The World State is a society driven by acting on one’s desire and everyone “having” everyone. A quote that represents this ideology is in chapter three, when Mustapha Mond is explaining the history of the World State. He says, “Mother, monogamy, romance… No wonder the pre-moderns were so mad and wicked and miserable. The world didn’t allow them to take things easily, didn’t want them to be sane, virtuous, happy… they were forced to feel strongly. And feeling strongly, how could they be stable?” (Page 41). The entire state philosophy is about not suppressing desire, because then there would be no stability and peace to humanity, stability being the most important factor to the world state.
Another important quote that helps better represent ideology of the World State is located in Chapter 6, when Lenina is with Bernard, but he wants to be alone in her company (which is an odd thing in the World State). She says, “A gramme is always better than a damn… Everybody’s happy nowadays… Everyone works for everyone else… When the individual feels, the community reels… Never put off till tomorrow the fun you can have today… Progress is lovely.” (Page 90-1) This is a great example of someone in the society spurting off the sleep-taught sayings about the World State. This shows how people are using soma to deal with their unpleasant emotions, prioritize community over individual, and the support of instant gratification- all important to the stability of the World State.
The Savage Reservation, a society that is wholly different from the World State, is described in detail in chapters 7 through 9. We learn about it through characters John and Linda, Linda being someone who used to live in the World State and can point out the stark contrasts between the two. In chapter 7, Linda approaches both Lenina and Bernard and starts to explain to them the savagery of this civilization. She says, “‘Well here, nobody’s supposed to belong to more than one person. And if you have people in the ordinary way, the others think you’re wicked and antisocial… So they’re having children all the time- like dogs.” (Page 121-122).
Lastly, if I was to pick a culture to be a part of I think I would choose the Reservation. I can’t imagine not being able to feel what humans feel. What would be the point of just being drugged up and distracted all of the time? The Savage Reservation wouldn’t have the fancy amenities that the World State has but I would rather have control over my mind instead of being manipulated by leaders.
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