Corruption In Brave New World

Northrop, Sarah

English 10H P.4B

Halpert

10 June 2014

The Noble Savage: Bound to Corruption Jean-Jacques Rousseau is credited for developing the idea of the Noble Savage. However, “the concept of the Noble Savage has existed in various forms since the dawn of time.” (“Noble Savage” 1) According to “Noble Savage,” an article from Discover the Networks, “the term ‘Noble Savage’ expresses the concept of the…‘natural man,’ untouched by the supposedly corrupting influences of civilization.” (“Noble Savage” 1) The term was created based on the idea that human beings are fundamentally good, but when exposed to societal stresses, they collapse into acts of impulse and destruction. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates and brings

Frankenstein’s creation comes into the world as a Noble Savage, innocent and oblivious, remaining unaffected by the dangers of societal standards. When the creature first is brought to life, he is a “natural man.” He is good, innocent, and pure. In other words, a Noble Savage, not part of a society that could potentially distort him. When reading the following excerpt from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the creature indecisively compares himself to Adam and then to Satan, not knowing which he relates most to. “Like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence… [but] many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition… I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.” (Shelley 112) The creature notes that like Adam, he is rejected by the man who created him, though he has goodness inside him. His internal struggle demonstrates that he is troubled about becoming corrupted. The fact that the creature recognizes there is good inside him indicates that he has not yet been ruined by society. At this point in the novel, the creature can still be considered a Noble Savage because he is not fully tainted by the world surrounding him. However, the creature later leaves his isolation in the woods and ventures out into society. He is instantaneously tarnished by those who are shocked at his unsightly appearance.

He gives up on trying to belong and whips and then hangs himself. While he is whipping himself, the people of the World State chant, “oh, the flesh!... Kill it, kill it!” (Huxley 175) The fact that the supposedly civilized people of the World State are encouraging John’s self-flagellation demonstrates that they have long been taken by humanity’s corruption. According to Discover the Networks’ article on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theory of the Noble Savage, society’s participation in John’s downfall is due to the fact that “civilization invariably corrupted them and alienated them from their higher selves.” (“Noble Savage” 1) When first introduced, John is a pure, good being. However, much like Frankenstein’s creature, he too, loses his status as a Noble Savage as he is crushed under the pressures of