LaBonty 1

Sarah LaBonty
Mrs. Di Somma
ERWC Period 2
19 April 2016
Two worlds as One
Change is inevitable and consistent throughout all civilizations and in all eras of history.
However, within every society there are three unchanging aspects: relationships that revolve
around intimacy, drugs, and social caste systems. The love that has been destroyed, the drugs that
alter the brain, and the grouping and labeling of an individual. The book, Brave New World, by
Aldous Huxley describes the three aspects of society. The society I live in today and the world
state Huxley described in his book are more similar than different.
The act of being intimate is needed to further a population. The society described in
Brave New World is similar to our society because of the hook up culture that destroys love and
passion in a relationship. Love has been belittled and the emphasis of random sex has increased.
Sex is for all people, Nobodys supposed to belong to one person. And if you have people in the
ordinary way, the others think youre wicked and anti-social (Huxley 121). Love is frowned
upon in the world state. The difference in our society is love is still alive and normal but hookups
are more casual. Love is seen as something that can burn you in the world state. The act of giving
yourself to everyone defeats the purpose of love. Being with multiple partners allows sex to be
carefree rather than beautiful and passionate. Sex is something to act on when you are bored,
We prefer to do things comfortably (Huxley 240). The sex is the world state is similar to the
society I live in. Sex is viewed as an activity rather than the creation of another human being.
However, the Brave New World differs from our society because their sex and intimacy is

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comfortable. The sex is the world today is confusing and twisted because of human emotions and
attachment issues. Sex uses no thought process, Thinking takes too much time (Williams). The
Brave New World and todays society has focused less on the emotions behind sex and
emphasised on pleasure.
Drugs have been used in every decade of history. Drugs can be used to alter brain
chemistry or for fun. In the world state drugs are used to change their thinking, You look glum!
What you need is a gramme of soma (Huxley 60). In both worlds our society uses drugs to
change our moods. Drugs are used to make individuals conform to the norms of society. The
world states drugs usage is also for fun, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay
down on her bed, and within in ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity (Huxley 140). Our
society uses drugs to conform a generation to seem perfect. The world state loves the experience
and the trip of a holiday. It is similar to an escape from reality when using the drug Soma. Both
societies use drugs because of the loneliness and the need for acceptance from others. The rat
pack experiment explained that rats only used drugged water when alone. If the rats had
company in the cage 100% of them did not use the drugged water. Isolation lead to drug use for
the rats (Hari). Our societies thrive off of others and their opinions. The world state and the
society I live in share the same desire for approval. Drugs are needed to change someone for the
better in our world and the world state uses drugs for the experience of a lifetime.
The social caste system and labeling genetic differences in the world state is most similar
aspect of our society. The Brave New World world state has five different types of groups:
Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. The society we live in has created different races:
American, African American, Mexican, Asian, and so on. There is emphasis on which caste
system is better in the world state, Im so glad Im a Beta (Huxley 27). Their race defines how

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they view other members of their society. This is a mirror image of the racism of our society. We
judge a person based off of the color of their skin or their genetic differences. Both societies have
transcendentalist who stand up for all races and individuals. These individualist see the bigger
picture of unity, Dont you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood
and freedom are? (Huxley 213). The freedom of all people regardless of their social standing or
their race. The society in world state focuses on who is better than seeing all people are equal.
Our society differs in the fact that we see all people as different but still equal. The skin tone of
an individual does not define the humans worth. We label others to feel better about ourselves,
nerds, dweebs, dorks, and geeks (Williams). The differences we see in each other are
only our own personal weaknesses. The world state and our society labels and critiques others
who differ from one another.
The book, Brave New World best represents the society I live in today. Both worlds have
demoted the value of love in the exchange of sex and the hookup culture. We both use drugs to
conform the citizens to act and be a certain way the world desires. We do not let individualism
soar rather we destroy the uniqueness for an image of perfectness. Lastly, the similarity of
labelings differences in a society best represents todays society. The Brave New World and the
hopeless generation I live in are more similar than different.

Works Cited

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Hari, Johann. Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong. TED. June 2015. Web.
21 March 2016.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946. Print.
Williams, Ray. Anti- Intellectualism and the Dumbing Down of America. Psychology Today.
Sussex Publishers, 7 July 2014. Web. 6 March 2016.