Hypnosis and the Animal Instinct

After reading all three novels for this class, I can say that I now have a changed outlook on the world itself, and how it could become due to the increase in technology provided daily. Personally, I’ve felt myself slowly start to use my technology less, whether it has been because of homework or the more activities that my mind has subconsciously made but, either way it’s happening.

On the topic of mind control, I start to become weary of the future to come. Exhibited in all three novels, they discuss what the world might become if we continue down this media-dominated path. Especially in Brave New World, Huxley creates a dystopian world dominated by a drug called soma, which prevents their society from becoming paranoid about the world around them. Towards the conclusion of the novel, while distributing soma within the hospital, John gets frustrated when the community wants to continue taking this pill and finally states “I’ll make you be free whether you want to or not”(213). Although this is just one example of people from the novel showing signs of addiction, this example displays the lack of control in which the public now has over the yearn and neediness towards it. Even when John and Linda returned to her old civilization, she demanded for the drug, which led to her overdosing. Especially in minor situations, soma would appear to have your worries vanish in mid-air. Just imagine if today we had a pill that could provide us with that sweet relief, but without the addictive component.

Our civilization’s methods of relief, especially in hospitals, are not that far off. In today’s world, we have all kinds of drugs, their uses ranging from pain relief to falling asleep on time. Of course everyone occasionally takes these medicines, and it is thus like a second instinct. Are we training our body to have the instinct to take medicine as soon as a problem arrives? Does the lack of thought scare you? Do you think our usage of daily pills relates to Brave New World? Why or why not?

Veronika Ferrell