Prompt 1

In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the main characters live in a futuristic society where every aspect of life, from creating offspring to what social caste each individual belongs to, is scientifically controlled; even happiness can be controlled in their carefully governed world through the use of "soma." On numerous occasions over the course of the story, the characters utilize soma to escape their negative feelings by taking a "soma holiday" from their pains. Throughout the story, soma symbolizes not only happiness, but also the power that their controlling government and the new technologies they created have over the lives of the people in their society.

In Huxley's futuristic utopia, the dictatorial government specifically creates each person with certain likes, dislikes, beliefs, and desires, all in order to move toward their ultimate goal: stability. Another key to this pivotal desire for stability is the use of soma. Serving a dual-purpose, soma maintains the state of blissful ignorance that the citizens live in, while simultaneously ensuring that no one is unhappy with the rule of the World State, which would in turn cause people to question their authority and overthrow those in power. Although the characters don't realize it, their use of soma is symbolic of the World State's control over their lives.

Another important feature of the society of Brave New World is their use of science and new technology. From the very first page of the book, it is clear that science is very important to the functioning of their society. Soma is arguably one of the most popular and common innovations of their time. Everyone uses soma, craves soma, and essentially worships soma. In this sense, the use of soma throughout Brave New World symbolizes how science and technology exerts a great influence over the lives of the various characters.

In the most literal sense, soma represents happiness and blissful ignorance. Instead of dealing with their problems, the characters simply take soma and wash away their issues. Even for people in our modern day society, the pursuit of happiness is a very important aspect of life. This universal importance of happiness caused a riot toward the end of Brave New World. When a mass of workers became infuriated by having their soma ration thrown out the window by a rebellious character named John, they caused an uproar, personifying their desire for happiness (and soma). The excessive use of soma also brings about the death of one of the characters, showing that you really can have too much of a good thing, and that being happy all the time, ironically, isn't the best way to live.

Throughout Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the character's use of soma represents not only happiness, but also the power that the government and science have over their lives. Although they strive for perfection and stability, their world is far from it, as they come to realize over the course of the story. If not for their use of soma keeping them in a state of blissful ignorance and holding power over their heads, their "utopia"would very closely resemble our own modern day, chaotic world.