"Everybody's Happy Now"
It's not often that someone makes a post out of a book report, but this one that I wrote for Brave New World seemed pretty good to me; when I wrote it, the words just sort of poured out. Not often that a luxury like that comes along.
"'Everybody’s happy now'
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
In London, at some undefined time in the future, the world is a very different
place. Human beings are mass-produced in laboratories and mass-raised in huge
nurseries. Each human is specifically created and conditioned to be in a
specific caste, from the beautiful, intelligent Alphas all the way down to the
Semi-Morons, who are barely smart enough to run an elevator. Even the lowest
castes are happy, though, since all people are specifically modeled for and
therefore perfectly at home in their caste. No one complains, and if there is
any pain or problem in your life, you can take a few half-grams of soma, the
perfect drug, and sleep your problems away while enjoying dream vacations in the
tropics. And, of course, there’s sex, provided you follow the Malthusian Drill
and use your contraceptives correctly, for Ford (that quaint old idea of God has
now been replaced with someone far more worthy of admiration) knows we wouldn’t
want our females doing something as barbaric and uncivilized as giving birth.
Motherhood, fatherhood, and the family are several old horrors we no longer have
to deal with.
This is where Brave New World takes place, in a perfect, controlled society, where
everyone is happy and all the “best” pleasures are readily available without any
consequences. There are, however, a few who are a little dissatisfied. Take, for
example, Bernard Marx, who is something of an outcast because he was created an
Alpha but for some reason came out more stunted and short than the other members
of his caste. He gets irritated with the general I’m-fat-and-I’m-happy
mentality, and wonders sometimes if ignorant bliss really is what humanity is
meant for. His friend, Helmholtz Watson, is properly perfect but also shares
some of Bernard’s frustration. Then there’s the beautiful and oblivious Lenina
Crowe, who has a liking for Bernard and takes a trip with him down to a Savage
Reservation (which is a sort of Indian reservation) in New Mexico.
It is at the Savage Reservation where they meet John. Through a serious mistake, John
wound up being born on the reservation to a woman named Linda, who had been one
of the reservation’s civilized visitors but was accidentally impregnated and
left on the reservation. John has spent his entire life on the reservation, but
is obviously quite a misfit, and suffers a lot for it. He is pretty much left to
fend for himself, for his mother spends much of her time in bed. Almost entirely
alone, he develops his own sense of truth, beauty, and religion. He and Bernard
instantly click when they meet, and eventually, Bernard offers to take John with
him to the “civilized world.” John accepts, and he, Lenina, and Bernard take off
back to London.
John, known in London as “The Savage,” is a howling success, and his fame
catapults Bernard into fame as well. Unfortunately, it is not long before
success goes to Bernard’s head, and it goes to John’s head as well, but in an
entirely different way. Throw Helmholtz and Lenina into the whole mess, and soon
these four people find themselves dazed, angry, weary and confused in a world
that is quickly pleasuring them to death.
Using an omniscient third person point of view, Aldous Huxley shows us a classic example
of the Man vs. Society conflict type, and how perfect happiness just might be
enough to make us miserable. Running through the book is the theme that
happiness is hollow, unfulfilling and even carnal if it comes to us at the
expense of things such as truth, beauty, and individuality. In our pursuit to
rid ourselves of pain and trouble, we may very possibly cause more pain and
trouble for ourselves, as John, Bernard, Lenina and Helmholtz find out. Like
most books of this genre, Brave New World has a dark, cynical mood, but there
are times when there’s hope. Through the pessimism of the story, Huxley teaches
us an important lesson: Given the choice between happiness and the “important
things” of life, it is often best and most fulfilling to suck it up and choose
the important things, such as truth, beauty, virtue, God, family, and
individuality. "
Anyhoo, thar be that.
Also, Lent starts Wednesday, and I think I'll do the same thing I did last year and leave this blog dormant for those 40 days. So, until Easter, this is James Powers, signing off. And all that jazz.
P.S. My apologies for the ridiculously scattered text above. I don't know why, but for some reason the old compy sees fit to paste large bodies of text in a totally demented fashion.
P.P.S. It's entirely likely that the scattered text only appears scattered on Explorer (being less than an expert on the weird behavior of browsers, I wouldn't know). If that's the case, then users of other browsers: please disregard. Users of Explorer: my most heartfelt condolences.
Now James Powers is signing off and all that jazz. For real this time.
"'Everybody’s happy now'
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
In London, at some undefined time in the future, the world is a very different
place. Human beings are mass-produced in laboratories and mass-raised in huge
nurseries. Each human is specifically created and conditioned to be in a
specific caste, from the beautiful, intelligent Alphas all the way down to the
Semi-Morons, who are barely smart enough to run an elevator. Even the lowest
castes are happy, though, since all people are specifically modeled for and
therefore perfectly at home in their caste. No one complains, and if there is
any pain or problem in your life, you can take a few half-grams of soma, the
perfect drug, and sleep your problems away while enjoying dream vacations in the
tropics. And, of course, there’s sex, provided you follow the Malthusian Drill
and use your contraceptives correctly, for Ford (that quaint old idea of God has
now been replaced with someone far more worthy of admiration) knows we wouldn’t
want our females doing something as barbaric and uncivilized as giving birth.
Motherhood, fatherhood, and the family are several old horrors we no longer have
to deal with.
This is where Brave New World takes place, in a perfect, controlled society, where
everyone is happy and all the “best” pleasures are readily available without any
consequences. There are, however, a few who are a little dissatisfied. Take, for
example, Bernard Marx, who is something of an outcast because he was created an
Alpha but for some reason came out more stunted and short than the other members
of his caste. He gets irritated with the general I’m-fat-and-I’m-happy
mentality, and wonders sometimes if ignorant bliss really is what humanity is
meant for. His friend, Helmholtz Watson, is properly perfect but also shares
some of Bernard’s frustration. Then there’s the beautiful and oblivious Lenina
Crowe, who has a liking for Bernard and takes a trip with him down to a Savage
Reservation (which is a sort of Indian reservation) in New Mexico.
It is at the Savage Reservation where they meet John. Through a serious mistake, John
wound up being born on the reservation to a woman named Linda, who had been one
of the reservation’s civilized visitors but was accidentally impregnated and
left on the reservation. John has spent his entire life on the reservation, but
is obviously quite a misfit, and suffers a lot for it. He is pretty much left to
fend for himself, for his mother spends much of her time in bed. Almost entirely
alone, he develops his own sense of truth, beauty, and religion. He and Bernard
instantly click when they meet, and eventually, Bernard offers to take John with
him to the “civilized world.” John accepts, and he, Lenina, and Bernard take off
back to London.
John, known in London as “The Savage,” is a howling success, and his fame
catapults Bernard into fame as well. Unfortunately, it is not long before
success goes to Bernard’s head, and it goes to John’s head as well, but in an
entirely different way. Throw Helmholtz and Lenina into the whole mess, and soon
these four people find themselves dazed, angry, weary and confused in a world
that is quickly pleasuring them to death.
Using an omniscient third person point of view, Aldous Huxley shows us a classic example
of the Man vs. Society conflict type, and how perfect happiness just might be
enough to make us miserable. Running through the book is the theme that
happiness is hollow, unfulfilling and even carnal if it comes to us at the
expense of things such as truth, beauty, and individuality. In our pursuit to
rid ourselves of pain and trouble, we may very possibly cause more pain and
trouble for ourselves, as John, Bernard, Lenina and Helmholtz find out. Like
most books of this genre, Brave New World has a dark, cynical mood, but there
are times when there’s hope. Through the pessimism of the story, Huxley teaches
us an important lesson: Given the choice between happiness and the “important
things” of life, it is often best and most fulfilling to suck it up and choose
the important things, such as truth, beauty, virtue, God, family, and
individuality. "
Anyhoo, thar be that.
Also, Lent starts Wednesday, and I think I'll do the same thing I did last year and leave this blog dormant for those 40 days. So, until Easter, this is James Powers, signing off. And all that jazz.
P.S. My apologies for the ridiculously scattered text above. I don't know why, but for some reason the old compy sees fit to paste large bodies of text in a totally demented fashion.
P.P.S. It's entirely likely that the scattered text only appears scattered on Explorer (being less than an expert on the weird behavior of browsers, I wouldn't know). If that's the case, then users of other browsers: please disregard. Users of Explorer: my most heartfelt condolences.
Now James Powers is signing off and all that jazz. For real this time.
posted by James at
8:22 PM
