Similarities Between Lenina And Linda In Brave New World

Lenina and Linda share insightful commonalities beyond the general surface in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”.

Firstly, it is frequent to jumble the two names as they are nearly the same; both start with an “L” and end with similar pronunciations. Furthermore, the two women are not exactly perfect citizens of the “Brave New World” community. Lenina seems to fulfill the perfect roles of a common citizen at a first glance, although there are several gray ideals that she contributes. For instance, Lenina desires to have an affectionate relationship with only one man, of which is a shock to her best friend, Fanny, and the rest of the community; “‘No, there hasn’t been anyone else’, she answered almost translucently. ‘And I jolly well don’t see

John obviously shows a strong interest in Lenina, although she does not retort mutual affection for him; she is unable to express such passions. Lenina does not know how to show affection and how to express feelings; she lives in a society of which represses such emotions. For example, after her first date with Bernard, Lenina simply expects sexual relations with Bernard to occur. Bernard refuses the proposition, and Lenina is utterly shocked to be informed that he’d prefer talking and getting to know her beforehand. Lenina is unable to understand a connection is supposedly felt between two individuals; she has never experienced it. Linda on the other hand, is John’s mother, whom lacks the maternal connection of a typical mother/child relationship; she alienates and abuses him. For example, John alludes to his childhood and retells of a time when he tried comforting his mother. She pushed him off, shouted at him and began hitting him. The inadequate level of affection shared between the two women is explained through the reinforcement of values in the community of “Brave New World”; this leads to the incapability for the two women to express love. Lastly, both Lenina and Linda prefer to live in the moment and escape any bad situations that arise. Lenina simply consumes large doses of soma in order to escape the harsh realties she cannot come to terms with. After

How does it help to shape his character?

John expresses a strong importance for reading in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”. In John’s perspective, reading is so important as it is the only gift his mother ever offered him, and it is the only moment they shared together. His mother was never able to show any form of affection towards him nor invest any time to spend with him. The only shared moments they had were when Linda recalled the past and told him anecdotes or taught him how to read. She also gave him the only book she had as a gift; this being the closest form of affection he has ever received from his mother.

Secondly, reading also differentiates John from the other children on the reserve. Similar to Bernard Marx, John Savage is the outcast of the society. He is looked down upon and isolated from the others. As John explains: “’But I can read,’ he said to himself, ‘and they can’t. They don’t even know what reading is.’ It was fairly easy, if he thought hard enough about the reading, to pretend that he didn’t mind when they made fun of him…The more the boys pointed and sang, the harder he read. Soon he could read all the words quite well” (112). This shows how he is excluded and bullied by the others on the reserve because of his differences. His only escape is reading, and this is the only skill he has acquired that helps him feel superior to the others. He also takes this difference and shows how it affects him in a positive