Wednesday, August 18, 2010
What's All the Fuss About Y'all? (high pitched family guy voice)
I have finished Brave New World a few days ago and now feel very enlightened by Mustafa Monds philosophy. However as I go back and read posts about the book, I see that many people do not like the idea. When I first read the it I was thoroughly frightened by the prospect, but after I read Mond's explanation I realized that the World State has found the perfect society. Or at least the closest to perfect that the human race will ever reach. They did not have war, or violence of any kind, they were completely happy, and well nourished. The majority of the population did not feel alone, they were not sick, and their existence was easy. We can all agree that for those millions of poor, malnourished, uneducated, sickly people who have hard lives, this would be the most amazing world to live in. Only for the privileged would that world be a bore because of its shallow empty happiness. So the question is why are we so hellbent against living in a society like that? Wouldn't we as society be better off like that? I would gladly join their world even though its a shallow happiness, its the perception of happiness not the truth of whether your happy or not or if you have a reason to be.
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I agree, Joaquim, that this philosophy seems like heaven. I think that people are so against it because the book gave a general point of view from John, and it showed the horror of it. Another reason is that from the beginning we know that people are being brainwashed and are sent messages without consent. It depends if you look at the big picture, but it seems readers were greatly affected by John's view of the "civilized" world.
ReplyDeleteMost people were probably opposed to the our world becoming like the one in the book because it seems to limit our rights. The characters in the book don't know anything other than their name, their caste, and what they are wearing. They don't have a past, and their future is very much determined already.
ReplyDeleteAlso, like Alexis said, other horrors of this world are described through John's experiences.
You're right Alexis. Most readers probably feared this because the story was told from Johns point of view. However are we not brainwashed today? With all of the television we watch and the advertising everywhere, are we not brainwashed to believe that its better to go to college than to pursue another option? Are we not all being brainwashed by Glenn Beck on Fox News? My point is that we will always being brainwashed in whatever society we belong to.
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