Brave New World is a dystopian novel written by Aldous Huxley that explores a future society where human beings are genetically engineered and conditioned to live in a state of blissful ignorance. One of the key elements in this society is the consumption of a drug called soma, which acts as a means of escape from reality and helps maintain social stability. Soma is a powerful symbol in the novel, representing the control and manipulation of individuals in a totalitarian system.
Read these soma quotes brave new world
“A gramme is better than a damn.”
“One cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments.”
“I don’t understand anything,” she said with decision, determined to preserve her incomprehension intact. “Nothing. Least of all,” she continued in another tone “why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly,” she repeated and smiled, for all the puzzled anxiety in her eyes, as though she had made, quite unequivocally, a profound and cheerful discovery.”
“You got rid of them. Yes, that’s just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether ’tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them … But you don’t do either. Neither suffer nor oppose. You just abolish the slings and arrows. It’s too easy.”
“Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant.”
“You’re in the clear, sir. You do understand.” There was a note of respect in Fanny’s voice. “I ought to be able to understand,” he answered bitterly. “I’ve been well brought up, you see.”
“You can’t make flivvers without steel, and you can’t make tragedies without social instability. The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get. They’re well off; they’re safe; they’re never ill; they’re not afraid of death; they’re blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they’re plagued with no mothers or fathers; they’ve got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they’re so conditioned that they practically can’t help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma.”
“I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.”
“You’re welcome to the Savage. But think of her as yours. Clamor the joy of the sight of her naked body. Clamor anything and everything you can think of to clamor. I don’t care. But don’t expect me to do any more fighting. No more horrors, thank you. I’ve had enough horrors for one day.”
“The tears streamed down the inside of the empty face.”
“And that,” put in the Director sententiously, “that is the secret of happiness and virtue—liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny.”
“Don’t you want to be free and men? Don’t you even understand what manhood and freedom are?” Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. “Don’t you?” he repeated, but got no answer to his question. “Very well then,” he went on grimly. “I’ll teach you; I’ll make you be free whether you want to or not.”
“I am I, and wish I wasn’t”
“I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.”
“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”
“I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.”
“You can’t have something for nothing. Happiness has got to be paid for. You’re paying for it, Mr. Watson—paying because you happen to be too much interested in beauty. I was too much interested in truth; I paid too.”
“I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.”
“But I like the inconveniences.”
“I’d rather be myself. Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly.”
“I’d sooner be myself. Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly.”
“I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
“You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We’ve sacrificed the high art.”
These soma quotes from Brave New World provide a glimpse into the world created by Aldous Huxley. They highlight the pervasive influence of soma in shaping the thoughts, emotions, and actions of the characters. The quotes also reflect the themes of control, conformity, and the suppression of individuality in the novel. Soma serves as a cautionary symbol, reminding us of the dangers of sacrificing freedom and authenticity for the sake of artificial happiness. As we delve into the pages of Brave New World, these soma quotes serve as a reminder to question the price we are willing to pay for a utopian society.
