Society in Brave New World Essay Sample

Is desensitization and stability worth the consequences caused by the forced conditioning of individuals of the new world? Aldous Huxley's famous novel "Brave New World" is about a dystopian society where individuals are conditioned at a young age to bring efficiency and stability into the new world. It is the controllers of this brand new society who control everyone and everything within it. In order to bring instability, they have left behind all art, science, religion, and true love in the past. As everyone adheres to the same values and ideas, conditioning is crucial to the stability of Brave New World. The effects of the conditioning process on individuals have produced a profoundly negative impactive, most clearly demonstrated through the heavy cultural reliance on soma, forbidden individuality, and the inescapable fate of being a minute cog in the societal machine. Inability to conversely handle emotions, loneliness caused by divergent values, and living a life one does not intend to live, but is rather forced to live. Firstly, the societal conditioning to consume soma as a response to any negative stimuli, and relying on it strictly for intense pleasure, the individuals' capacity for both emotional experience and resolving human conflict are severely muted. "He was ashamed of his jealousy and alternately made efforts of will and took soma to keep himself from feeling it. But the efforts were not very successful; and between the some-holidays there were, of necessity intervals. The odious sentiment kept on returning." (Huxley, 121) The quote illustrates Bernard's inability to manage his feelings more maturely due to the consumption of soma. There is no doubt that this behavior has been significantly influenced by the conditioning process, given that the people of the new world are obsessed with the notion of happiness, believing that it can only be achieved through the use of soma. Due to the conditioning process, people in the new world are not accustomed to dealing with their emotions, and this causes them to lack the ability to handle them. It is evident that according to the conditioning process, individuals living in the new world rely solely on the use of soma. Individuals have been adversely affected as a result of this, lacking the ability to cope with their emotions, and thus becoming more frustrated and unable to form meaningful connections. Secondly, Due to the conditioning of everyone to think similarly, a sense of forbidden individuality has been created, so that if someone's thought process differs from anyone else's, they are considered odd, thus creating a perception of loneliness. "I'm rather different from most people, I suppose. If one happens to be decanted different…" "Yes, that's just it." The young man nodded. "If one's different, one's bound to be lonely." (Huxley, 91) In spite of Bernard's similar conditioning to the rest of society, it is perhaps his being decanted differently that has caused him to have different ideas from the majority of society. As a result, this creates a sense of loneliness in him because he is bound to a society whose ideas are incompatible with his individualist values. According to John, if one is different, one is meant to be lonely, which reinforces Bernard's sense of isolation. Through the conditioning process, individuals whose values differ from those of the majority may experience a feeling of abandonment or loneliness due to being forced into a state of forbidden individuality. Lastly, The prospect of being confined to a life that the individuals of society had not intended to live due to the conditional process over which they have no control over is a very miserable, frustrating, and unfair reality to live in. "But queer that Alphas and Betas won't make any more plants grow than those nasty little Gammas and Deltas and Epsilons down there." (Huxley, 50) The members of different castes are genetically modified to be a certain way in order to fill their preordained role in the new society. In the minds of these individuals, caste is the only thing that matters, as it replaces all other defining characteristics. As a result, everyone is in competition with one another, while also being conditioned to live a life that is not truly their own. Their purpose in life is simply to fulfill the role that has been assigned to them by the new society. Consequently, creating a sense of competition and unwarranted hatred among individuals.

The fact that individuals are cast in different groups of society creates a negative impact and unwarranted hostility towards something they are unable to control through conditioning. In conclusion, Due to the inability to learn how to work with their own emotions, reliance on soma leaves one with nothing but a deep sense of emptiness. There is a persistent feeling of loneliness due to the lack of individualism, so one is even forbidden to speak about their emotions outwardly without facing any consequences. In addition, since they adhere to different values, the different caste systems do not make matters any easier as one has to contend with both the competition and lack of trust. This is how the conditioning process has produced a profoundly negative impact on individuals as demonstrated in the heavy cultural reliance on soma, forbidden individuality, and the inescapable fate of becoming a minute cog in society's machinery.