Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a supposedly utopian society in which “humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced. Warfare and poverty have been eliminated and everyone is permanently happy.” (“Brave New World”) This society resembles a machine; everyone in the “World State” is like a piece that serves a function in the machine and everyone is satisfied with their given function. The first setting the reader encounters in the book is somewhat of an assembly line; natural reproduction has been eliminated and replaced by this form of manufacturing. Human beings are grown in bottles; their function in society is chosen for them, and they are then conditioned to be satisfied with their function and their position in the social class. The World State is controlled by “World Controllers, whose primary goal is to ensure the stability and happiness of society,” (Smith) they use a utilitarian approach to happiness. To further ensure that people remain happy, a drug called Soma is “distributed by the government each week”(Smith). The purpose of the drug is to make people “spend their time hallucinating rather than thinking.”(Smith) The society described in Brave New World has achieved a remarkable goal of universal happiness, but not without some losses. In order to achieve the utopian status the society has eliminated any sort of true freewill, creativeness, and emotions; traits that are as valuable for their intrinsic worth as happiness is. As much as the World Controllers try to maintain unity and stability though, there are some individuals that realize that their and society’s happiness is a false one; realization that makes it a challenge for them to be satisfied with their and other’s functions in society. The two main characters of Brave New World are Bernard Marx and John the Savage, this paper will discuss their feeling of desperation, their attempts to fit in, and their lack of power to do so; along with a brief discussion regarding how the movie The Island could be considered literature due to the vast similarities to the book Brave New World.
One of the first main characters introduced in the book is Bernard Marx; an Alpha-Plus member and subsequently part of the highest class in the society. Marx is part of the highest class and one would assume that he would therefore be happy, but this is not the case. Bernard Marx is apparently shorter in stature than the standard for the Alpha males and he is also more affected by his emotions than the norm in society. His height has always made Marx feel inferior to other Alphas since size is often a sign of class status in the society, and his emotions have always made him seem weird and awkward to other members of the society. Bernard shows his problems with emotion when he hears a fellow worker tell another that he “should have her” referring to Lenina in a sexual way. Sexual promiscuity is the norm in this society and any kind of sexual behavior is completely separate from emotions, the fact that Bernard “gets upset when he hears this” (Smith) shows his inability to conform to society’s standards. Later in the story Bernard meets with Helmholtz Watson; a man with exceptional physical and mental qualities. “Both men are described as individual thinkers who have become friends because they cannot fit well into the society,”(Smith) but they are quite different in the sense that Watson could be accepted if he actually wanted, and truly wishes to change certain aspects about the society. On the other hand, Bernard is somewhat of a hypocrite. Shortly after Bernard meets Linda and John, he “agrees to take [them] back to London, where he manipulates society’s fascination with them to boost his social position.” (“Brave New World”) This is a sign that, unlike Watson, he disagrees with the norms of society not because he necessarily thinks they are wrong but rather because he can’t be part of them.
The character John the Savage, the true protagonist of the book, is introduced when Bernard visits the Savage Reservation. Just like Bernard, John is “isolated within his culture.” (Smith) The main reason why he is isolated is that he is rejected by the other savages due to the fact that he was born from a civilized woman (from the World State). Due to his appearance and lineage “John was not allowed to enter the kiva, a ritual initiation to make the young boys into men. Instead he was driven from the village by a barrage of stones. This incident highlighted his status as an outsider and led him to feel isolated and alone.” (Smith) The story describes his desire to be part of the society while John watches the “ritual dance of sacrifice”(Smith); he is convinced, and expresses his conviction to himself, that he would be able to whip himself many times harder and therefore bring more good to the community. Bernard’s brings about new life to John’s hopes. Bernard represents the opportunity for John and his mother to return to the World State and finally be part of the society to which they belong. Once they arrive to London, it is apparent to John that this society might be even worst than the one at the Savage Reservation. He is confused by the lack of emotion and sexual promiscuity. He quickly becomes mesmerized by Lenina and accepts to go out with her. Their cultural differences are clearly highlighted when in an attempt to satisfy her desires Lenina goes to John’s room; he confesses that he loves her, to which she responds to by taking off her clothes. This unusual behavior confuses and angers John, whom starts screaming at her things like: “whore, impudent, strumpet.” (Smith) John is also shocked by society’s apathy towards death. He happens to visit his mother while conditioning is being done to some children, they are encouraged to see this as a fun experience, taking all the feeling of sadness and fear from death. By this point it is obvious that John will not be able to conform to this society either. He looks too much like a member of The World State to be accepted as part of the savage society and he acts too much like a member of the savage society in order to function as a member of The World State. John’s desperation and lack of power in his attempts to fit in drive him to seek isolation. This decision did not allow him to be happy either because members of The World State decided to seek him out as a form of entertainment; he was not allowed to be part of the savages, was not able to conform to the civilized society, and could not find peace in isolation; the only place where he could find acceptance and peace was among the deceased.
The movie The Island has as of late made me reconsider what I categorize as literature. For the most part I have considered that only written works should be considered literature, but the tremendous amount of similarities between the Brave New World and The Island have broadened my spectrum of what should be considered literature. The book’s literary worth highly rests on its setting, message, and point of view; but if the book and the movie are compared one can quickly see that the movie also contains all these elements. The conditioning of the book is achieved through restrictions on education in the movie, and the effect of the soma is somewhat achieved by the hope of being the next lottery winner. The movie, just like the book, also introduces the character that finds it hard to conform to the society due to his imagination, intelligence, and thoughts outside of the guiding lines; represented as Watson in the book.
In conclusion, both the book and movie use the same literary elements and as a result should both be considered literature. From their descriptions of feeding the embryos with vitamins through tubes, to the false sense of happiness; from the control of World Controllers, to the instability caused by a few free thinking individuals. Both forms of literature reveal individuals that suffer due to their inability to conform or fit into a society. All characters are given miniscule or no chance to change things; Marx rejects the society as long as he is not accepted, Watson and his representative in the movie can’t conform tosociety because they know there is something wrong and which to change it, and John the Savage is left with only the option of living among the ones that used to live.
Works Cited
"Brave New World." www.wikipedia.com. 4 December 2006. wikipedia. 4 Dec 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. 1st. New York: Perennial Classics, 1932.
Pearce, David. "Brave New World? A Defence Of Paradise-Engineering." 2006. BLTC Research. 2 Dec 2006 http://www.huxley.net/.
Smith, J.N.. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: Brave New World Study Guide - Full Summary and Analysis." www.gradesaver.com. 6 December 2006. GradeSaver. 3 December 2006 http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/BraveNewWorld/fullsumm.html.
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