One

Journal Topic A:

"Swallowing half an hour before closing time, that second dose of soma had raised a quite impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds. Bottled they crossed the street; bottled, they took the lift up to Henry's room on the twenty-eighth floor. And yet, bottled and bottled as she was, and in spite of that second gramme of soma, Lenina did not forget to take all the contraceptive precautions by the regulations."

This passage is very effective in showing how society is. In this society that Huxley creates, many things are open and set up for everyone. There is an amount of sharing and equality between everyone (besides the different classes). There are multiple times in the book when Huxley uses "have" to say "date"; everyone is shared with everyone. It is accepted, and moreover, encouraged that there is no exclusive dating. Fanny is shocked when she hears of Lenina's exclusive dating with Henry Foster, and encourages her to do what the D.H.C. says, and engage with others. It is also accepted that people be open with their sex life, which is why Lenina is confused when she is talking to Bernard Marx about their outing, and why there is limited writing about Lenina and Henry's time in his room. This passage also specifically shows how important soma is. Here, Henry and Lenina are both affected by the drug, and it is no problem. There is lack of thought when taking the soma, this shows how natural and comfortable the people feel taking it. The drug takes them from a different world from their own, away from reality. It seems as everyone in the society is taking soma, which explains confusion when Bernard does not want to take any from Benito. It is widely accepted to be taking this drug.
Word Count: 228