“Brave New World” opens in a technically advanced future world. In the beginning, we see the Director of World Hatcheries lead the new hatchery students on a tour of a Conditioning Center in London where babies are produced in bottles and pre-sorted to determine which class level they will be born into. These class levels rank: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. There are no parents, and babies are conditions from birth to learn certain behaviors. All diseases have been eliminated, and when people are feeling down, they just take soma, a wonder drug, much like modern day Prozac. Also, people are conditioned from birth not to love one person, so there is no marriage and most people have many lovers. If one were to not be promiscuous, they would be considered an outcast. Children in the World State are conditioned and taught to play erotic games, so that they have no fear of sexual encounters. The United Stat
Religion has also been “done for” in the World State. Ford and the symbol T have replaced God and the cross. Instead of Sunday church, members now attend solidarity services where morals and tradition are not learned, but rather faith is taught in the belief of hallucinations produced by soma. Soma has effectively replaced the belief in a higher being by its elimination of problems and stress resulting in a lack of imagination, creativity, or “soul.” Yet religion can still be found in today’s society because of man’s continuing need for answers to questions that cannot be solved by technology or science. “Brave New World” deals with stress by the elimination of problems through the use of soma. As shown in the novel, the people have been addicted to soma as to the point of rioting when their supply is threatened. Present day society turns to lesser forms of expression through weekly attendance to the
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