Unorthodoxy is defined as contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the three primary characters Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, and John the Savage display the characteristics of abnormality that the society of the World State alienates to maintain order. The lack of emotion and desire leads this society toward the aspect of a utopia. These utopian factors can inversely be seen as dystopian in the American society due to discrepancies in peoples’ choice and direction. People of the World State live predetermined lives, openly engage in sexual interactions, and they take soma to ease their empathy. Bernard, Helmholtz, and John deviate from this pattern in their own unique ways.
Bernard Marx
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is an Alpha Plus psychologist and the lead character of this novel. Everyone views Bernard as an oddity due to his physicality; he is significantly shorter than all the others of the Alpha class as the book states: “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). Rumors start about Bernard and turn him against the uniform society that has raised him. He refuses to take soma and also has a strong mental affinity for meaning and depth to his life: “’It makes me feel as though…’ he hesitated, searching for words with which to express himself, ‘as though I were more me, if you see what I mean. More on my own, not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body. Doesn't it make you feel like that, Lenina?’” (Huxley 90). Bernard feels he can be more than just one functioning part of the bigger whole that is the World State. Bernard is a product of his environment and notices his accomplice Helmholtz Watson seeks something deeper than the simple pleasures of soma and readily available intercourse. Helmholtz is a less integral character though he associates strongly with the same values of Bernard and John. Helmholtz has an uncanny taste for the fine arts. John shares his Shakespearean literature with Helmholtz and he instantly feels a connection to the words: “I feel I could do something much more important. Yes, and more intense, more violent. But what? What is there more important to say? And how can one be violent about the sort of things one's expected to write about? Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly—they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced” (Huxley 70). Helmholtz indulges in Shakespeare, but he is also decanted and baptized in the waters of his promiscuous society. Watson still sees sex as a useless action to temporarily quench emotional desire and he laughs when John quotes Romeo and Juliet. He seems very unperturbed when John explains the depth to romance though he struggles to find a meaning to the loneliness he feels when others cannot relate to him: “’No.’ he concluded, with a sigh, ‘it won't do. We need some other kind of madness and violence. But what? What? Where can one find it?’ He was silent; then, shaking his head, ‘I don't know,’ he said at last, ‘I don't know.’” (Huxley 185). Inevitably, Helmholtz Watson is noticeably unorthodox, but he is still morally tied to the values of the World State: opposite of his newfound friend John the Savage. Savagery is often conceptualized from the perspective of the society that believes in self-superiority.
John the Savage is the epitome of unorthodoxy in this novel. He was born viviparous making him a person of interest as does his detrimental expression of emotion through literary allusions: “The Savage shook his head. ‘Listen to this,’ was his answer; and unlocking the drawer in which he kept his mouse-eaten book, he opened and read: Let the bird of loudest lay On the sole Arabian tree, Herald sad and trumpet be…” (Huxley 183). John is discriminated against because he was naturally born from Tomakin and his mother, Linda. John is shunned at the Savage Reservation because of his ethnicity and his mothers’ sexual antics with the husbands of tribal families. He leaves with Bernard Marx to the World State in order to find a greater meaning than that of the role he plays in Malpais. John finds the expression of emotion to be very humanlike and natural. He acknowledges importance in the feeling of all emotion, so he frowns upon the use of soma to drown out feelings of grief: "Don't take that horrible stuff. It's poison, it's poison” (Huxley 211). Lastly, delving into the character of John the Savage brings forth one of the significant themes of the story, freedom through identity and
self-expression. Viewing specific social and societal barriers from a different background exposes the true flaws in a seemingly utopian society. Bernard, Helmholtz, and John all bring several varying stigmas: Bernard’s physical appearance, Helmholtz’ unfeeling loneliness, and John’s quest to fathom the concept of humanism. Truly, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World highlights the necessity for emotion and purpose in all things human.
A: Life in The Brave New World changes John in an unusual way. Being a child from the savage reservation, John was taught that morality, rather than conditioned by the Controller. John learned his rights and wrongs from his mother, and his own experiences. John knew a personal relationship was valued, and everyone loved one another. He learned that religion was a major part of his morals. Sex was something done with a mate that is loved.
I chose to read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley because I heard it was a great story and an easy read. After reading the first page I was attached because it was very detailed and seemed like it had a cool plot. Although it did confuse me at some parts, I would still say this book was a good read. While reading this I thought about my family and how important they are to me. Another theme that really caught my attention was how technology is really changing this world. The last thing that really captured me was genetically modifying organisms and humans while advancing in science and technology. Although I came across parts throughout
The adult John comes to civilized society as an experiment by Marx and Mond to see how a "savage" would adapt to civilization. Frankly, he does not adapt very well. He is appalled by the lifestyle and ideas of civilized people, and gets himself into a lot of trouble by denouncing civilization. He loves Lenina very much, but gets very upset at her when she wants to have sex with him. He physically attacks her, and from that point on does not want to have anything to do with her. When his mother dies, he interferes with the "death conditioning" of children by being sad. Finally, his frustrations with the civilized world become too much for him and he decides to take action. He tries to be a sort of a Messiah to a group of Deltas, trying to free them from the effect of soma. He tells them only the truth, but it is not the truth that the Deltas have been conditioned to believe, so to them it is a violent lie and they begin to cause a riot. When the riot is subdued, John is apprehended and taken to have a talk with Mustapha Mond.
The World State is filled with essentially clones; no one is truly a free thinker, which is why Huxley writes in John. John is the purest form of individual that is present in Brave New World. John Savage is viewed by the society as this sort of animal, untamed and different. John is enthralled by how the ‘civilized’ world views life. The simplicity of life sickens him.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World illustrates a colorful, fantastic universe of sex and emotion, programming and fascism that has a powerful draw in a happy handicap. This reality pause button is called “Soma”. “Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or a mythology.” ( Huxley 54 ).
John was born an individual. He was not conditioned and shaped his own personality and thoughts through what he experienced in an uncontrolled environment. His mother Linda is from the New World but got left behind on the reservation. Linda taught him how to read and write and told him about the New World and how great it is, “The happiest times were when she told him about the Other Place” (127). John always felt alone on the reservation, “Alone, always alone” (137). John felt like the only way he would be happy was to go to the New World. John thought he was paying for his happiness by leaving everything he has ever known, but in truth, he was leaving his happiness behind. John is an intelligent free- thinker. On the reservation he may not have fit in with the people, but he held some of the same ideals. He left a place where he could have been happy for a place he could never be happy with the way the world
Brave New World is a novel about a dystopian society named “The World State” set in A.F. 632 (632 years after Henry Ford’s Death). In this society, advanced technology is used to mass produce people and condition them into only wanting and doing certain things, creating a caste system. However, doing so takes away people’s freedom to think for one’s self. Certain people are able to step back from the monotony of this society and because of this they feel detached. This scenario adds an element of alienation, this scenario poses as a question, is it better to be happy or individualistic.
Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley is a book about a Utopian Society that thrives on stability rather than freedom. This futile, yet widely accepted society was gone against by one man, John the Savage. John’s mother, Linda, accidentally conceived him in the World State but soon after, moved to the savage reservation to give birth to him. Living in the savage reservation all his life, John had merely heard stories about the World State through his mother. The excitement he once had about moving to the World State was short lived as he was being given a tour of the society. John is accepted in the World State but he begins to have a difficult time dealing with the principles one has to follow in that society.
Individuality and refusal to be like others is what makes a person unique. In the dystopian novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley explores the refusal to conform to a structured society. The consequence to not conforming or being something other than the norm ultimately causes one to be alone.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World presents readers with intriguing characters whom all live in a much different world. Among these individuals one really grasp the reader's attention and more importantly delivers author Huxley’s theme. Through the viewpoint of John readers and the society of the brave new world are provided with truth. Meaning, John’s character succeeds in the deliverance of the central message; the top of the totem pole in society will do anything to maintain their version of a perfect world, even at the cost of free will. John is an outcast throughout the novel, because unlike the people of The Brave New world he chooses to love, seek truth and aims to implement changes.
Aldous Huxley’s most influential novel, Brave New World, fabricated a society with a restrictive government, widely distributed mood-altering drugs, unchaste morals, and suppressed individuality. Under the control of directors, world societies are comprised of genetically altered humans created in labs, that are conditioned into castes and modified for maximum productivity. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, a world of manufactured comfort opposes the norms of today’s society. The introduction of John the Savage represents the conflict between present-day society and its satirical counter-society.
In Brave New World, John’s happiness in the new environment of hill does not last long because he dies few days later. He does not have enough time to enjoy his new life. Writers of dystopian fiction usually tend to resolute the central conflict by death because there is no life without troubles. Huxley seems to say that real happiness in this world is difficult to attain. The dystopian protagonists may succeed to escape to a new desired society but they cannot overthrow the totalitarian dystopian society.
John was born in a “natural way”, unlike all the other characters, he was raised separated from all control and medication – his only contact with the establishment is Shakespeare. His “purity” and sudden insertion into a different environment may resemble an investigation, idea reinforced by the Resident World Controller for Western Europe. Mr. Savage expresses that Mustapha Mond, after sentencing Bernard and Helmholtz to exile, said that “he wanted to go on with the experiment”. This statement, together with the scientific discussion in the book, leads us to believe that an experimentation is also taking place in this novel.
There are numerous ways of life around the world today in different cultures and countries, each changing as the world around them changes. In the novel Brave New World, author Aldous Huxley shows a dystopian society with strange new beliefs and practices. This story revolves around three characters, Lenina Crowne, Bernard Marx, and John and shows their individual thoughts on this so called “civilized” world. John in particular is a man born and raised away from the new culture who is suddenly pushed into it without preparation, therefore receiving the shock of how different this “brave new world” really is. Although John dreamed about going to the civilized world all his life, he finds it disturbing and corrupt because of the lack of emotions
The genre I studied this year was dystopia because I've always been facinated with the different possible futures that have been created by numerous authors and directors that have been portrayed in their work. Our future is uncertain but there are common aspects in all dystopian pieces which combine to create an extremely real and believable future. All the dystopia pieces I studied were set in similar places in time and place, had at least one memorable character who tried to fight against society and all had the same authors/directors purpose. The texts I used for my study were: 2081 directed by Chandler Tuttle, Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep written by Philip. K. Dick and also Looper Directed