An Epiphany Followed by Disappointment and Abandoned Hope (Chapter 12/ Pages 172-185)

" 'Well, I'd rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you were having here.' "

~ Brave New World, page 179

I have had some MAJOR revelations in this chapter. It was actually quite exciting - that is, until I realized what those epiphanies entailed.

First: Bernard. I had so many hopes for him in this book - that he would overcome his insecurities and he would expose the horrible nature and ethics of this Society, but then I was naive. I expected this book to have a happy ending, but it probably doesn't, and I guess that's why it is a classic. Bernard gave up his ideas of being bitter and angry and actually showing emotion, the very qualities that made him different from everybody, and overdosed on soma like all the rest of his thoughtless, numb peers. And when John calls him out on using him as a way to achieve false happiness, I realized that parallels an earlier scene where Bernard tells Lenina that he would rather be unhappy than take soma and avoid his problems. How the tables turn...

Secondly: John. When I realized this parallel, I saw Bernard in John, which both excited me and worried me. Let's start with the bad stuff so we end with a positive possibility. When I saw their similarities (having independent ideas, being an outcast, and refusing to partake in ritual practices that they recognize as unnecessary or dangerous) I feared that John may have the same downfall as Bernard - that the ways of Society may be too much for him to continually reject, so he would eventually give in to it. However, I feel that John has a strength that Bernard doesn't, and he could end up doing something drastic or extraordinary.

Soma - "A gramme in time saves nine!" (Chapter 5, Part 1/ Pages 72-78)

"They were inside, here and now - safely inside with the fine weather, the perennially blue sky."

~ Brave New World, page 77

Okay, this whole soma thing is really frustrating me. First I had to reread the chapter; I couldn't even tell what was happening. I get that it is a drug used to lift one's spirits (and is probably abused as an anti-depressant), but I was really unsure of the extent to which it did this. People casually take it on a day-to-day basis in small doses, but they also go on soma-holidays with it? Does that mean it's a hallucinogen and they are imagining their whole holiday, or are they just so drugged that everything seems perfect as they continue their lives? But even more importantly, the government is encouraging the people to take it all. At first I thought that would be destructive to  the government (the drugs might affect their work performance), but then I realized that it might be the only way to get through the day. The government has not only conditioned them to think that they are always happy, but now they also supply drugs for them to always have an escape if they are feeling bad, thus having total and complete control over them.