In Aldous Huxley Brave New World, we explore the story of a controlled society where people are made to choose confort and prioritize social order above all else. In this quote Mustapha Mond is having a conversation with John the savage, where John shows his state of mind with superficial happiness and Mustapha explains how people choose to loose their humanity over being able to feel.
“And being contented has none of the glamour
of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle
with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never
grand.”(pg. 152)
This quote captures one of the central themes of the book: the superficial happiness and the nature of human life. Mustapha talks about how without emotions like pain and the need to resist temptation, people loose their ability to grow and develop a self image. The author wants to contrast what it means to be human and the need to feel unconfortable, pain, and other disconforting feelings to remain human.