As I concluded Brave New World, I was left thinking for
several days about the society presented to the reader. Yes, the community is
flawed in many ways such as the sleep-teaching (brainwashing), the loss of the
family unit, the promiscuity, and banning of books seen unfit by the government.
However, I found some benefits to this new world such as immunity to deadly
diseases, thriving economy, stable government, the exclusion of wars, and
apparent widespread happiness.
This made me think: Would I be willing to put up with the
faults to keep the benefits? Yes, everyone is brainwashed, my individuality is
lost, and I don’t have a family to keep me company, but imagine the lives saved
with cures to diseases and the end of wars! As much as I would hate to say it,
I would be willing to deal with the downsides of this society so that the world
can indulge in the benefits of lessen suffering worldwide. What are your opinions on this? Would you take the
bad so that you could have the good?
You make some really good points. Honestly, I would not take the bad so I could have the good. In my opinion, yes you might be rid of disease and have a stable economy but I would have no one special to share it with. In the book when Bernard speaks about being alone and liking it they all lash out at him. But what they do not realize is that truly they already all are alone. When something good happens to you the first you want to do is go tell the closest person to you let's say your parents or siblings heck, even your dog! I would rather have to go through obstacles in my life and have people to help me through it and have amazing moments to outweigh those bad moments out than to have a dull life with no action or love and have to pretend I'm happy by numbing myself out with soma.
ReplyDeleteI can see what you mean by the benefits of their society. The world would be improved immensely if no one were to come up with any sort of disease or if there was no violence. However, I do not think I could take the bad to have the good. Real happiness comes from love, individuality, and beauty. If I were to become a citizen of their society, would I be experiencing real happiness? Or would I just become a shell of a person, having no diversity, becoming similar to everyone else? Everything the same, same, same. No one would have any thoughts of their own and no concept of what the real truth is.
ReplyDeleteAlthough these people would not be miserable with predetermined life because they do not know any different, I don't think I could tolerate living in this society. There are some tremendous benefits to this controlled society, but are they important enough to lose the concepts of emotion and personality over? As proven in other books about dystopian societies, such as The Giver, humans must experience negative emotions and events in order to appreciate the positive in life. The people of this society may feel that the advantages outweigh the sacrifices made, I would have to disagree the good does not compensate for the bad.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that true emotion, love, literature, family, and occasional tribulations outweigh stability and artificial happiness. However, I think it is easier for us (living in a first world country) to say that we would choose this world we live in now over this brave new one. I believe that giving up the things we love and love itself would be for the sake of other people. Other people whose country is plagued by disease, whose government takes money from the people, where war and violence is interminable. I find it admirable and I respect what you said about willing to deal with the downsides to benefit others since it would be difficult to give up the beauty and enrichment we have today.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that living in a world such as one in the book would have its benefits, but I don't think they match up to the true happiness that we have in our world. We might be surrounded by diseases and war, but it is through our trials and obstacles that we find the meaning of being happy because there are opposites in everything. In their new world they don't get to experience important things such as committed relationships, or simply knowing that there is someone there for you. I think having the bad in our world gives us the opportunity to enjoy the good moments far greater than expecting to be happy all the time. I wouldn't be willing to give up my individual worth or ability to express my own thoughts for a world of delusive emotions.
ReplyDeleteTheir society does have many benefits, but I would not choose to live in it. The happiness that the people feel in this society can be described as fake. The people are trained to believe they are happy through brainwashing, and when they feel they are no longer happy, all they have to do is take soma for their unhappy feelings to subside. The loss of individuality and appreciation in their world also seems as though it may get boring after a while. In our world, people are able to express themselves and make their own decisions whenever and however they want. I believe that is something that many people would not be willing to give up.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are pros and cons to this society I would not chose to live in it, simply because I love my individuality to much. While they may seem happy and disease free, I do not think that it would be the best choice for our type of government right now. We have all been raised in a government where we are free to speak our minds and be willing to stand up for our country on our own accord; not because the government has told us that it is the right thing to do. I would like to think that we may all one day find a cure for mostly all of the diseases, and that we might be able to resolve our government issues without having to result in war while still being able to keep our individuality. Call me a wishful thinker but I do think its possible that we may achieve peace without a totalitarian government.
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