Quarter Three
Ethics
Brave New World
Brave New World is full of characters who do anything they can to avoid facing the truth about their own situations. Even the way that the characters minimize or maximize problems such as infidelity and death is a direct avoidance to the truth. The almost universal use of the drug soma is probably the most prominent example of such willful self-delusion. Soma clouds the realities of the present and replaces them with happy hallucinations, and thus is a tool for promoting social stability. But even Shakespeare can be used to avoid facing the truth, as John demonstrates by his insistence on viewing Lenina through the lens of Shakespeare’s words, first as Juliet and then later as an “impudent strumpet.” According to Mustapha Mond, the World State prioritizes happiness at the expense of truth, that is, happiness is incompatible with the truth. He believes that people are better off with happiness than with the truth.
Brave New World is almost a manual underlying the message, "Do not let this happen to the world". This book makes one look at our own society through the eyes of our ancestors in a way that also allows us to see that, sometime between now and the past, we have lost some humanity.
Since there is so much emphasis on the sex lives of the World State, Huxley has much to say on the increasing commodity of sex being a free and no-strings-attached affair. These characters also actively participate in orgies and once much-frowned-upon PDA. It might even be fair to say that he is against premarital sex. Another interesting ethical dilemma implied is the way that children are encouraged to partake in "erotic play". Which is downright creepy and any parent would find that alarming. I believe that Huxley and the times in which he was raised allows him to view any public or freelance demonstration of sex as an aberration. Huxley believes that what was once the most precious thing to save for the most precious person, chastity, will soon be nothing. Even the feelies contribute to that. Sex, once viewed as only a closed-door affair, is paraded about like a sort of exhibit.
Another confusing part about society in the World State is the conditioned aversion to forming any sort of meaningful relationship. Infidelity is even encouraged, as having one sole lover for a long time is considered anti-social behavior. Mustapha Mond, World Controller says, "...they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers or fathers; they've got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they're so conditioned that they can't help behaving as they ought to behave". As young as I am, and as much as I complain about my parents and siblings irritating me, I cannot imagine living in a world where having a family is considered a vulgarity. Aldous Huxley seems to predict that this aversion to creating a family goes hand-in-hand with all the freelance sex. The looser we get with our sex lives, the more the value of a family drops.
Furthermore, the entire centers around the horrible aspects of having such an intrusive and totalitarian government. In Brave New World the World State government controls everything from reproductive rights to what class you will belong in once you are decanted. The worst thing that the government controls is the thoughts of the citizens. I believe Huxley predicts that the government will eventually beat out the will of the people and the entirety of Brave New World will come true.
Reflection
I began the quarter thinking I had everything down and, if I skipped a couple assignments, I would still be okay with at least a B. And I turned out to be immensely incorrect and had to pull my grades up from the depths of heck to get that B, I so richly desired. This quarter I believe that the most important lesson we learned was how to run a full debate. That debate assignment taught me that, contrary to my nature of soloing all, I work well in a group. It also taught me to pay attention to all that was being said and allowed me to put into effect all the rhetoric we were taught throughout the year. Fourth quarter I am absolutely dreading the AP exam. I am not an avid test-taker. Though, I am looking forward to lessons on college prep, as AP is al about college prep.
