Escapism in Huxley’s Brave New World and Shakespeare’s The Tempest

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Escapism in Huxley’s Brave New World and Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Introduction
Huxley and Shakespeare embody two forms of the literature of different ages. Both writers are renowned for introducing timeless themes in their storylines. One of those perennial themes is escapism ‘which is commonly dominant in Huxley's New Brave World and Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Huxley 35-78; Shakespeare 60). This essay will assess quality, kind and level of escapism in both stories and how it bridges today’s society.
What is Escapism?
Escapism is one of the four major categories of literature where the other three partitions are creative, release and propaganda. Escapist literature builds a shield in mind against unpleasant realities celebrating the imaginative power of the reader or audience. Hence, it bestows a psychological relief blurring the factual world behind the lightened up imaginative world. Therefore, escapist literature consists of unreal experience and unnatural ending (Bensley 25). Its main attributes are grisly blindness, stubborn creative fabrications and self-defensiveness. These traits not only obscure the offensive truths but also rebuild the rest of the characters into a sensible imaginative picture (Bensley 40). The major flaws associated with escapism in literature are confined coherence and exaggerated creativity.
Escapism in Huxley’s The New Brave World
Huxley illustrates his idea of escapism in his celebrated novel, Brave New World. He depicts characters who decamped from unpleasant reality and demonstrates that utopian society inhabitants share similar activities for pleasure. They visit feelies and intake soma to distract themselves from all their distress. At an instance, Lenina and Bernard watch the spectacle of the misery of the savage boy before his sacrifice. Lenina falls victim to the horror of that bloodshed and says, “Too awful! That blood!” She shuddered. “Oh, I wish I had my soma.” (Huxley 110). The dialogue underlines the significance of soma in the character’s life. Huxley succeeds to emphasize that folks like Lenina indispensably need soma to forget fears and miseries.
The people in the novel seek Hypnopedia, which makes the intake of soma vital in the gloom. At another instance, Lenina speaks out, “a gramme is better than a damn” (Huxley 4). This phrase determines that utopian people like Lenina are machinelike human bodies, compelled to ingest soma in disconsolation.
Another example of Huxley’s finest approach to escapism through characters is Linda when she is in dismal in the hospital. She ultimately decides on a soma holiday to spend the remaining days of her life. Hence, she endeavored distraction from reality and presented as “broken and discoloured smile of infantile contentment (Huxley 120).” Huxley portrays Linda’s inclination toward...