Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a much easier read for me (I kinda started while I was reading AOTD). It's really weird in the beginning but once I started getting towards the end, it became very interesting. I believe that it's a little more difficult to find Huxley's main points because it has a story to it, unlike Postman's where his ideas and beliefs are simply stated.
Huxley describes a perfect world in this book; a place where there is no sadness, frustration, or pain. This is all because of the advancement in technology. I noticed that in the book, there was a part where someone wasn't part of the society but when she came back she completely envelops herself in technology and that was the death of her. This could be seen as an example of one of Huxley's main point: If we surround ourselves with nothing but media, we wont live robust, productive lives.
Also Huxley demonstrates how technology keeps us captive denying us freedom to truly live. In the book, the people lost the ability to react and relate to all situations and they can't properly express their emotions. It's possible that we can end up like them if we don't have enough resistance.
The last point that he makes is that we must persevere through our trials instead of ignoring them. I especially liked this point because the people take soma whenever something goes wrong, so that they can relax their mind and forget about the problem, but they don't have enough strength to overcome their struggles. It seems easier to find comfort through technology but that doesn't mean the problem is going to go away. There are so much more to get from this book, but I found those points most relative to me.
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Friday, July 25, 2014
Utopia or Dystopia: Where Are We Today?
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Hey Jenascia! I haven't read Brave New World yet but judging by what you've said, I'd have to agree with his points (especially his second one). As much as I hate to admit it, I am one of those people that has allowed technology to take over my life. In a social situation, I'm usually the person that whips out their phone right away to check twitter or tumblr rather than actually engage in conversation. I can definitely make the argument that owning an iPhone has made me more of an introvert, and I feel that's what Huxley tried to convey.
ReplyDeleteHello Jenascia, I am currently reading Brave New World and I also agree with the point you made about the soma in the book. When I first read about how the soma makes their problems go away, it instantly reminded me of the book Fahrenheit 451. In both books the people in the society take some type of drug to make them forget about reality for a while. It worries me that eventually our society will become like this. I feel that we will become entirely attached to the fake reality of technology and no longer want to interact with what really matters. Has anyone ever felt this way?
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that perhaps another point Huxley is making is that the world in this book is not perfect. One would think that a place with no pain, suffering, or troubles of any sort is perfect, but if that is the case, what is the point of living. To enjoy oneself? No, that answer is too shallow. Did any person in Brave New World look truly satisfied? Maybe on the surface it seemed that way, but in their souls they are most likely not. In my experience, satisfaction does not come from material things, and that is all the people in Brave New World have.
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