Brave New World - Post Reading

I think that a world where people are falsely happy should be more feared than one where the government’s control is so oppressive that the people have no choice for themselves. If someone is falsely happy, they see no need to rebel. With an oppressive government, the people will eventually know that something is wrong. They will, at some point, find a way to rebel. If the people are falsely happy and never know that anything is wrong, they will never get even so far as to know that something is wrong to begin with.

For example, in Greek mythology, there was a tribe called the Lotus Eaters who tricked some of the men of Odysseus into eating of the Lotus flower. The men were overcome by bliss. They were forcefully returned to the ship, and had to be chained to the rowing benches to prevent them from returning. If they had not been forced into leaving, they would have stayed there for ever. This example supports the idea that false happiness is worse than oppression, and it is true for stories such as the short story that we read in class, “Harrison Bergeron”.

In other stories, such as in “Anthem” and “AntZ”, people are not literally being mind-controlled or -influenced like in “Harrison Bergeron”, where their thoughts were interrupted by annoying sounds. They are told that a particular thing is true. In “Anthem”, they are told that they must never think of themselves, and that they should never have individual thoughts. In “AntZ” they are told that they must do everything for the good of the colony. Though they have been somewhat brainwashed, they are still able to actually think of something different.

Perhaps this is why the rebellions in both “Anthem” and “AntZ” were successful. People were able to see the actions of the protagonists and join them if they wanted. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the people forgot what they had seen immediately after it had happened, even Harrison’s parents.

Never let anyone trick you into being falsely happy. Always learn something for yourself, don’t just take someone else’s word for it, and you will be less likely to be brainwashed like in “Harrison Bergeron”.