In these next chapters soma plays a major role because the people of the World’s State always want to escape every situation that is negative or enhance a situation like sex. Soma is like a temporary holiday that depends on how many grammes that they take. The more the grammes of the soma the longer the holiday but taking a lot of it could cause the holiday to be permanent and they might not wake up. Linda is an example of what soma does to the people of the World state who stop taking soma for years and then comes back to the World state and tries to make up for all the years from withdrawal.
When the Director resigns after being humiliated by Linda, Bernard and John, Linda seems that the only thing she cares about is soma and how much she can get it. Linda went to Dr. Shaw and got about 20 grammes of soma per day because of the years she spent raising John in Malpais. The doctor also states that Linda may not last through either the coming days or how long she takes that soma; “Which will finish her off in a month or two, the doctor confided to Bernard. One day the Respiratory Centre will be paralyzed. No more breathing. Finished. And a good thing too. But we can’t”.(pg.143) John is the only that really cares about Linda because that is his mother and the people in the World’s state do not see Linda as the Beta that she is, but as a Savage.
Lenina is becoming very reliable like Linda was on soma because she was just like Lenina when she was in the World’s state. Lenina mainly uses soma for sexual encounters or when she was in Malpais just seeing how the people lived she could not take it and just took a few grammes of soma. When Lenina was talking to Fanny about liking John and how soma would brighter her day by the World’s State soma motto:”Hug me till you drug me, honey; Kiss me till I’m in a coma: Hug me, honey, snuggly bunny; Love’s as good as soma.” Lenina’s soma addiction backfired on her when she tried to talk to John which she deeply likes because before meeting John one day she took some soma to calm her nerves and let her loosen up but she loosened up too much. John pushed her away and called her a whore because he didn’t know she took soma or I think it brought back flashbacks of his mother sleeping with men because that’s the way they grew up in the World’s state. Hopefully this soma drug can go away, because it seems like it is ruining everyone’s lives instead of making it better.
