Wei Qing and Tiffany (4C)

Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today's world?

The BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation is  not an acceptable model for today's world. This model shows no difference between humans and animals. Sex became a behavior to satisfy their sexual desires. In today's world, sex is the emotional bridges between two people who are in love. This means they are ready to commit their love to that only one. However, in BNW, "every one belongs to every one else". Also, Lenina is being laughed at when she confess that she was being faithful to one man. In BNW, sex is nothing but something to satisfy their needs. And they are not concerned for any consequences that might happen as they are not responsible of producing the next generation. But in today's world, sex is a behavior to prove their love and to create the next generation. Therefore, this model is an unaccepted behavior.

Christine Yep and Wu Anping (4C)

Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today’s world?

No, we disagree that the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation is an acceptable on for today's world. In BNW, the D.H.C disapproves of any relationship that is long drawn or intense, which is a far cry from what our society believes in. As the often heard phrase 'abstinence till marriage' goes, our society is one that regards sex as something intimate and something that should only be done with the love of your life, who has sealed his or her vows with you, and is willing to stay by your side for the rest of your lives, till death do you apart. In other words, sex is a sign of your love for another, and doing it with others just shows that you are not devoted to one only. In society's eyes, sex brings along with it a sense of commitment, and that if anything happens, both of you would be responsible. Furthermore, society believes In putting a lot of thought before engaging in this act, as procreation is highly possible during sex, and thus the couple must think carefully about the consequences , and that the child they bear in the end would be their responsibility, to care for and love. Yet, there are those who take sex as just a game, and engage in it flippantly and frequently, with no regard of the consequences. There are also those who do it in the spur of the moment,deluded by the intense passion they feel for their partner at that point of time. However, many of this results in them being shamed and humiliated by their peers or disowned by their parents, and more often than not leads to abortion of the unborn child or abandonment of the young child, or even single parents who are left to bear the responsibility of the choice made by the couple. Therefore, we strongly disagree that BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation is an acceptable one for today’s world.

Lucia (4C) assignment 4

Qn 1: Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today’s world?

We believe that the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation is not an acceptable one for today’s society. In BNW, Fanny accuses Lenina by saying that, “It's such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man.” Also, Fanny says “And you know how strongly the D.H.C. objects to anything intense or long-drawn. Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man–why, he'd be furious if he knew …” This shows that the society in BNW gives no thought for any form of emotional attachment, to the point of criticizing it. It is clear that to them, sex is only to fulfill their desires and nothing more. However, in today’s world, commitment is still very much valued and adultery is still frowned upon. Relationships still has a significant hold in today’s society. The BNW model will not be morally right in today’s world as it goes against values that have been taught since young, like commitment, loyalty and responsibility. Sex without strings attached will only cause the next generation to lack responsibility. Today’s world will frown upon such a model. Thus, we feel that the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concerns about procreation is unacceptable in today’s world.

Lee Si Yun and Chng Jiu Hui 4C

We feel that the BNW model of no strings attached and no concern of procreation is unacceptable for today's world, because it teaches young people to be impulsive and irresponsible. From the excerpt "everywhere exclusiveness, just too narrow a channelling of impulse and energy." It shows that in this model of society people act impulsively and instinctively without thinking about the consequences, and feel that they do not have to take responsibility for their actions. From "and you know how strongly the DHC objects to anything intense or long-drawn. Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man - why he'd be furious if he knew..." We can see from this excerpt that the the people's mindsets are shaped to think that everything is replaceable hence relationships are not cherished and are in fact changed regularly when he or she gets bored of their partner or if any disagreements arise. Instead of solving the problem and working towards improve their relationships, they choose to avoid the problem. In today's world, sex should be between people with close or long term bonds/relationships and should not be just an act of impulse or pleasure, as this will foster irresponsibility and impulsivity in today's people, leading to generations of people that are unable to work through problems but instead escape from them, and this will not help any society to progress.

4C Cheryl and 4B Shernice

Qn 2 : Marriage is a universal institution that will stand the test of time. Do You Agree?

No, we disagree to the statement as marriage is a burden to many and it will not sustain in the long term. This is because marriage requires a lot of thoughts and planning and it requires a high cost of living, so people would rather work than to concentrate on relationships and get married, as this will increase their amount of stress and worry. Pope Francis said, "Marriage today is often considered a form of emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. Unfortunately this vision also influence the mentality of Christians, causing them to resort easily to divorce or de facto separation." Many people in the modern society are losing faith in marriage. In the near future, more and more people will cease to believe in marriage. Thus, we feel that marriage is not a universal institution that will stand the test of time.

Renise Ngo, Ong Shi Qing - 4B

Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today's world? 

We feel that having sex with no strings attached and no concerns about procreation is unacceptable in today's world, as it will not instil in the next generation's children the right moral values and teach them the right way of behaviour. This model will not be taken as the norm by most of the people in the world. First and foremost, having sex with no strings attached is, in our opinion, morally unacceptable in the first place. Doing this only teaches the next generation that they do not need to be responsible for or be faithful to their own partners. It will only result in irresponsibility towards others whom they do not care for at all. The mindset that anyone who are not themselves do not have to be cared for or be shown concern to. Having no concerns about procreation as an add-on to having sex without any strings attached will only cause each generation to love less and less. Not caring about conceiving and feel anything for another new life born into the world will disallow them to sympathise or empathise with others, and even disallow them to feel any emotions for anything at all. They will in turn not have any concerns about anything other than themselves and pleasure. After all, the world right now mostly accepts monogamous relationships as the norm, and polygamous relationships might not be widely accepted by many in our world. In Brave New World, Fanny tells Lenina that four months is too "long-drawn" and "intense", and that the D.H.C. would not approve. She said that "four months of Henry Foster, without having another man- why, he'd be furious if he knew..." This shows the way the children are taught in Brave New World- that at a young age they do not need to show faithfulness to anyone, and that they can just play around with people as they like. This is wrong, for no matter how young a person is, he or she needs to realise that faithfulness towards someone is very important. If the children in our world were brought up like this, with the adults teaching them that they do not need to care for anyone at all, the world would be completely changed, and not positively. There are many who feel that this model from Brave New World is morally unacceptable and will not be taken as the norm, and therefore we do not feel that the Brave New World model of sex without strings attached and no concerns about procreation is unacceptable in today's world.

Kaiting (5) & Roxanne (12) 4B

 Qn 1: Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today’s world?

No, it is not. In this model, sex is but a way to satisfy sexual desires, without concern over its implications, nor the emotional factors involved. In today's world, even though prostitution exists, sex is still largely treated as an emotional connection between two partners, and a representation of their love and promise to each other, inevitably leading to procreation and the starting of a family. All of this requires commitment, which is condoned in BNW - "too narrow a channeling of impulse and energy", as quoted from Mustafa Mond. "And you know how strongly the D.H.C. objects to anything intense or long-drawn. Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man-why, he'd be furious if he knew." It is evident that the world of BNW does not care for emotional attachment, and even frowns upon it, which is all very well in a world where the duty of procreation does not fall in the hands of the human population, and long term plans of settling down and starting a family just isn't on the agenda. However, in today's world, what the next generation turns out to be like is very much reliant on the current population, and relationships still hold much importance in many people's lives, where sex is the representation of love and usually with the intention of starting a family. In today's world where planning for the future is essential and emotions and relationships play a big role in human wellbeing, the BNW model is absolutely unacceptable. 

Felicia and Leandra 4B

QN 2 : Marriage is a universal institution that will stand the test of time. Do you agree?

We believe that marriage is a universal institution that will not stand the test of time. Although it is true that if a couple truly loves each other, and they would want to get married and be together, society’s attitude towards marriage has been increasingly flippant. In Brave New World, Fanny tells Lenina that “ you know how strongly the D.H.C. would object to anything intense or long-drawn. Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man -  why he’d be furious if he knew..” The Brave New World is set in the future and gives an insight as to what the future might be like. In the book, Fanny was shocked to hear that Lenina has been dating a guy for four months - which seems like a very long time for them. There are similar trends in the way we live such as a very mechanized workplace. Also, in the U.S., the marriage rates have also dropped drastically, from 92.3% in 1920 to 31.1% in 2013. It would not be surprising if our take on marriage starts to be like theirs, if it already has not.  Moreover, in today’s society there are sites such as Ashleymadison which promote affairs, with “Life is short, have an affair” as their slogan. It encourages married couples to cheat on each other and commit adultery. With such websites that disregard marriage as something that should be treasured, as well as marriage rates already decreasing drastically, it is unlikely that marriage will stand the test of time. 

Ying Xin and Jodie 4B

 Qn 1: Is the BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation, an acceptable one for today’s world?

The BNW model of sex without strings attached and no concern about procreation is not an acceptable model for today's world. In this model, sex is reduced into an instinctive behaviour without emotional attachment or any intention to build a family. This reduces humans to become animal like. Although this model is sometimes practiced in our world today too, it is still not acceptable as most of us still have the concept of the importance of human relationships, procreation and the building up of a family. In Brave New World, Fanny criticised Lenina for being with a man for four months, claiming that the D.H.C will be furious when they find out she had been with only one man for four whole months. This is very much not acceptable in our world as it defies our concept of the importance of human relationships etc. In today's world, it is essential that we take procreation into consideration and to build up a family as the future generation is needed to continue improving and developing our world. In Singapore, there has been a declining population these few years as fewer couples have decided to procreate which resulted in the government needing to let foreign workers come to Singapore so as to sustain Singapore's economy. Thus the BNW model is not acceptable in today's world as most of us have the concept of the importance of human relationships, procreation and the building up of a family.

Alicia & Qi En (4B)

Qn 2 : Marriage is a universal institution that will stand the test of time. Do You Agree?

I do not agree that Marriage is a universal institution that will stand the test of time. Instead, marriage is something that is very fragile, and both the husband and wife have to take a lot of effort to keep their marriage  intact. In our modern society, there are many people who will get divorced only after a few years of marriage due to many problems. In the book Brave New World, Mustapha Mond once said that romance is a type of exclusiveness and that it is a narrow channelling of impulse and energy, and i agree with his statement. Marriage is indeed a very exclusive institution that requires a lot of energy. Nowadays, there are couples that would marry on impulse only to regret it afterwards. Moreover, there are also couples who realise that their personalities clash only after marrying because they have yet to see their partner's true colours. This could lead to many serious conflicts between them and even if they put in a lot of effort, it is not guaranteed that all these conflicts will be resolved so that they can continue on with their marriage. Thus, I do not agree that marriage is a universal institution that will stand the test of time.