Brave New World
Seminar Pre-write
What is the overall message of BNW?
The overall message in brave new world is a mocking of how our society is or how Aldous Huxley thought our society would turn out. I think this message was “sent” to us by emphasizing of little issues we have today in our society that can become a societal controller. In Brave New World they show these societal issues being emphasized and actually controlling how each and every citizen. How they act, how their morals are based and created, and what they rely on to sustain their lifestyle. Also I think a message being sent is the idea of major socialization and how we are all socialized or conditioned to believe certain things and praise certain people and as in the book, love the life we were given. In the book Brave New World they are taught to value who they are and to be happy with what they were given, no one is better than another. Unlike Brave New World in todays society we are taught there are always going to be more important people than you and there is always going to be someone below you. We were taught of you had less money and were lower class you were not at as valued as the citizens making x5 as much as the lower class. Being an upper class made you better then everyone below you.
In what ways has Brave New World made you think about the concept of happiness?
Brave New World has made me think about the concept of happiness in many different ways. Such as the fact that in this dystopian society no one wants to be anything but happy and they do this by taking soma and causing them to not worry about anything leaving them “high” and happy. As stated in the fifth chapter in Brave New World, “ By this time the soma had begun to work. Eyes shone, cheeks were flushed, the inner light of universal benevolence broke out on every face in happy, friendly smiles.” This quote is showing the effect soma has on this society and how each individual relies so greatly on this drug. Another way this is shown in the book is from the very beginning through the explanation of the conditioning and caste grouping. They love the contribution they bring to their dystopian community, leaving them happy to be who they are and undisturbed.
What does John mean by saying nothing in civilization cost enough (page 239)?
The quote stated by John, “nothing in civilization costs enough…” is stating that the people of this dystopian society have everything they could ever want and they are given this. But they always want more, they always have the need for something but being apart of this conditioning process they do not know this idea of wanting more exists. I think to some context this means they are not satisfied with what they have, even though they have and get everything they want. Even with this they are missing something. Certain people such as Bernard know there is room to be something else, what they have isn't all there is. Other citizens are so in love with this society that they would never do anything to change the flow of their life. The majority of the citizens do not have the capability to recognize this want because of how they conditioned they were told by the higher power who they will be and how they will fit in this community because thats who they wanted them to be.
How much of our society do you think is focused on comfort and how much do you think is focused on the truth and beauty?
I think a great amount of our society is focused on comfort and very little is based on truth and beauty. I think many people stay inside their comfort zones, people do not like doing anything they don't know or is not normal to them. People in todays society do what they know and nothing outside the box. There is very truth in society due to socialization and propaganda. You are being told who to be and many people are not aware of this socialization creating little truth to who you are and why. I think society has become a bad thing and a very “dark” subject due to the fact many people don't meet certain norms and criteria that makes you accepted to the human race leads people to not feel they are not good enough or don’t meet certain standards. To me that is not beauty and not a beautiful society. As stated in BNW on page 238, “You got rid of them. Yes, that’s just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it…”
The overall message in brave new world is a mocking of how our society is or how Aldous Huxley thought our society would turn out. I think this message was “sent” to us by emphasizing of little issues we have today in our society that can become a societal controller. In Brave New World they show these societal issues being emphasized and actually controlling how each and every citizen. How they act, how their morals are based and created, and what they rely on to sustain their lifestyle. Also I think a message being sent is the idea of major socialization and how we are all socialized or conditioned to believe certain things and praise certain people and as in the book, love the life we were given. In the book Brave New World they are taught to value who they are and to be happy with what they were given, no one is better than another. Unlike Brave New World in todays society we are taught there are always going to be more important people than you and there is always going to be someone below you. We were taught of you had less money and were lower class you were not at as valued as the citizens making x5 as much as the lower class. Being an upper class made you better then everyone below you.
In what ways has Brave New World made you think about the concept of happiness?
Brave New World has made me think about the concept of happiness in many different ways. Such as the fact that in this dystopian society no one wants to be anything but happy and they do this by taking soma and causing them to not worry about anything leaving them “high” and happy. As stated in the fifth chapter in Brave New World, “ By this time the soma had begun to work. Eyes shone, cheeks were flushed, the inner light of universal benevolence broke out on every face in happy, friendly smiles.” This quote is showing the effect soma has on this society and how each individual relies so greatly on this drug. Another way this is shown in the book is from the very beginning through the explanation of the conditioning and caste grouping. They love the contribution they bring to their dystopian community, leaving them happy to be who they are and undisturbed.
What does John mean by saying nothing in civilization cost enough (page 239)?
The quote stated by John, “nothing in civilization costs enough…” is stating that the people of this dystopian society have everything they could ever want and they are given this. But they always want more, they always have the need for something but being apart of this conditioning process they do not know this idea of wanting more exists. I think to some context this means they are not satisfied with what they have, even though they have and get everything they want. Even with this they are missing something. Certain people such as Bernard know there is room to be something else, what they have isn't all there is. Other citizens are so in love with this society that they would never do anything to change the flow of their life. The majority of the citizens do not have the capability to recognize this want because of how they conditioned they were told by the higher power who they will be and how they will fit in this community because thats who they wanted them to be.
How much of our society do you think is focused on comfort and how much do you think is focused on the truth and beauty?
I think a great amount of our society is focused on comfort and very little is based on truth and beauty. I think many people stay inside their comfort zones, people do not like doing anything they don't know or is not normal to them. People in todays society do what they know and nothing outside the box. There is very truth in society due to socialization and propaganda. You are being told who to be and many people are not aware of this socialization creating little truth to who you are and why. I think society has become a bad thing and a very “dark” subject due to the fact many people don't meet certain norms and criteria that makes you accepted to the human race leads people to not feel they are not good enough or don’t meet certain standards. To me that is not beauty and not a beautiful society. As stated in BNW on page 238, “You got rid of them. Yes, that’s just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it…”
Seminar Reflection
REACTION:
A comment made by Kate was revolving the topic of happiness. She said there needs to be a balance between sorrow and happiness. I agreed with this statement because you can not have happiness of any kind without sorrow. You need to be able to compare the two feelings to know how to feel the other. When you feel sorrow you do not know what its like to be happy for to have that happiness in your life at that point on time but when you are happy you know thats what your feelings because of that other feeling of sorrow. You know the low point where you were at to where you are when you are happy and at that point in time you know you're happy.
SELF-EVALUATION:
I feel I contributed to the conversation well and added comments to keep the seminar running smoothly. Also I feel like I clarified my peers comments by asking questions and adding on to what they were saying by making other comments. I feel like I have grown in the question section of the socratic seminar. Last socratic I made more comments than questions and I did not help to make sure everyone in the group understood comments made that could have been confusing or difficult to comprehend. When asking more questions it helped me understand they key concepts in the book Brave New World and how they can connect to our everyday life in todays society. By partaking this conversation about happiness and the deeper questions about Brave New World it made me think further about what I read or about what one of my peers had previously stated. Every time a intelectual comment was made it would make me think about 10 other ideas and questions about the topic being discussed.
KEY TAKE-AWAY:
A very important take away I have from reading Brave New World and discussing it with my classmates is the idea of artificial happiness. This was touched upon an extravagant amount in the book. Each character from this society only knew how to be happy but at the same time they didn’t know they were happy. They only knew that they wanted to feel that way all of the time. They completed this by taking soma to produce this feeling of happiness by causing you to “forget” or not be aware of anything contradicting that feeling of happiness. It made me relate it to my everyday life and the society I see around me. In our society soma is taken place by alcohol and other common drugs. Throughout the book the artificial happiness is broken or tries to be broken by certain characters leaving them unhappy with the result of wanting to feel more than what is given to them.
A comment made by Kate was revolving the topic of happiness. She said there needs to be a balance between sorrow and happiness. I agreed with this statement because you can not have happiness of any kind without sorrow. You need to be able to compare the two feelings to know how to feel the other. When you feel sorrow you do not know what its like to be happy for to have that happiness in your life at that point on time but when you are happy you know thats what your feelings because of that other feeling of sorrow. You know the low point where you were at to where you are when you are happy and at that point in time you know you're happy.
SELF-EVALUATION:
I feel I contributed to the conversation well and added comments to keep the seminar running smoothly. Also I feel like I clarified my peers comments by asking questions and adding on to what they were saying by making other comments. I feel like I have grown in the question section of the socratic seminar. Last socratic I made more comments than questions and I did not help to make sure everyone in the group understood comments made that could have been confusing or difficult to comprehend. When asking more questions it helped me understand they key concepts in the book Brave New World and how they can connect to our everyday life in todays society. By partaking this conversation about happiness and the deeper questions about Brave New World it made me think further about what I read or about what one of my peers had previously stated. Every time a intelectual comment was made it would make me think about 10 other ideas and questions about the topic being discussed.
KEY TAKE-AWAY:
A very important take away I have from reading Brave New World and discussing it with my classmates is the idea of artificial happiness. This was touched upon an extravagant amount in the book. Each character from this society only knew how to be happy but at the same time they didn’t know they were happy. They only knew that they wanted to feel that way all of the time. They completed this by taking soma to produce this feeling of happiness by causing you to “forget” or not be aware of anything contradicting that feeling of happiness. It made me relate it to my everyday life and the society I see around me. In our society soma is taken place by alcohol and other common drugs. Throughout the book the artificial happiness is broken or tries to be broken by certain characters leaving them unhappy with the result of wanting to feel more than what is given to them.