" 'Do you know what that was?' he said. ' It was some human being finally and definitely disappearing. Going up in a squirt of hot gas. It would be curious to know who it was--a man or a woman, an Alpha or Epsilon... there's one thing that can be certain or; whoever he may have been, he was happy when he was alive. Everybody's happy now.' "Well, that just makes me question whether everybody was truly happy in Brave new World's society. I'm glad some curiosity struck upon Henry Foster; however, this scene represents how their society is conditioned to think little about death as something to mourn about. Also, remarks to questioning death are put aside fast as they believe "everybody lived happily and died happily", but can everything in this book (so far) go back to the idea of being happy or feeling happy. I know this could be a touchy topic for some, but what if this society were in any way capable of having people with suicidal thoughts or intentions? Can soma really resolve anything or anyone? Also, can Bernard show symptoms of being suicidal or depressed based on how he acts towards everything?
(I just also wanted to say sorry again for bring in such a touchy concept. I don't know how a variety of you guys will act upon this, but I'm just apologizing in advance)
I never thought of the possibility of people being depressed or suicidal. I think there idea of happy is skewed. They are told they are happy and are presented and condition to realize what happy should look like and how it is portrayed, but I don't think any of them know the true feeling of happiness. I think they are mistaking their idea of happiness for being contempt because for one to experience happiness one must know what sadness is. Also, regarding the soma, I see it as a thing to blind them from almost realizing the truth with in them and go back to being "happy". Kind of like how Siddhartha did when he almost became sick of who he was so he would go drink and gamble more to forget. you can say that Henry almost resembles Siddhartha because it seems that he wants to break the cycle by the way he speaks on how he views their world. Now all he has to do is deny the soma.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great passage. I love how Huxley makes Henry Foster seem like a jerk on the surface, but in this passage we are exposed to his curiosity and deep thoughts. This kind of changed my view of him; I no longer see him as shallow.
ReplyDeleteTo answer one of your questions, soma cannot resolve anyone or anything. Like Alexia mentioned, it serves to drown the truth. Questioning is very much eminent in this society, therefore in order to dismiss that curiosity they are encouraged to constantly take soma. It's a "remedy" for any exploring thoughts.
Hm, I think the conditioning to love what they do and society keeps the citizens (without complications or abandoned) from being suicidal. The process is imperfect so they use soma as a back up perhaps.
ReplyDeleteThis quote just shows how ignorant Henry Foster is to what happiness really is and the value of a human life. The talk about death as if it is as easy as pouring cereal. Death has no affect on people as it does in our society. It is really sad how they are conditioned to think like this.
ReplyDeleteI agree, with Amanda. Plus the citizens in Brave New World don't stay relationships very long or have anyone close to them.
DeleteAn example: A mother and her child, the mother raises her child to grow up to be a big, strong adult. The mother ages and eventually passes away. Her child is devastated about her death. That bond built over the years is what makes a human life valuable.
I think that since Happiness is defined differently by every person they'll never truly experience happiness. Sure, they'll be told that they are happy and conditioned to act in certain ways and create chemical reactions that elicit similar signs to that of one who is happy, but they'll never be passionate about anything without the instructions of others. It's like when your parents want you to do something and they try to condition you to like that thing, sure it's tolerable but it's not something you'd freely want to be doing. (This was really ramble and kind of off topic sorry about that)
ReplyDeleteThis society does as they're told. If they're told to be happy, they'll become "happy" although they're really not. To be happy, you must experience other emotions which the people in Brave New World do not do. Like Julia said, they'll never be passionate about anything without other telling them what to feel.
DeleteI agree with both of you! For example in,Fahrenheit 451, all the people who live in that society are forced to be happy with what they have; however, when people try to commit suicide they are okay with it.
DeleteWell I have never thought of it like this and it's a very interesting topic to bring up. I mean they seem to like the soma because it is sort of like their escape from the world their in or the reality they are having. Like Lena when Bernard brings up a touchy subject she quickly wants soma. So they could have suicidal thoughts but we wouldn't really know because they take the soma. I also think that because it would kind of be something people thought of taboo in this place it would not be brought up. So it being taboo could also make people not act upon it . For example (happened more often in past years) when being from the lgtb community quickly meant that you would be discriminated. So people prefer to be "happy" with their soma.
ReplyDeleteI never though o it this way, you made such a good point. Honestly I never thought of the suicidal part in the book and now i really question a lot that has been going on. When I think about the soma, what comes to my mind is some sort of alcohol or some type of drug. When i think of these two substances, i think of how at times people do these things so that they can release any type of feeling they might have . It could be a happy feeling or a bad feeling.Yet, its something to release some type of emotion. For example, the typical image of a heartbroken person who drinks that night away. That drink might only take away the pain for some time; however, the pain will always come back. You have to deal with it face first.
ReplyDeleteHaving knowledge now from reading more recent chapters, learning about Linda, I kind of feel that the citizens of Brave New World are not only displaying some suicidal undertones in the way that they take soma to forget the negativity in their life. Maybe they also take the soma in order to hopefully push them to death more quickly, unable to escape the life they've been dealt?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that some innate human emotions like discontent can be felt no matter how much conditioning has been forced upon them, as evident through Bernard's rebellious streak in terms of his emotional reactions.