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Essays on use of dystopian novel in society
Essays on use of dystopian novel in society
Dystopian literature
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How can a world be a dystopia if everyone loves his or her job? The answer is in the book, Brave New World. Brave New World is a piece of dystopian literature published in 1932. The book takes place in London, England, and it contains many of unorthodox characters. The story is mainly about two unorthodox characters, John the Savage and Bernard Marx, and how they deal with their unorthodoxy. John has to deal with his feelings in a society where feelings are absent. Bernard, on the other hand, is supposed to be handsome and big, but instead he is short and ugly. Another unorthodox character is Mustapha Mond. Mustapha is unorthodox because he is smart and knows what others do not. In Brave New World John the Savage, Bernard Marx, and Mustapha …show more content…
Mond are unorthodox. John the Savage is an unorthodox character for three key reasons: he reads Shakespeare, he believes in commitment, and he is naturally born. The first reason John is unorthodox is because he reads Shakespeare. This is considered unorthodox in the society of Brave New World because no one is usually allowed to read Shakespeare. Shakespeare is forbidden because most of his literature includes love and tragedies, which the leaders of the society think is a threat to the social order. Mustapha, the leader of the society, explains, “In a properly organized society like ours, nobody has any opportunities for being noble or heroic.” (Huxley 237). Another reason that John the Savage is unorthodox is because he believes in commitment to relationships. John is taught, on the savage reservation, to be committed to one person at a time. In London, it is common for someone to have sexual relations with many different people while not having any other relationship with them. The shift from moving to London from the Savage reservation makes him become an outcast when it comes to relationships. John’s idea of a relationship complicates his relationship with Lenina. Lenina likes John, but she does not know how to just like one man. Instead of having a “regular” relationship, Lenina just tries to have sex with John. John freaks out, further proving that he is unorthodox. The final reason John the Savage is unorthodox is because he is naturally born. In Brave New World, people are normally born from a process known as decanting. Instead of being decanted, John is born naturally. Being born naturally makes him an instant celebrity when he moves to London. Being born naturally is unorthodox enough to make John’s father run away in embarrassment. “My father! The laughter, which showed signs of dying away, broke out again more loudly than ever” (Huxley 153). This quote proves that having a child naturally is embarrassing and is avoided at all costs. Clearly, John being born naturally makes him an unorthodox character. John the Savage is an unorthodox character, but so is the man who brought him to London, Bernard Marx. Bernard Marx is an unorthodox character because of his physical traits, his lack of a social life, and how he lies during his Solidarity Group.
Bernard’s physical traits make him unorthodox because he is an Alpha Plus male who is shorter and thinner than he should be. Bernard’s physical appearance problem originates from when he was being decanted. The rumor is that during the decanting process, someone added alcohol to his blood-surrogate. The alcohol caused Bernard to be different compared to the other Alphas, “Bernard’s physique was hardly better than that of the average Gamma. He stood eight centimetres short of the standard Alpha height and was slender in proportion” (Huxley 64). Bernard is ashamed of his physical shortcomings and wishes that he could fit it with the rest of society. The fact that Bernard does not have a social life also makes him unorthodox. Instead of going out and taking part in the daily games, Bernard talks to Helmholtz Watson. In their conversations Bernard and Helmholtz discuss unorthodox subjects. Some the unorthodox subjects include Helmholtz wanting to write whatever he wants, Bernard expressing his feelings, and Helmholtz feeling ashamed for Bernard for being different. The final reason Bernard Marx is unorthodox is because he lies during his Solidarity Group. The Solidarity Group is a group that gathers to worship Ford and then participate in an orgy. During the part of the Solidarity Group when people see Ford, Bernard fakes …show more content…
it, “Feeling that it was time for him to do something, Bernard also jumped up and shouted: ‘I hear him; He’s coming.’ But it wasn’t true. He heard nothing and, for him, nobody was coming. Nobody- in spite of the music, in spite of the mounting excitement. But he waved his arms, he shouted with the best of them; and when the others began to jig and stamp and shuffle, he also jigged and shuffled.” (Huxley 84) The quote above proves that he has to put in effort to attempt to fit in. No matter how much effort he puts in, Bernard does not fit in with society. Bernard Marx is appropriately labeled as being unorthodox and so is one of the World Controllers, Mustapha Mond. Mustapha Mond is unorthodox because he believes in God and he is well educated.
In the society of Brave New World God does not exist. Instead of worshipping God, the people of the World State worship Henry Ford. People do not know about God because the Bible and other religious books are banned. Mustapha Mond is one of the few people in the world that access to the religious books. Because he has access, Mustapha reads all of the religious books and is a believer in God. When John asked Mustapha, “’Then you think there is no God?’” (Huxley 234), Mustapha responds, “’No I think there quite probably is one’” (Huxley 234). The quote from Mustapha proves that he believes that there is a God. The reason that Mustapha does not let anyone else read the religious books is because he is educated enough to know that it would disrupt the stability of the World State. The education of Mustapha makes him an unorthodox character because in his society, people are only taught what they need to know for their jobs. Mustapha has access to whatever knowledge he wants because he is a World Controller. As World Controller, he uses his knowledge of how education can affect the stability of the society. Mustapha explains to Helmholtz
Watson, “’You’ve had no scientific training, so you can’t judge. I was a pretty good physicist in my time. Too good- good enough to realize that all our science is a cookery book, with and orthodox theory of cooking that nobody’s allowed to question, and a list of recipes that mustn’t be added to except by special permission from the head cook.’” (Huxley 225) The realization that their science education is another way for the World Controllers to control the citizens of the World State assists in making Mustapha Mond a World Controller. Clearly, Mustapha’s education makes him an unorthodox character. How can a world be a dystopia if everyone loves his or her job? The answer is not in Brave New World, but the personalities of the unorthodox characters in Brave New World. The unorthodox characters are proof that even if everyone loves their job, the world can still be a dystopia. The reason that the book is a dystopia is because the unorthodox characters show us that not everyone is happy. Also the unorthodox characters show us that people are being controlled by the World Controllers. Clearly, John the Savage, Bernard Marx, and Mustapha Mond are unorthodox characters that support the fact that Brave New World is a dystopia.
It is commonplace for individuals to envision a perfect world; a utopian reality in which the world is a paradise, with equality, happiness and ideal perfection. Unfortunately, we live in a dystopian society and our world today is far from perfection. John Savage, from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, V, from V for Vendetta by James McTeigue and Offred, from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Attwood, are all characters in a dystopian society. A dystopia is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and are characterized by oppression, corruption of government, and abridgement of human rights.
In Brave New World, Huxley introduces multiple characters and problems to explore both internal and external conflicts throughout the story. One character we see in depth is Bernard. An alpha in society, Bernard struggles with inner conflict that separates him from the rest of his peers. Unlike others he sees the world he lives in as flawed. He questions everything and as a result of this, feels isolated and different. He struggles with his inner feelings as others start to judge him. He has the option to go against the part of him that says to act like every other Alpha, or to go with the part of him that wants to stand up for what he believes to be morally right.
In the utopian society Huxley creates, everything is artificial. The future of the world depends merely on a handful of directors, and everyone else is simply created as a pawn to maintain this futuristic economy. One of the ten world controllers in the "Brave New World" portrayed in the novel is Mustapha Mond. Mustapha is a driving force behind the utopian society that keeps everyone happy, yet empty inside at the same time. In fact, Mustahpa Mond has been interpreted to mean "the chosen one," for he is like a God to the people (McGiveron 29). People are created in laboratories such as the "Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre," where peo...
Bernard Marx is an intriguing character in the book Brave New World. At the beginning of the book, he is a very main character, but as the book goes on he is put more and more into the background of the story. The reason for this can be explained by the way his character changes as the book progresses. Aldous Huxley makes an interesting point by showing how a person can be changed by obtaining something he desires. It makes the readers wonder whether success would change them in the same way or if they would be able to maintain their character.
The outcome of what happened to Bernard forced him to see that mistakes were one reason a Utopian Society could not exist. The Character Bernard Marx is an example of human imperfection, not because he was referred to as deformed, but because the person who created him messed up. Individuals were decanted according to specification. Any deviation was evidently the result of some mistake, a mistake made by a human. These technological developments weren’t advanced enough to create such a perfect society. Bernard was an example of this undesired reality. He was deemed an outcast due to his imperfection. Being an outcast, however, allowed him to see the world differently. He was able to realize how everything was being manipulated and he was able to discern that it was wrong.
Bernard Marx was alienated in the Brave New World because of his general appearance. As an Alpha Plus, Bernard was unusually short and ugly. Suggested by Fanny, Bernard's condition resulted from an error when he was still in a bottle, the workers "thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood surrogate." Bernard did not fit in the structured order of the Brave New World and was therefore shunned by others. The error resulted in Bernard developing outside the barriers of his caste level. His ugliness and short stature led Bernard to become a perpetual outsider, alienated by society. As an outsider, Bernard was cynical of the order and structure of the Brave New World. He eschewed Electric Golf, and other social amusements in favor of loneliness and solidarity activities, such as, thinking. Bernard attempted to find a way "to be happy in some other way," in his own way, not the established way.
In Aldous Huxley's novel, "Brave New World" he introduces a character named, Bernard Marx an alpha part of the upper higher class who does not quite fit in. Bernard is cursed by the surrounding rumors of something going wrong during his conditioning that he becomes bitter and isolates himself from those around him in the World State. Huxley's character experiences both alienation and enrichment to being exiled from a society that heavily relies on technology and forms of entertainment with little to no morals.
The novel titled Brave New World was written by Aldous Huxley in 1931. It is a work of science fiction that focuses on humans being born in a futuristic and artificial way. Personhood is the basis for this novel. Three examples of Huxley’s personhood are the lacking of individuality, being incredibly social and busy, and understanding that no one person belongs to an individual.
In a dystopian society, the government watches and dictates everything. It is the opposite of a perfect world in the sense that careers and social status are pre-destined. The government of this society does everything in its power to make the citizens believe that this is the most ideal place to live. The word “dystopia” ultimately roots back to the Greek word “dys” meaning bad and “topos” meaning place (www.merriam-webster.com). Citizens in a dystopian society rarely question their government. Many citizens are brainwashed and others are just too frightened to speak out against injustices evident in their society. The Hunger Games and The Giver are perfect examples of dystopian texts d...
What exactly is a dystopia, and how is it relevant today? E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops uses a dystopian society to show how one lives effortlessly, lacking knowledge of other places, in order to show that the world will never be perfect, even if it may seem so. A society whose citizens are kept ignorant and lazy, unknowing that they are being controlled, unfit to act if they did, all hidden under the guise of a perfect utopian haven, just as the one seen in The Machine Stops, could be becoming a very real possibility. There is a rational concern about this happening in today’s world that is shared by many, and with good reason. Dystopian worlds are often seen as fictitious, though this may not be the case in the future.
Bernard was born as an alpha, the highest caste. Unfortunately, he was born with multiple birth defects. Bernard was short and slightly disfigured, making him stick out compared to everyone else's genetic perfection. Because of this, Bernard was made fun of a lot by other people in the community, making him feel lonely, even though he was born to the highest caste.
Jinato Hu once said, “Diversity in the world is a basic characteristic of human society, and also the key condition for a lively and dynamic world as we see today.” In dystopias individuality is not accustomed to, and as a result society turns ruthless. In many dystopian communities one figurehead or concept is worshipped. Technology, happiness, or the idea of equality being praised expresses that humanity downgrades.
Bernard Marx an Alpha plus specialist in sleep teaching is an example of a character that changes in the brave new word. He changes from a character that symbolized individuality to a character that just wanted to desperately belong to the society. At the beginning of the novel he seemed to be very different from the society, he acts like a rebel trying to battle against the order of things. He seemed to be an “individual” in the first few chapters. For example On his first date with Lenina with lenina he says ” I’d rather be myself. ‘Myself and nasty .Not somebody else, however jolly”(77). He wanted to be something else different from the rest of the society. However we see that his root concern is to be socially acceptable and not really about becoming an individual. In chapter 6 Bernard shows signs of undergoing a change in his character. When the Director summoned Bernard to his office for being unorthodox, Bernard goes on to brag to his friend Helmholtz Watson on his victory over the director when he says” I simply told him to go to the bottomless past and marched out of the room and that was that “(85). We get the sense that Bernard’s victory wasn’t so much about personal integrity as it was social acceptance. Finally, his character undergoes a c...
Mustapha Mond is the most powerful character in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Mond keeps scientific and historic documents from reaching the people. Mond believes that science, religion, and art threaten Brave New World if let out, but religion would be bane of Brave New World. The moral dilemma of monogamy is the bane of Brave New World. If the people of Brave New World found out about religion, the people would learn the moral dilemma of “every one belongs to everyone else”(Huxley 31).
Within Brave New World social stability means everyone is identical and has a preset purpose to life. A tour guide at the Central London Hatchery And Conditioning Centre explains they”…predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as alphas or epsilons, as future sewage workers…” (Huxley 13) Bernard Marx was born by the same Bokanovsky process as everyone else. He is forced to live in a society where individuality is suppressed for stability by conformity. Marx knows he is unlike many others and tries to fit in. He is prevented to be his true self because he is already looked down on by the conditioned society and risk of exile. His anti-social beliefs include ideas of marriage, emotions and community events which are unmoral according to the rest of civilization.