Brave New World 2

Questions : 1. Will soma run out and if so what will happen to the people.
2. Why is Bernard bringing John the Savage into One State?
3. Why does the One State let people go to the reservation?

I think that soma will run out, and as a result it will cause chaos throughout the One State. Everyone in the One State has used soma their whole lives to deal with their problems, so if soma runs out they will not know what to do or how to handle the problem. For example after seeing what went on at the reservation Lenina "Lenina felt herself entitled...to a complete and absolute holiday. ...she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity." In the One State people are dependent on soma just as they are dependent on food and water. If soma runs out the One State will collapse.


At first, I thought that Bernard's intentions for bringing John to One State was for the better of them both. Bernard wishes to help John and introduce him to the Director, who has a stong chance of being John's father. However, Bernard gets caught up in the fame of bringing the Savage to One State and does not want to lose it. One instance of this, is when Bernard plans to bring John to a party with him to increase his (Bernard) fame. When John refuses to come, Bernard talks to John about how he had turned people against him. I think that as time goes on Bernard does not want to help John, he wants to use John so he can move up in the world.


The reason that the One State lets people go to the reservation is to increase their love for their easy lives. It is a way of saying "look how easy it is in the One State, you are lucky to be here."Letting people go to the reservation benefits the One State. Since the Alphas and Alpha Pluses are the only ones allowed to go, all the lesser classes believe what they say, since the other classes have the mindset that Alphas know what they're talking about. The concept of living like the people on the reservation makes the people of the One State shiver. On the reservation they couldn't have soma, a thought that is to outlandish for them to consider.