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Essay / Telltale signs of contentment and social castes in Brave New World
Every author has a purpose behind every article he writes; some sort of message or deeper meaning behind their work. Aldous Huxley's purpose in writing Brave New World was most certainly a warning of the possibilities of the future. The dystopian society of Brave New World showed a world dominated by technological advancements that have sculpted society itself through various means. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley warned of the dangers of social caste, of accepting comfort and contentment at the expense of true happiness, and of the risks associated with these factors that technological advances bring. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the most important themes of Brave New World is the presence of social castes and their effects on society. The society of Brave New World is divided into five castes, each with different intelligence and societal roles. The highest caste, the Alphas, are the dominant class in both intelligence and status, and contain the leaders of society both through government and in the various sciences. As the caste level lowers, people's intelligence and positions decrease, gradually deteriorating until they reach the lowest class of Epsilon, who are idiotic and forced into menial jobs. Such social caste is not something uncommon even in today's society, although it is much more subtle in the real world. There are definite trends in the jobs that different people do and in their overall intelligence levels. Those who are able to receive an adequate education can earn a college degree and earn significantly higher income overall, with a bachelor's degree earning on average 1.65 times the income of a high school diploma and a master's degree earning on average nearly 1.65 times the income of a high school diploma. twice the amount (Baum, Ma & Payea, 12). Differences in income levels due to education often lead to separation between people and create an informal social caste in themselves. However, the differences between social classes in today's society are not something very concrete. Due to the lack of concrete social castes in today's society, it is relatively easy for anyone to achieve a better position in life. Anyone can put enough effort into their life and find a way to become more successful than they are currently. This is not the case in Brave New World, however. The caste system is in place before people are even born. Instead of people having children normally, all children are conceived and raised in a hatchery. This allows those in charge of the hatchery to directly influence the conditions the unborn child is subjected to, as well as the genetics of each child. Because of this, the government has direct control over what caste each person becomes, from the highly intelligent Alphas to the moronic Epsilons. While genetic engineering of this quality was little more than a theoretical concept when Huxley wrote Brave New World, today it is relatively common, even if not common among humans. Many crops and livestock have been genetically modified to become resistant to disease or to be able to provide more food, but similar treatments could easily be applied to humans (Simmons). Even if ethical constraints limit this practice only tocure or prevention of disease, the possibility of using genetic engineering for powerful eugenic purposes poses a real threat, and if the government were to succeed in implementing a eugenics program of this scale, the caste system Brave new world could very well become a reality. Another problem that Huxley warned us about throughout Brave New World is the acceptance of contentment and the overvaluation of comfort. In Brave New World society, people are conditioned to completely avoid emotions, society is built on never having to feel emotions such as anger, fear and sadness, but at the same time, real emotions.happiness is something that is also frowned upon. Little propaganda phrases are imposed on society from childhood, such as the phrases “when the individual feels, the community falters” and “everyone is happy these days” (Huxley). To further eliminate negative emotions from society, they are encouraged to take soma, a specially designed medicine that can easily replace negative emotions with feelings of comfort and euphoria. The use of soma is further encouraged by expressions such as "a gram is always better than a damn", "a gram in good time saves nine", and "a cubic centimeter cures ten dark feelings" (Huxley). Through the use of soma, Brave New World society has been able to secure comfort and the basic contentment that accompanies it eternally, but without ever experiencing the feelings of true happiness. Much like the inhabitants of Brave New World, today's society has a strong tendency to seek and value comfort over true happiness. Technological advances are one of the main causes of these changes in values, leading to a materialistic society that values the most comfortable thing money can buy. It is difficult to become truly happy, but relatively easy to feel very comfortable. The problem with comfort is that the easier it is to achieve, the more boring and mundane it becomes. Blogger Mariele Anastasia says it bluntly but concisely: “Comfort is defined by its mediocrity. If you aspire to happiness, you have risks to take: you risk being afraid, being hurt, being rejected, making mistakes. You may experience the lowest levels. You might feel downright miserable. At least you feel something” (Comfort vs. Happiness). These risks are things that many people are afraid to take and, therefore, they opt for comfort in order to avoid these fears. In Brave New World, the soma acts as a barrier against these unwanted emotions. Huxley further focuses these concepts of using comfort to mask negative emotions through descriptions of the soma by members of the Alpha caste. “And if ever, by some unlucky coincidence, something unpleasant should somehow happen, well, there’s always soma to give you a vacation.” the facts. And there is always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you with your enemies, to make you patient and forgiving. In the past, these things could only be accomplished through great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now you swallow two or three half-gram tablets, and you're there. Everyone can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half of your morality in a bottle. (Huxley) Hiding from negative emotions through comfort keeps society in a state of ignorant bliss, because no one who feels comfortable has to experience true unhappiness. However, the absence of unhappiness is not the same as happiness, and without accepting., 2012.