "Indian reservation?"
14 comments:
1. If I was not aloud to have relationships with other people, I would not feel like a real person. I would feel alienated and sad all the time. I feel that for a person to live a full life, they must have relationships with other people whether it is a friendship or a marriage.
1. Companionship is almost a necessity in our world today. Whether it be friends or family, everyone needs to have positive relationships to feel complete and enjoy life. Relationships can make for the best of times and help one get through the hardest of times.
1) I wouldn't be able to handle not having a relationship with those who I consider my close friends and family. To me, it is the relationships that we forge as a society and our interactions that enable us to call ourselves higher level beings. Without these interactions and relationships with others, the human race is nothing but a species that functions purely on the principles of survival.
1) I would be very mad if i was not allowed to have relationships with other people. I really enjoy socializing and without it I would probably go insane. I believe that communication with other people is a vital part of our society.
1. If I were not allowed to have a relationship with anyone, as kara said i wouldn't feel like a real human. Being in society is all about feelings, love, and interacting with people. It wouldn't be the same experience.
2. My version of a Utopia is a place that is not completely perfect. People make mistakes, and I think it would be strange without that. Life would be dull because everything goes perfectly; there is nothing to test a person and no room for improvement. Life would be meaningless if people did not grow and learn from their experiences.
I agree with you guys, I believe that having a relationship with another human being is essenial to feeling like a person. It gives you meaning to life. Companionship helps you move through life easier and more comfortably. I believe it is essential for true happiness
Life would be near pointless if we weren't allowed to form relationships. As social people we would be bored, restless, and possibly go crazy if we weren't allowed to develop relationships
It would be very difficult to not have relationships with anyone. That is what makes us human, the fact that we can have relationships with those that we are close to. There would be no point in associating with other people if relationships were forbidden.
1. Relationships as in friendships or more than friends? I would be bothered with either because friendships would mean neither and more than friends means you would never be able to get married. Relationships with people are a big part of my life, and everyone elses, and would be terrible if we did not have them with each other.
2. My perfect society would have no crime and a perfect leader and everyone would get along with each other.
3. I feel like John will not like the new world. I think he will attempt to adapt but will have a hard time and end up failing. I think that he will end up going back to his Indian reservation.
If I was not allowed to have relationships with other people, I'd freak out. I'd be one of those people who walks around talking to themselves. A world without friendship or love is not a world that I want to be living in. Some people might think they'd do better alone, but personally, I need my family and friends to stay sane. (Even if they drive me in the opposite direction sometimes.)
I think I would kill myself if I wasn't aloud to have relationships with other people because it's those relationships that make you into the person you are today and you need those friends and loves to experience so many things and by not being allowed to do something like that is missing out on life.
I don't think I could handle not being able to have relationships with people.I believe people would go insane without any sort of interaction. We need eachother for support, and all humans need companians.
1) I would not be happy if I could not have close relations with people. It would make me feed unwanted and I would be depressed.
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