Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Secret Pupil: Brave New World Rection

No one understands. Even I had trouble getting it at first, but it is essential that you understand. Science and religion can both be extremely tempting, and if the average person thinks about them too much, he can be easily be sucked into their traps. As we go through these lessons, you have to remember that I am giving you knowledge, but you must not try to pursue science or religion any further. The happiness of our Society is far more important than anything we could discover with science or feel with religion. As a World Controller, it is my job to preserve everyone’s happiness, and one day it will be your job, so listen up.
Science and self-denial have always failed us. Look at Shakespeare. In fact, look at all of the major people of the past, before the time of our Ford: Jesus, Gandhi, Einstein… They were all brilliant and revered, but at what cost? Jesus was persecuted and left for dead. He was forced to face immense suffering on the cross, all to help end the rest of the world’s suffering. But people still suffered, they still faced hardships every day. Soma is a much better fix. All the happiness and no tears. Or consider Gandhi. He forced himself to be completely peaceful and celibate, suppressing so much of his nature. What a backwards way of thinking! Why would we have these urges if we weren’t supposed to act on them? Our current system is much better: everyone belongs to everyone; nothing is suppressed so everyone’s happy and fulfilled. Einstein is the best example of the flaws of science. Such brilliance, he helped bring so many inventions and innovations into the world, but science is ultimately dangerous. Once people learn a little about the world, they become ravenous for more and more information, which in the end leads to unhappiness. In short, truth is a menace to society (Huxley 204).
Now you can see why John killed himself. He was obsessed with religion, self-denial, and the search for more truth, all of which drove him mad. I don’t blame him for taking his own life, I knew that was his inevitable end as soon as he came into our “brave new world,” as he liked to call it. John was born into chaos. That’s all he knew and all he was destined for. He was never conditioned to be happy, never taught the benefits of soma.
In the past, people would have regarded such actions as sad, but now we know better. His death, as all others’, is an inevitable part of life. You’re a little young to completely understand the joy in his death, though, so let’s take some soma and then we can resume our lesson.
***
Okay, so now we’re in the Fertilization Room. “These…are the incubators” (Huxley 16). As you know, this is where humans are made. Do you remember how many identical twins we can make now through bokavskification? That’s right, sixteen thousand and twelve! Individuality can be useful in some cases, as is with the Alphas, but in most cases uniformity yields the most happiness. We are all one Society, and uniformity helps us achieve our collective goals with the least amount of conflict. It is no coincidence that the people who are exiled to the island are all Alphas, nor was it an accident that the island of entirely Alphas broke into a civil war. When people are different, it can become very dangerous. That is why we manage who is the same, who is different, and how they are different; and that is why the job of the World Controller is so important.
One day, when you are older you will take my place as a World Controller. You will get to make the decisions about how our Society will work. You must not take your responsibility lightly, though, for you will be in charge of the happiness of the entire Society, which is why these extra lessons are so important. You must be aware of science and religion and knowledgeable about their dangers so that you will not be tempted by them. But you have a few years before you have to worry too much about this, so for now, go join your friends in Centrifugal Bumble-puppy.

Okay fath-I mean Mustapha!



Works Cited: Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1932. Print. 

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