Soma - 11/15/12

In Brave New World, the characters take a drug called Soma when they are unhappy, and it eliminates those negative feelings immediately. The theme of the song "Soma", written by Julien Casablancas, is that conformity causes feelings of confusion within oneself. This is seen in the line of the song that states "I am stop and go." These lyrics show that the speaker is so unsure of himself that he uses two complete opposites as means to describe himself. It is also seen in the line preceding that line, which states "He was trying too hard to be like them." This obviously relates to conformity, as it's practically a definition of the word. The fact that it directly precedes the line "I am stop and go," shows that conformity is a direct influence on the speaker's conflicted nature. Finally, the allusion to Brave New World in the title and lyrics add to the theme. Like I stated in the first sentence, Soma is a drug that equalizes everyone's mood, thus eliminating individuality and forcing conformity. It also, however, causes the novel's characters to lose track of who they really are. Thus, it shows how "Soma", or in the context of the song, conformity causes inner conflict. The theme of this song is that conformity causes feeling of confusion within oneself.

1-Introduces idea of Soma that will be brought up later.
2-Topic Sentence.
3- Gives example
4-Explains example.
5-States second example.
6-Explains second example.
7-Explains connection between first two examples.
8,9-Introduces final example
10-Explains final example through connection to introduction
11-Finalizes final example, ties ideas together.
12-Restates theme.