In ‘Brave New World’ the conflict is moral. It addresses the social need to manage a ‘made’ group of people in a dystopic society that is man-made and void of emotion. It is social control that is the basis of moral judgment. It takes the ‘listening wonder of life’ in inclusion and makes sense of the world around them with structure and conformity. It is a world of increasing angst and division, addressing those who inhabit the reservation. It is a conflict that carries innuendo and judgement. It takes the nature of man and manipulates it by placing structure and moral contradictions to change collective opinion.
When Bernard introduced Lenina to John she was interested by his savage appearance. It was this difference that instigated in a sexual encounter without love or moral unification. I think the love between Bernard and Lenina is false and worthless because it is generated by rigid guidelines and monstrous immoral behaviour that is void of emotion and intelligence of thought. I think they are human on the outside but not on the inside. They tell a story of regeneration that never convinces me to read further.
‘Brave New World’ is a very real glimpse into our future. I think it represents the making of an artificial society that is ‘world state’ controlled and unfeeling toward the natural emotions of the human condition. Bernard is conflicted and confused about his situation, struggling to fit in with the group. I think he is coming to terms with his differences by trying to reach out to Helmholtz and Lenina but they struggle to find common ground, lost in translation without the emotional tools that take them to an understanding of life as free beings.
‘Soma’ is like a happy drug that keeps a society in an unquestioning state of conformity. It makes your thoughts take a positive route rather than a negative one. This is a controlling form of manipulating the minds of the people to love a life in a ‘state’ of conformity. The increased use of ‘soma’ is never going to help Bernard because he is a lost soul that is searching for solitude in the wrong places. He must look inside himself.
