Thirty-six thousand prescriptions in the first two weeks on the market{Handy}. Might as well hand this stuff out along with your daily ration of Soma. Interesting facts regarding the price of Viagra, which is taken each time one wants to partake in the bedtime activity, can be found in most any HMO guide{Handy}. Does this mean that soon our insurers will be telling us how much sex is reimbursable, normal, or necessary? Will our HMO's soon have control over recreational activities, will doctors soon be prescribing 'feelies' as treatment. Not only do men receive medical advice regarding procreation, but woman as well, birth control is not the only way to stop the childbearing process either. Lenina takes numerous medications to curb her urges for a child. Though she is one of the few females still fertile there are plenty of ways to stop her from becoming pregnant. The most important, simply making sure she is happy not being pregnant. Keeping Lenina and many others on Soma enables people to feel free and have fun. Having fun is valuable to everyone, from gamma to delta to alpha. The Brave New World citizens regard their Soma as gold, in much the same way ancient and modern societies regard olive oil. "The Mediterranean world has regarded the olive as sacred for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians credited the goddess Isis with teaching mankind its cultivation and uses. The Greeks believed that Athena, goddess of wisdom, bestowed the olive on mankind, thereby winning a contest among the gods for presenting the most useful gift." {Zwingle 73} Is Soma the gift that Ford may have bestowed upon his people, or just a scientific advance to keep people in check? Citizens are taught catchy phrases, "A gramme is better than a damn", and given this chemical daily to keep them in a euphoric state, much like any drug of this day and age. Brave New World is not only a direct mirror of our sexual interactions it also acts as ...
