Andy answers “What is the significance of soma in the...”

Matthew Broman asked this question about Brave New World:

What is the significance of soma in the book? Is it suppose to be like a Sodium Floride/Mind Control type substance to keep the people submissive or what? If someone could help clarify that for me I would appreicate it...thank you

Andy It's happiness in a pill, people can choose to have it (like most people in the utopia) and they can choose not to (ex: Bernard on some occasions). I …moreIt's happiness in a pill, people can choose to have it (like most people in the utopia) and they can choose not to (ex: Bernard on some occasions). I suppose you could say that it's a type of mind control thing since people are conditioned since birth to enjoy it, but it isn't quite. I think the significance of soma is to introduce something that's unsettling yet understandable, like the utopia as a whole. Think about it, a pill that does some weird thing to you that could make every day a good one. Lost your job? Soma. Break up with someone? Soma. Death of a loved one? Soma. Of course you can't really apply these examples to the society in the book because of the way it works. I suppose that soma could be interpreted as a type of mind control, but keep in mind that the people since birth are conditioned to be perfectly happy with their lives and are basically clones of one another, and soma provides a way to plug up some of the holes in the system. Was that helpful? I kind of had to reevaluate the significance of soma myself as I was writing this.(less)

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more