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KelseyLiddell
Conrad
ERWCperiod2
3April2016
TheNewWorldisUponUs
Imagineaworldwherelovedoesnotexist,whereyourmothers,fathers,orsiblingsare
nolongerpartofoureverydaylives.Pictureasocietywheretechnologiesaresoadvancedthere
isnoneedforreproductionorrelationships,nolongerlivinginyourmother'sstomachfornine
monthsbutbeingcreatedinalab,thenbeingtaughtfromthatdayforwardhowtothinkandwhat
tobelieve.Thinkingaboutthismaysoundhorrid,butinreality,wearenotfaroffofthiswayof
life,infact,wearealotcloserthananyonewouldexpect.Inthenovel,
BraveNewWorld
Alex
Huxleydescribesacompletelydifferentworldfromhistime,calledtheWorldState,which
greatlyrelatestoourmodernsocietytoday.Therehavebeenchangestothisworldduetonew
scientificdiscoveriesandthedesiretokeepastablesocietythatmakesitsotherearespecific
groupsandclassesthatallthinkandfeelthesameway.Therearemanyparallelsbetweenthe
bookandourworldtoday,buttheconceptsthatstandoutthemostarethesocialclassesandthe
recreationaluseofdrugs.
Today,whatisnormaltooursocietyisthatchildrenareraisedbytheirparentsandthe
waytheygrowuphasagreatimpactontheirlifelateron.Inthebravenewworld,childrenare
conditionedtothinkandfeelacertainway.Whenthesechildrenarecreated,theyare
separatedintoacertainclass,Alpha,Beta,Gamma,Delta,orEpsilon.Eachclasshasadifferent
roleinsocietyandfromthestartwhentheyarechildren,theyareconditionedtolikecertain

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thingsandlearntobeacceptingoftheirclass.
Forexample,EventhoughAlphasareabove
Betas,andtheygenerallyhaveitbetterthanthem,theyarestilltrainedtothinkthatAlphas
workmuchharderthan[they]do,becausethey'resofrightfullyclever.[Therefore,theyare]
glad[theyareBetas],because[they]don'twork[as]hard(21).TheWorldStatedoesthisso
thereisnocompetitionornooneclassisinenvyofanother.Eachclasswearsaspecificcolorof
clothingandconditionedtolikeandhatethatcertainthings,suchastheotherclassescolorto
keepthisstability.Inmanyways,thisisalmostexactlylikeoursociety.Childrenareborninto
familiesthatcouldbepartofthelowerclassandareraisedtothinkthathigherclassesarebetter
thanthembecausetheyhavemoreaccesstogoodsandhavehigherpayingjobs.Similarwiththe
higherclass,whousuallylooksdownuponlowerclassesbecausetheyaremorewealthy.
Anotherwayoursocietyisgreatlysimilartothatoftheworldstateishowwetrytochangeour
appearancestofitin.AnexampleofthisinthenoveliswhenBernardstressesabouthis
appearancebecausehedoesnotlooklikealltheotherAlphas.Hisselfconfidencewasextremely
lowbecauseEachtimehefoundhimselflookingonthelevel,insteadofdownward,intoa
Delta'sface,hefelthumiliated(43).Manypeopletoday,especiallyteenagers,lookatmodelsin
amagazineortheyseepeopleontelevisionwhoforthemostparthavethesamelook,same
body,andsamephysique.Thesepeoplefeelworseandworseaboutthemselvesbecauseour
societyseemstothinkthatyouarelesserofapersonbecauseyoudon'tlookacertainway,when
reallyweshouldalllearntoloveourbodies,andnotputourfocusintotryingtolooklikean
editedpicture.
AnotherwaytheWorldStaterelatestothemodernworldtodayistherecreationaluseof
drugsandfeelies.Newtechnologieshaveintroducedanewdrugcalledsomawhichenables

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adolescentstoexperiencethesamehighasotherdrugswouldbutcompletelysafeandunharmful
tothebody.TakingSomatabletshasbecomesonormalinthisworlditisalmostasifitislooked
downuponifonewastochoosenotto.Theparallelwiththisconceptandoursocietyisthatitso
commonforunderagepeopletobeincontactwithdrugsandalcoholthatitisnormaltowitness
ateenagerundertheinfluence.Oneofthemainreasonswhyteenagersparticipateinsuch
recklessactionsistotrytofitinwiththeirfriends,andoftenfallunderpeerpressure.Justlike
manyteenagersinoursociety,Bernardfeelsthesamewaytheydo,tryingtofitinbydoing
drugsordrinkingalcohol.Forexample,theonlytimereadersreallyseeBernardincontactwith
somaiswhenhewantstofitinwiththerestofsociety,sohefogshismindwiththesedrugs.
Readersimmediatelyknowwhen
Bernardswallowedfourtabletsof
soma
atagulp,turnedon
theradioandtelevisionandbegantoundresshereallydidn'twantto,hejustwantedtofeel
acceptedbyhispeers(62).AnotherwaythatdrugsandalcoholintheWorldStatearesimilarto
drugsandalcoholinoursocietyisthatpeopleneedtobeundertheinfluenceinordertofeelany
sortorhappiness.Bernard,forexample,issocaughtupintryingtofitinbytakingdrugs,ithas
becomeanaddiction,andwheneverheis
punctured,utterlydeflated,[or][begins]toweep...A
fewminuteslater,however,he[thinks]betterofitandtakes
soma
(177).Bernardcanno
longerdealwithproblemsonhisown,hereliesonsomatotakehismindoffofeverything,asdo
manypeopleinourmodernworld.
AlexHuxleyshowedusthatifwedonotstartactingnow,oursocietywillsoonresemble
thatoftheWorldState.Alloftheseparallelsexplainhowthisworldisalreadyuponus,thatwe
arenotfarofffromhavingAlpha,Beta,Gamma,Delta,andEpsilonclasses,oradvancingour
technologiessofarthatthereisnomoreneedforlove,familiesorconflicts.Westrivetofitin

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andundoubtedlywemakeitoneofourmaingoalsinlife.Whenourlivesseemtobecorruptwe
blamesocietybutweallneedtounderstandthatwemakeupsociety,andinordertomakeany
sortofchangethatweallhopefor,weneedtostartwithourselves,andsearchfortheproblems
therewithoutblamingsociety.