Huxley's Brave New WorldToday, in the 21st century United States, people are concerned about the rapid pace of new and growing technologies and how these advances should be used. In the last decade alone, we have seen major technological advancements; in science, cloning became a reality, new, more powerful drugs were invented, and in communications, the Internet dominated society. There is a cultural disconnect due to the rapid pace of technological change, and while the world's governments try to maintain their role as censors and legislators, we as individuals try to understand the effects this has on our lives. Will these advances improve our lives to an unprecedented level of comfort, or will they lead to the loss of real happiness? In the early 1930s, when Aldous Huxley was writing Brave New World, this was a question he felt was worth asking. In Huxley's Brave New World, there are two forms of happiness: physical and real. The achievement of physical happiness is the basis of New World society. Residents never have to worry about food, housing, job security, or illness. One will never look fat, wrinkled or weak with weak bones and thus even the fear of growing old is removed. Mustapha Mond, one of the world controllers in the novel, sums up physical happiness with this statement: “Is the world stable now? They are well-off; They are safe; They are never sick; they are not afraid of death; they are perfectly ignorant of passion and old age?? (Huxley 220). The characters, Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne and Helmholtz Watson, each seek more than what physical happiness offers, they seek actual happiness. Real happiness? relates more to the mind and heart? (SS Dalai Lama 21). For example, Helmholtz has the desire to be creative and Lenina has the desire to love. Bernard Marx, knowing that he is different and considered inferior to other Alpha-plus men, has the desire not only to fit in, but also to be respected by others. Other individuals in Brave New World are content while these three characters search for something not given to them by the government, something beyond physical happiness. They are looking for real happiness. Individuality, which is one of the strongest values ​​in the United States today, is suppressed at the time of conception at B...... middle of paper ......ea prophetic tone sixty -ten years after its writing. The priorities of our society, like that of Brave New World, seem rather superficial in their obsession with physical appearance and the conspicuous consumption of material objects. People undergo surgery to improve their appearance and maintain their youthful image. Typically, people judge others and themselves based on their possessions, status, and appearance, rather than the quality of their character. Cloning is no longer science fiction, and as technology advances, the absolute need for mothers and fathers may disappear. To what extent does social stability trump human nature? There must be a balance between physical happiness and actual happiness, and the question of where the right balance should lie is debatable. Huxley doesn't have the answer, but he leaves the reader with an idea of ​​why balance is so difficult to find: "Real happiness always seems rather sordid in comparison with the overcompensations of misery? (Huxley 221).WORKS CITED:Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. Lama, H. H. Dalai. The art of, 1999.