Are the Citizens in BNW Happy?
Are the citizens in the Brave New World happy?Aldous Huxley's novel, Brave New World, describes a society where every measure possible has been taken in order to create some kind of happiness amongst the citizens of this New World. The natural question to ask oneself is if everyone really is contented. There are quite a few things that have to be examined while answering this question; the usage of the drug soma, being one. This universal drug addiction both supports and contradicts the topic statement. The main characters in this novel, being Bernard Marx and John, may not be the perfect representatives of the average citizens of the Brave New World. Yet the do make up a part of the society. Therefore one would find it interesting to examine their eventual happiness, as another step in answering the topic question. The kind of happiness that exists in the present-day society varies from individual to individual. It is therefore rather difficult to give an exact definition of the source of this happiness. Yet one might claim that happiness is a result of satisfaction. The society that is described in Brave New World has erased every sign of individualism and is seeking to create a kind of common happiness, which is suppo
John's participation in the final orgy, his usage of soma, followed by his suicide in the end of the novel shows that any other form of happiness than the one proclaimed by the government, is in one way or another going to be erased. Brave New World is full of characters who do everything they can to escape from the actual truth about their own situations. Yet if one believes in real happiness, contrasted by real sadness, it would be incorrect to claim that anyone in the Brave New World is happy. One might see a "Bernard" in every individual of the Brave New World. So instead of searching his happiness in the savage or the civilised society, he creates an individual view of happiness built upon individual values. One that certainly does share the human desires of Bernard, is John, who is the modern-day representative in this novel. Bernard's struggle to achieve the ideal happiness of the society is as strong as for anybody else:"'Didn't you think it was wonderful?' she insisted, looking into Bernard's face with those supernaturally shining eyes. Yet if one sees satisfaction and truth as the real source of happiness, soma disproves the happiness of the Brave New World. When the reader is introduced to Bernard Marx, he is isolated, insecure and highly critical towards the society he is living in. This "Bernard" then represents the human desire to experience love and appreciation, existing within everyone. Yet, the common happiness proclaimed by the World State is undermined by a general frustration rooted in unsatisfied human desires, where Bernard becomes the character illustrating this. This makes him emerge as the utmost outsider of the novel. " (Page 76)In this situation, Bernard's desire to become a part of the society, which he hypocritically is criticising, is very apparent. Whether 'tis nobler in mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. One might agree that this is true happiness.
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Acceptance Essays
