Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Ignorance is Bliss?

'Yes everybody's happy now,' echoed Lenina. They had heard the word repeated a hundred and fifty times every night for twelve years." pg. 75
Huxley uses Lenina to show the ideal female in this new society. Lenina has completely complied with the regime and is often seen using the "propaganda" seen above, sleeping with different men, and never being alone. She has no emotions so it is hard to relate with her character, however, she does serve as an observer for those like Bernard ,and later the , who do have emotions. She is like an indifferent eye for the reader whose confusion at basic emotions like loneliness or anger seems astounding. This passage is when she is flying with Henry to the soma filled frenzy to their "date". Henry, referred to earlier as the "perfect gentleman" shows a small sign of melancholy at the thought of death and Lenina is confused by this change. Then abruptly he is cheerful again and declares "Everybody's happy now." This change is confusing to the reader but to Lenina being cheerful is the only feeling she seems to have as a result of the conditioning. If she does start to feel any emotion she, like any good citizen in AF 632 takes soma so that drug induced joy blocks out anything else. They have been told they are happy and drugged into being happy when doubt starts to sink in. Imagine being in a world full of people always on a happy trip of LSD, this must be the world for Bernard and the Savage. Huxley plays with this concept of happiness throughout Brave New World by showing that true happiness lies in feeling an array of emotions as opposed to ignorant bliss.
Is Huxley right? Does true happiness lay in being educated and miserable or is this society right, ignorance is bliss? Can they coexist?

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