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The
new world, of Aldous Huxley, is set in an imaginary totalitarian state of
the future planned in the name of rationalism, where everything can be
sacrificed for the progress. The citizens of this society are not
oppressed by the war neither from the illnesses and they can join every
material pleasure freely. In order to sustain this balance, however, the
inhabitants, industrially conceived and produced in test-tubes under the
constant control of genetic engineers, during their infancy are
conditioned with technology and with the drugs and when adults they will
occupy social roles pre-arranged according to the level of birth. In
change of the physical comfort, the citizens must give up every emotion
and every feeling and every defense of theirown
individuality.
Among
the various
themes which are present in the book an important one is theme of the drug
that plays a fundamental role in the novel. Its name in the book is soma
and it is a fundamental component of this utopian civilization. It is used
as an element of persuasion and its use is a political institution for the
commonwealth: the daily ration of soma is a guarantee against the social
nervousness and against the malcontent. Soma is the weapon of choice for
the World Controllers in BNW. These men have realized that fear and
intimidation have only limited power; after all, these tactics simply
build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion
and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects.
The role of this drug is that to guarantee stability (“…there’s
always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always
soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you
patient and long-suffering…” chapter 17, page
217) that it is one of the three fundamental characters of this world
(Community, Identity, Stability). The soma is assumed to bring happiness,
fun and this is considered normal. In small doses it provokes a sense of
beatitude while in great doses it provokes visions (“… there is always
soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a
weekend, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark
eternity on the moon…” (chapter 3, page 49); everything without any
physiological or mental damage.
Drug
is one of the serious problems that interests the world of today and it is
considered the evil of the century for its development. But what is a drug?
A drug is a substance of natural or synthetic origin that
acts on the organism of a subject modifying the feelings and the
behavior of it. The drug more trafficked, is without any doubt, cocaine.
Every year are introduced on the market of the drugs 750 tons of “Angel
dust” coming from South America. But, why do people, and especially boys,
take drugs? The problem of drug addiction is considered like the reaction
to a deep discomfort of our society, as the economic and social evolution
has not made easy the integration of the young people in the society.
Often the drug represents a shelter, an escape, something in which a
person searches what he does not have, it is the symbol of a deep
uneasiness. The reasons for which young people take drugs are numerous and
we can schematize them in the following way:
drugs
are taken
1.
against the stress and the boredom of life;
2.
to escape from responsibilities and difficulties;
3.
for pleasure;
4.
as a solution of one’s own problems;
5.
to fight insecurities;
6.
as an action of rebellion
7.
for curiosity.
These
are the principal motives because the drugs are taken. The discos have a
fundamental role in the diffusion of the drug because they are the places
where the drugs are sold off. The drugs are classified on the basis
of their dangerousness: there are light and heavy drugs. These last ones
are the opium derivatives, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD and the other
hallucinogens. The light drugs are hashish and marijuana. Smoking cannabis
is very diffused and in some countries it is considered equal to smoking
tobacco. Some people think that the only way to resolve the problem of
drug abuse, is to legalize the light drugs in order to reduce the crimes
and violence associated to the illegal commerce of the drugs. However, not
all the people are favorable to the legalization, for example the Pope
says: “the drug is not won by the drug, the evil is not fought by the
evil!” (www.senzaguscio.it,
accessed 11/12/02), the adviser of the region Lazio, Luigi Celori says:
“To legalize drugs, of any type, means: to give up the ethical function
of the State. Our children have the right to live their life with
awareness and lucidity. It means to devalue the assignment of the
Therapeutic Communities…” (www.luigicelori.com,
accessed 09/12/02).
I
can conclude by saying that the struggle against the drug must be a
serious appointment in order to be able to live in a better world.
Cataldi Marco
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