""'You can't have a lasting civilization without plenty of pleasant vices'" (Brave New World, 237).
Like "rap music," "pleasant vices" is an oxymoron. I feel like I need to defend that statement -- vices are evil, and evil is not pleasant. The "vices" to which the Controller is referring are the voids of things like science, art, religion, and passion in the civilized world.
This oxymoron showcases the opposite values of Mustapha Mond and John. Mustapha Mond is willing to sacrifice science/art/religion/passion for stability. On the other hand, John believes that that sacrifice is taking away from the humanity in humans. He would be willing to sacrifice everlasting comfort for religion/God/freedom/sin. As John Green said, "The point of life is to be able to engage as deeply as possible with the miracle of human consciousness," and the civilized world in this book doesn't allow for that engagement. It's at 1:00:
On a related note, here's my favorite part of the book:
"'Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind.' There was a long silence.
'I claim them all,' said the Savage at last" (240).
I liked that quote so much that I was sure I had heard the line "I claim them all" in another book, but I couldn't find it anywhere else. Hmm, so, really good quote.
Hey! That video is helpful to me. I forgot about that one. "Road trips! Take them."
ReplyDeleteI had something of valuable to say, almost, but I can't stop watching the video.
it's an odd thought to fight for your right to be miserable.
ReplyDeleteI like that John realized that life isn't a static line but a series of crests and troughs. That's what really makes us human.
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