What Are The Similarities Between Saunders Rook And Bernard Marx

Saunders Rook from “A Reputation” and Bernard Marx from Brave New World are similar in their averageness, which causes both of them to feel isolated and jealous. Saunders Rook is described as not “very tall or very short or very dark or very light” (Connell 296). He is an average man with no defining physical characteristics. His averageness causes him to be forgotten in society. This is evidenced by people not knowing his occupation and by people not knowing how he became a member of the Heterogeneous Club. Bernard Marx is average as well, and he is also disregarded by society because of his averageness. Bernard Marx is a member of the Alpha Plus class, a social class consisting of the best looking and most intelligent humans. However, Bernard is short and average in appearance due to a supposed mishap at birth.

In particular, he faces challenges in obtaining sex partners, and this is significant due to the importance of sex in the world he lives. As a result of their averageness and society’s isolation of them, both Saunders Rook and Bernard Marx are insecure and feel jealous of those who are above average. Saunders describes himself as “colorless and unoriginal,” and these feelings stem from his belief that averageness is worthless in society (Connell 297). He further feels jealous of people like Max Skye and Lucile Davega, who he believes are unlike him in that they can capture other people’s attention. Bernard Marx feels similar in believing that his averageness, particularly in appearance, causes him to be socially inferior. He is jealous of people like Helmholtz Watson who has above average intelligence and looks. He believes such characteristics allow people like Helmholtz to gain access to society’s offering, particularly sex and attention. Overall, because Saunders Rook and Bernard Marx are average, both characters feel alone and feel jealous of those characterized as above