Essay Example on First published in 1932 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

It's always fascinating to read a book from a different period of time that still expresses relevant themes First published in 1932 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is an exercise in social exploration and keen satire The society outlined in the pages of Brave New World is one in which the citizens of the World State lack personal liberties and choice from the moment of conception In a world where one s future is predetermined how much of an independent person can one really be In Brave New World Huxley writes about a character named John the Savage a person from outside the social construct who does not agree with how the World State functions As he was born outside of the confines of the World State John does not share the beliefs of the rest of the World State's citizens While Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Thoreau would agree with John the Savage s desire for a spiritual connection based in nature his disturbance upon experiencing the conformity of the World State and his distaste for material goods that exist in both his world and also ours In Huxley's World State no one practices conventional religion instead worshipping Henry Ford for his innovation In the same vein organized religion was replaced with a drug called Soma This drug works like a hallucinogen leaving the users inebriated for periods of time To illustrate the connection of soma and religion Huxley writes You can carry half of your mortality around with you in a bottle Christianity without tears that's what soma is Huxley 

244 Essentially this quote says that soma can take the place of religion and cause the users less pain In the World State the citizens forfeit their ability to practice their own religion for a constant undying happiness This philosophy is not shared by John the Savage a man who grew up outside of this society Growing up in a savage reservation in New Mexico John practiced a melange of Christianity and one of the local Native religions As an example one of the deities worshipped in John s village is Pookong who manifests in the form of a sacred eagle John s deepest spiritual connection lies in the nature surrounding his community on the reservation This aligns with the belief of transcendentalists because one of the fundamental pillars of transcendentalism is the reliance on nature for self exploration Transcendentalists such as Emerson believe that being in nature is important for being in touch with one s own beliefs as well as being important for connecting with one s personal spirituality This belief is explored when Emerson writes 

A round peg in a square hole John s dismay at conformity also aligns with the beliefs of Transcendentalists In his essay Self Reliance Emerson wrote Man must be non conformist Conformity blurs your vision and you cannot see the lies Their two is not the real two Transcendentalists believe that an enlightened man on his own is more important than a group of the unenlightened Further in his essay Emerson also wrote To be great is to be misunderstood This phrase truly encapsulates the tone of Transcendentalist thought on the subject of conformity While Transcendentalists would not agree with many of the aspects of the World State they would be equally displeased with our society today Man experiences many pitfalls when looking at Transcendentalist beliefs One of those such flaws is our societal dependence on material goods The twenty first century is powered by electronics