Exile In Brave New World

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Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World paints an ugly picture of a dystopia without organized religion. In this fictional world many of the characters feel isolated in a society where "everyone belongs to everyone else". Many of these characters are also experience a form of exile, one of whom is Linda, a Beta that was left behind on an Indian reservation, cut off from her homeland. Although Linda's exile causes her to become an outcast in her society, her experience with emotion and suffering give her the chance to form relationships not possible before. Her separation from home demonstrates two of the main themes of Huxley's novel. Linda's experience with exile began when she was left behind and forced to live on the reservation on her own. Linda quickly became an outcast on the reservation. Her sexual promiscuity was …show more content…

In Huxley's "civilized" world human suffering is almost nonexistent. Everyone is conditioned from birth to be content with their social status and if anything undesirable afflicts you, there is always soma. Linda was forced to suffer everyday human emotions without soma to aid her. While from her point of view this is seen as a tragedy, this suffering leads Linda to form intimate relationships that she could have never experienced if she wasn't separated from home. While fighting with her son Linda raises her hand to strike him, but instead she, "put her arms round him and kissed him again and again." (pg 127) Linda also attempted to teach John how to read. These behaviors show that Linda cared deeply for her son and formed a special bond with him. Linda would have never been able to have that maternal bond if she had not been cut off from her homeland. Her experience with emotion and suffering caused her to become more human. Linda's exile shines light on some of the main themes of Huxley's novel, suffering and

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