Manufactured Grins

Smiles exist in the World State because of the excessive drug use to deal with emotions. The “Controller” behind the World State commands that “soma” is there “to give [you] a holiday from the facts” (290). Comparing soma to a holiday makes it a trip away from a stressful situation; the truth. Likewise, Lenina whined for soma when she was overwhelmed by the “horrid” savage world (245). Her request is full of desperation and need. This is an obsessive act for soma, which demonstrates the dependency society has on it. It trends through the people as it is insisted to “have some soma” at any sign of conflict (29). This recurring coping method doesn’t teach the people how to deal with their feelings. True happiness is in the …show more content…
Savages believe in a god; this is a matter of politics to the World State. Soma is “Christianity without tears” (238). This drug and religion are very similar in the ways they affect people. Both are involved in common conversation, both employ people with a type of safety, both help people cope with tragedies, both are ways of controlling society. This metaphor shifts the attention to the sacrifices and pain involved with Christianity. Soma would never make anyone upset, except for John and Bernard who realize its faults. John’s religion also asks for men to have pain inflicted on them to “prove himself” to their leaders and deities (171). The World State aims for the people to stay as safe as possible, and a savaged religion cannot provide that. Hence, traditional religions and God is replaced with the industrialization of society; science isn’t necessarily …show more content…
The dependency is seen through the chemically engineered drugs, the flying machines used for transportation, scientific conditioning, and even the creation of the people is a scientific procedure. However, the people are not allowed access to actual science. For example, Linda could not explain the world to John while he was growing up. She only lends him “The Chemical and Bacteriological Conditioning of the Embryo. Practical Instructions for Beta Embryo-Store Workers” (158). This book gives instructions, but not explanations. Learning is buckled down to the endorsed information. Understanding the way babies are made would reveal the mechanical aspects that isn’t thoroughly understood by the majority. The “Bokanovsky Process” lacks explanation of structure or behavior. Students walk through the factory “taking notes” of only the facts of the process. Withholding the facts reduces the chances of people conducting their own experiments. Experimentation causes the reality of life to unfold and folds the ignorance. Helmholtz experienced this strain on his writing too when he detailed his “extreme” feelings (239). Once the melancholy and controversial piece was revealed, Watson ends up with Bernard and John. The World State prevents individual feelings by limiting the expression of them and keeping everyone the