Deficiency of Emotional Connections In Brave New World And In Our Society

       In the science and dystopian fiction novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley there were a lot of different extremes in the highly developed society. As I read throughout the novel one thing I noticed was that there was a lack of emotional connection between people in the communities. When reading the novel we see that they are conditioned to feel this way but it also has to deal with technology. With the advancement of technology right now we can also sense this lack of emotional connection in our communities. When we use our devices we get this illusion of companionship and happiness because we believe that our technology gives us fulfillment.

      Some people who also observed this in the novel are Bernard and John (the savage). Bernard conveys a strong defiance when he is first introduced into the novel. Bernard actually cared about Lenina and saw her as more than just a piece of meat. He was different from the other guys but his type of behavior is not allowed in his society. Also when they went out on a date he simply wanted to gaze at the ocean water with her but she found it queer. Bernard realized and accepted the society he was in and gave in to standard procedure: take soma and be with a girl for a night. Then from that point on he didn't seem to strongly defy the norms of society again.

    When John enters the brave new world he is in awe until he discovers how their society works. I could imagine the rude awakening John got when he moved into a civilized society. He came from a place where he saw people love and care for each other to a place where emotions are not encouraged. This really affected John when he lost his mom. He saw how cold-hearted the people are because they didn't respect or feel sympathy for other peoples' deaths and feelings. Another example is when John told Lenina that he cared for her and he didn't get the response he desired. This made him realize that the people there were incapable of having an emotional connection with someone. All the people there wanted one thing which he saw as unorthodox.

     This idea of nonexistence of emotional awareness can also be represented in our society. Throughout the years the rules of our society get looser and we adapt to them. Our modern world can connect deeply with the dating world in Brave New World because a lot of people use contraceptives and have this mentality of I want to do one thing with this person then move on to the next. Now in the present we don't have as many deep connections as we should. As we advance with technology our human interactions are diminishing which prohibits us from developing an emotional connection with someone.
- Annie Givhan