“Brave New World Characterization: Bernard Marx” In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, a world culture universally partitioned by numerous distinct manufactured social castes is depicted. Bernard Marx is an individual belonging to the highest of said castes. That being established, however, Bernard is first met upon the self-discovered notion that he is a freak in relation to other fellow Alpha-Pluses. His apprehensive disgust is discovered in the Alpha Plus changing room when he observes Henry Foster and the Assistant Predestinator discussing Lenina Crowne as if she were a mere sexual object, and it is remarked, “Bernard hated them, hated them. But they were two, they were large, they were strong” (Huxley, 47). This glimpse into Bernard’s mind illustrates that though he …show more content…
Later, after the excursion, Bernard and Lenina return with John, a savage, and his mother, Linda, to expose the Director as their relative after his own expedition years prior. The Director resigns after being exposed, and John’s Shakespearean literacy and utter existence enthralls all of society. This chain of events has Bernard over the moon, and has, with his newfound sense of achievement, “now found himself, for the first time in his life, treated not merely normally, but as a person of outstanding importance” (156). In bearing such a spectacle to the unsuspecting public, Bernard has outdone himself by making his name shine in a society that otherwise condemns any sort of individual glamor. Unfortunately, Bernard then uses this relevance and comfortability to eradicate his enduring burdensome insecurities. He sinks into society and engages in mass sex and soma consumption, proving he did not wish to criticize the World State out of spite, but out of jealousy. With John as his scapegoat, Bernard could now afford to slip into the masses and perform adequately, now that he has a name for himself. Lastly, Bernard throws an extravaganza
In chapters 4-6 of Brave New World, Huxley reveals more of the plot and the experiences of the characters. During chapter 4, we learn more about Bernard Marx and why he is considered an outcast: “The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects(Huxley 65).” This made me feel pity towards Bernard because it shows how he does not fit the ideal profile of an Alpha therefore he is not treated as one. Later in this section, Bernard is trying to explain his reasoning to Lenina, who continuously repeats phrases from her hypnopaedia. I found this normal based on her conditioning; however, I found it interesting how Bernard only responded with how many repetitions of the phrase was in the hypnopaedia course.
In conclusion, Bernard is interested in pursuing his personal desires, instead of conforming to society because he doesn’t like the way society is and what it is restricting people from.
Linda dies shortly after John arrives at the hospital. He is completely grief stricken, but, in this new society, death is as important as sex, and no one understands why he’s so upset. Between his mom dying and almost getting raped by Lenina he seeks out an escape. He finds a group of Deltas waiting for their daily dose of Soma, and he gets caught up in a riot. Bernard and Helmholtz find him right before the police show up. The police give the Deltas some Soma, and arrest Bernard, Helmholtz, and John. Bernard is a turncoat and tries to place the blame on the other two men, but this has the opposite effect and he’s taken away. Mustapha convinces Helmholtz that the island is the best place for him because he will be surrounded by like
Helmholtz and Bernard are both very intelligent individuals and are different from the other Alphas. They both feel like they are outsiders and are unhappy with how the community is. Bernard is considered an “outsider” because of his physical appearance, he is not attractive like the other Alphas in society and is not respected by the lower castes when given orders. Bernard says, “I am I, and I wish I wasn’t” (Huxley, 64). From this statement one can infer that Bernard is unhappy with his placement and feels like a social outcast. Unlike Bernard, Helmholtz is extremely attractive and, “...looked...every centimetre an Alpha Plus” (Huxley, 66-67). Helmholtz works with Emotional Engineering and feels that his writing could be used for greater
(Huxley 242) Evidently, the government’s regulation has upset John because of the lack of room for feelings. Compared to the way he feels in the Reservation, he is much more dissatisfied in the World State. Furthermore, Bernard Marx is also discontent with the World State because he feels like an outsider due to his physique. The majority of Alphas are tall and beautiful, but Bernard is short and quite the opposite of what he should be as an Alpha.
P144 "What should have been the crowning moment of Bernard's whole career had turned out to be the moment of his greatest humiliation." He had tried to elevate himself, to become accepted in a society that shunned him, by using the savage, but it had backfired and therefore the reader can sympathise. Not only had he lost the respect of his peers and fellow Alphas, but also he had lost the respect of someone who was, in many ways, so similar to him. Bernard can be pitied immensely for his ability to sense, see and appreciate things of beauty and as he could value and enjoy his
Huxley's work, Brave New World, is a book about a society that is in the future. This book contains many strange things that are generally unheard of today. Yet we see that some of the ideas that are presented in this book were already present in the 20th century. The idea of having one superior race of people can easily be seen as something that Hitler was trying to accomplish during the Holocaust. Huxley presents the society in his book as being a greater civilization. A totalitarian type of leadership is also presented in his book. According to him, this would be the best and most effective type of government. Hitler also thought that a totalitarian government was best. We see several similarities between Hitler's Germany and Huxley's
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World introduces us to a futuristic technological world where monogamy is shunned, science is used in order to maintain stability, and society is divided by 5 castes consisting of alphas(highest), betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons(lowest). In the Brave New World, the author demonstrates how society mandates people’s beliefs using many characters throughout the novel.
‘I’d rather be myself,’ he said. ‘Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly.’ (Huxley 60). Bernard is initially upset with something that his society does to maintain consistent satisfaction: the use of soma, a drug that instills ecstasy within its user without the inconvenient drawbacks of normal drug/alcohol usage. He is afflicted by the fact that one would use soma to essentially ignore their problems and “fake” their emotions. This dissatisfaction carries on with his viewpoint on how his society treats women, “‘Talking about her as though she were a bit of meat.’ Bernard ground his teeth. ‘Have her here, have her there.’ Like mutton. Degrading her to so much mutton” (Huxley 33). As a rule, “everyone belongs to everyone”, and Bernard believes women are treated disgracefully and only for the use of sexual pleasure. This also contributes as “laughing instead of thinking” that afflicts him, as well as, finally, the thrill of pastimes as an everyday activity outside of work, compared to individualist hobbies and mental activities (discussion): “Then what about a round of Electro-magnetic Golf at St. Andrew’s? But again, no: Bernard considered that Electro-magnetic Golf was a waste of time. ‘Then what’s time for?’ asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now proposed...‘Alone with you, Lenina.’ ‘But,
Bernard, Lenina, and Linda all have unique characteristics that set them apart from the regular citizens of the World State Society. However, all three of them have unknowingly fallen into the conformities of the state’s maladaptive rules, preferably choosing to emanate the state’s values that do not fit their own characteristics. The World State’s guidelines and regulations pull all the citizens of the World State, including Bernard, Lenina, and Linda, into one lifestyle of living through a domino effect of conformity: the more people that conform, the more harder it is to resist the urge to conform with them. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New
In the Sci-fi futuristic novel “Brave New World”, published in 1932, Aldous Huxley introduces the idea of the utopian society, achieved through technological advancement in biology and chemistry, such as cloning and the use of controlled substances. In his novel, the government succeeds in attaining stability using extreme forms of control, such as sleep teaching, known as conditioning, antidepressant drugs – soma and a strict social caste system. This paper will analyze the relevance of control of society versus individual freedom and happiness to our society through examining how Huxley uses character development and conflict. In the “Brave New World”, Control of society is used to enforce
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
It is evident that Bernard and Lenina shift their attitudes after they meet the savage, John. Bernard gets a taste of power after bringing the savage home to London and becomes satisfied and happy as defined by Brave New World, a complete turnaround from his previous, almost American ideals. Lenina finds love and joy, as an American would define it after being content for so many years in the society of Brave New World. Before he finds the savage, Bernard is unhappy with his surroundings,
Aldous Huxley wisely inserts many instances of distortion to the elements in Brave New World to successfully caution the world about its growing interest in technology.
Bernard tries explaining how he wants to be free, have his own individuality, and have his own ability to think and feel; not like everyone else, but like himself. He also explains how he wants to be happy, truly happy. He feels that in the World State, and because of his conditioning, this can never happen. Lenina’s response enables the audience to see how much she’s been brainwashed, showing how powerful the state is.