Not So Different World

Some people might begin reading books like Brave New World and be surprised or shocked by how society is depicted in the future and at first I was as well. I began to think about it a little more. Then I began to think about the society we live in today, it's not that different. People have many obligations to society such as paying taxes or obeying laws. I am aware that these were all created with good intentions in the beginning and meant to keep order but I feel like it is just the beginning steps to a society where citizens are completely controlled. People can be sent to jail for failing to file taxes, obeying laws, etc. Slowly but surely, we are being controlled more and more with each ambition that comes into the minds of the government. We have so many restrictions on the way we live our life and the list just keeps getting longer.


The way people are created and hatched and cloned might seem a little far out there but it's not like people haven't tried cloning living things before. We may not have succeeded but practice makes perfect and in due time I am sure it will be done. People use in vitro fertilization to reproduce which seems pretty crazy compared to the simplicity of natural reproduction.

Our world also has ranks of people in society. There are people who control things like the government all the way down to people with nothing who live on the streets. I don't see these ranks going anywhere and with all of the restrictions to life they are just being alienated more and more.

Historical monuments and artifacts are being destroyed which might as well be destroying history. It's true that the past is the past and why dwell on it? Knowing where we've come from helps understanding why things are the way they are in the present and it is said that history always repeats itself, so knowing history would probably be helpful in the long run. Culture and tradition are slowly being lost as well. With America being the country of immigrants, cultures are being mixed and americanized and are slowly being lost completely. The lack of culture in Brave New World may be a result of the actions of today.

As of today, people have the freedom to choose their own religion and beliefs but there is so much controversy that some people think that just prohibiting all of it would settle the dispute. Cult leaders convince people that they are a God or Higher Being and con them into doing all types of things. Maybe Ford was just a cult leader who had a strong band of followers which grew to overcome the world?

Bottom line is I don't see this world in Brave New World as crazy and new as it's meant to be seen. It may be us in "Ford knows how long!"

-Ariana Allison