The Absence of Emotion in a Soma Ridden World
Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” exhibits the detrimental effects of suppressing emotions through distraction and substance abuse. Huxley highlights a side of society obsessed with sex and Soma, set in a dystopian world. In his novel, Huxley created an entirely different world, ensuring that people can not feel anything other than artificial happiness. At the same time, it is almost as if this book was written last year with the amount of similarities present.
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From the sex and porn addictions, to the reliance on drugs to feel happy, the characters in this world are blissfully unaware of how to properly feel and interpret real emotions. The fictitious, futuristic society knew nothing other than what they were told, forming no free thoughts for themselves. If they did, repercussions would be made for their wrongdoings and failure to conform. If people ever experience difficult or uncomfortable emotions, they are encouraged to consume forms of distraction to suppress these feelings. When a character’s emotions are pent up, sex and Soma are the only solutions they know of to exert that energy.
Huxley’s made up society promotes the long-term use of Soma for anything you could possibly need. Rather than be taught emotional intelligence from a young age, members of this society were pumped with superficial thoughts and a totalitarian way of thinking, causing them to be unable to sit with what they’re dealing with. Instead, Soma is abused daily to the point of emotional suppression and constant distortion of reality. Sex is encouraged to release any energy and aggression one may have, an outlet for bottled up emotions.
Aldous Huxley perfectly encapsulates the effects of using distractions to suppress emotions in his novel. How we feel and think is a major part of what makes us humans, which is why it is essential to be able to have access to that range of emotions. Through numbing emotional responses, a person becomes less empathetic and understanding towards others on a deeper level. Huxley shows why the constant usage of Soma and sex to push those feelings down only prohibits connections between individuals and reduces the quality of life for a person.
