Write the explanation of the essay entitled "Pleasures". (Part-2)

Write the explanation of the essay entitled “Pleasures”. (Part-2)

Ans.

Explanations

(7) We have changed all that. In place of the old pleasures demanding intelligence and personal initiative, we have vast organizations that provide us with ready-made distractions-distractions which demand from pleasure-seekers no personal participation and no intellectual effort of any sort.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay ‘Pleasures’ written by Aldous Huxley. The writer tells us about the true nature of the new type of entertainment by other organization like cinema, comparing it with the old forms of pleasure popular in the past.

Explanation: The writer further says that the people were actively busy in the past entertainments. For this they had some intelligence and some knowledge also. It was some kind of dance or music. Every man or woman as the part of ordinary culture used to take part in it on his own initiative. The writer further says that all that has changed now as old type of entertainment needed some intelligence and personal interest. Today there are large and strong organizations which provide us with readymade entertainments which do not need any personal interest or participation from the audience. These entertainments do not need any intellectual trait of any kind from the pleasure-seekers.

(8) It is possible to go on for years and years, reading two papers every working day and one on Sundays without ever once being called upon to think or to make any other effort than to move the eye, not very attentively, down the printed column.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay ‘Pleasures’ written by Aldous Huxley. The writer says that the real value of the newspaper is to give and make the distribution like the cinema to all the pleasure-seekers.

Explanation: According to the writer, the main function of the press is to supply light reading material to the common people. In this way, the people read newspaper without any mental tension. The readers continue reading two papers on working days and they read one newspaper on Sundays for many years without making use of their mind to understand the purpose of such newspapers. Its reason is that they take such reading material in a very simple manner.

The writer further says that we do not have to think about them much because any light reading is enough. We sit comfortably in our arm-chair and read the morning newspaper. We look at the printed matter and understand easily their meaning without any deep attention.

The writer wishes to make clear some other view that light reading material of a newspaper is provided in place of literature. The common man uses them in place of literature of serious nature. Such thinking makes an effect on our civilization adversely.

(9) These effortless pleasures, these ready-made distractions that are the same for everyone over the face of the whole Western world, are surely a worse menace to our civilization, than ever the Germans were.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay ‘Pleasures’ written by Aldous Huxley. The effortless pleasures as ready made distractions are used in the present reading material.

Explanation: According to the writer there is an increasing method of seeking pleasures. Though they are very easy, yet they become a serious disturbance to our modern civilization. It should be noted that the people are becoming more and more lazy in the present day times. They adopt the methods of recreation showing the laziness of the people. It is not a healthy sign of any civilization. The pleasures of the modern people are more effortless. They want readymade recreation for them and they do not feel tired.

The writer further says that such people avoid the real games but they like to watch their scenes on television. It shows their maximum laziness, such laziness has developed more and it has spread all over the western world. The writer calls such tendency very dangerous to the civilization which may be destroyed because of this. If the people become over-lazy. they lose the enthusiasm for playing such games. In this way our civilization goes to the dogs. The effortless tendency of the pleasure-seeking people becomes highly dangerous to our civilization than the Germans led by Hitler who was also a serious menace to our civilization.

(10) And now, in the hours of leisure, we turn to distractions as mechanically stereotyped and demanding as little intelligence and initiative as does our work. Add such leisure to such work and the sum is a perfect day which it is a blessed relief to come to the end of.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay ‘Pleasures’ written by Aldous Huxley. The writer asserts that in the present civilization both our work and pleasure have become out-of-date and mechanical which have made the modern men very lazy as their downfall.

Explanation: When the modern man gets some free time from his work, he needs some distraction for his mental recreation. The distractions are of mechanical type as well as out-of-date. The work of man is mechanical because he has to do his work on machine without any use of intelligence in his work because everything is done under a set system. The whole work is done by the help of machines but intelligence is not needed in his work.

According to the writer his work is only to attend to the machines. When his work is finished at the end of the day, he comes out of his working place and then he wants some distractions for his own enjoyment. There he also needs a machine. For example he sits in front of his television and gets recreation by watching the TV serials for his total recreation. He does not go out of his room in the open field to play any game there as in the past. It is harmful for him and civilization. During leisure a man gets relief and it is good for civilization.

(11) With a mind almost atrophied by lack of use unable to entertain itself and grown so wearily uninterested in the ready-made distractions offered from without that nothing but the grossest stimulants of an ever-increasing violence and crudity can move it, the democracy of the future will sicken of a chronic and mortal boredom.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay ‘Pleasures’ written by Aldous Huxley. According to the writer modern pleasures of readymade type can show a threat to our civilization.

Explanation: The writer says that the modern man likes to have ready made pleasures for his own entertainment. His life is so mechanical that he gets only that recreation which he gets in his drawing room. He does not go out into the open field to enjoy any real game but he watches some serial on his television. In this way his mind is not active and it is allowed to become more dull by its disuse.

Under such situation, his mind will become inactive because of the readymade pleasures, it will need some stimulant to make it more active. His pleasures would be related with more violence because of watching TV and feeling boredom. In the beginning even the simple use of body was enough to make his mind active with a very odd demand. In that way more violence would be needed on the stage in order to satisfy the mind. The writer asserts that at a particular time, the people will become the victims of serious boredom out of any remedy. It will be a very bad situation for our civilization which will reach its breaking time.

(12) The most violent forms of entertainment can only be obtained illicitly; to satisfy a taste for slaughter and cruelty you must become a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Reference to the Context: These lines are an extract from the essay Pleasures written by Aldous Huxley. The writer explains some violent forms of entertainment.

Explanation: The writer says that when a man feels bored because of the readymade types of pleasures, he needs something more exciting to make his mind busy because it has become very weak without its proper use. It may be a healthy sign for any civilization. The violent form of recreation can be got only by immoral means.

The writer further says that some violent types of recreation can be got to satisfy the crude taste of such mind. A man can go to the extent of slaughtering a large number of animals to get pleasure. A person gets cruel joy from the sufferings of these animals. The writer gives the example of Ku Klux Klan as a secret society of the U.S.A. which was founded there after the Civil War 1861-1865. The members of this society had enjoyed violence against the Blacks, the Jews as well as Catholics. It is necessary to become cruel in order to enjoy such immoral pleasure in the present civilization. Its cause is that the people would feel boredom by readymade pleasures through such immoral acts. It shall also destroy our civilization.