Dystopian Journal #2
Bernard Marx and John the savage are both characters who do not fit in to a society in their world. Bernard does a better job of fitting in than John, however. Bernard is an Alpha in London in Brave New World, but he does not look like the other Alphas. He's a few inches shorter, which would not be an issue in our world. But in Huxley's world, people are made instead of born, and they are made following very specific recipes. All Alpha males should look very similar, just like the Beta females and Delta males. Bernard's uniqueness makes him an outcast. Feeling like an outcast, he acts like he doesn't fit in, making him more of an outcast. And in a world where sex is rigorously supported and where physical looks are so important, Bernard certainly feels like he does not belong. However, Bernard does not try to resist the society's ways; rather, he searched for ways to fit in and belong more. And when he found John the savage, his sense of belonging was fulfilled because women wanted to sleep with him after finding such an incredible discovery. Huxley's world is unique in that very few characters find a flaw in the society. John the savage sees shortcomings in the society in that here is no love, but he was not conditioned to find love unimportant. The technique of conditioning people with hypnopaedia was so successful, the members of the society find nothing wrong with the world they live in.
Word Count: 221
Hi Keegan-
ReplyDeleteI forgot to ask you which topic you wanted to get quotes for on the RD-is it OK if I do foils and you do setting?
Foils-tell me what you think.
ReplyDeleteHuxley uses John as a foil of Mustapha Mond to show that a leader of a society, while having as much insight about the society, and much more power than the outsider, still serves as more of a prisoner of the society than a powerless outsider.
John the Savage talks to Mond about his choice to stay in the society and control it rigidly. “Getting rid of everything pleasant instead of learning to put up with it”(Huxley 162). John, like Mond, knows about enjoyable activities from the outside world. However, while John acknowledges that “pleasant things,” such as activities from the outside world, have ramifications, including knowledge of unpleasant ideas, he accepts them and deals with them. John accuses Mond of giving in to the society's abolishment of anything potentially dangerous instead of trying to change it. Mond chooses to stay stuck in a system where changing things results in big problems for the structure of the society.
Huxley again uses John as a foil when John and Mond argue about the positive and negative aspects of living in a society where all things potentially dangerous are gotten rid of . John decides that he would rather live a life of risks than a life of happiness with no struggle. “I claim them all”(163). Mustapha Mond knows as well as John does that a life of freedom includes pleasure as well as suffering and pain. However, Mond sees the problems with freedom to be greater than the pleasures. Mond believes that the society cannot deal with the difficulties, so he chooses to remain a prisoner of his society for the stability of society. John does not think of the rest of society's ability to deal with changes that would take place with freedom, and only thinks of how it would affect him in a positive way. Because he is not a leader, John sees freedom as a largely positive change. While Mond's decision to keep his society the way it is ultimately limits him, he is able to look at the situation through the eyes of a leader, at how the changes would affect his society, and act accordingly.