Brave New World: the Alienation of John in Both Cultures Essays

John believed in self-flagellation to purify himself, which is one aspect of orthodox Christianity that he adapted. He stripped down to his waist and whipped himself until he was bleeding profusely. He also drank mustard and warm water, causing him to throw up. The elders of the Reservation believed that this was another way to purify a man. John felt that he needed to get away and purify himself from the contamination of the “civilized” life. He wanted to atone for his sins, which included all the things he saw or enjoyed in London, and he practiced a stricter self-discipline when he was alone at the lighthouse. The first time he hit himself with the whip was when he realized he was singing and too happy. He was disappointed with himself because he thought that he should have been remembering the horrors of civilization and trying to make amends within himself.

John’s morality allowed him to see the horrible reality of civilization and realize that he will never belong to any type of society. The journey to civilization was supposed to be an enlightening experience full of unfamiliar wonders, unfortunately civilization did not hold the beauty that John built up in his mind. The horrors of society are revealed to JOhn as he is paraded around as a spectacle and experiment for others to marvel at. John realizes he will never belong to any society, he will forever be exiled from

Those who conform to the “Brave New World” lose their individuality and self-identity despite the World State’s motto being ‘Community, Identity, Stability’. In order for the ‘Brave New World to function all castes must work together through the artificial ideas of ‘identity’ and individuality to achieve happiness because the only way to achieve stability is to remove all negative feeling about the way the ‘Brave New World’ works. The people who choose not to conform begin a process of discovery. This discovery of something new and different to the ‘normal’ practices of society isn’t about the individual helping themselves but always about benefiting society and the greater good of humanity. All conformists used a drug called soma as a way of escaping reality and their consciousness. John didn’t see the need to use drugs because he believed that they shouldn’t have been used in a society that has a primal goal of a simple ad passive lifestyle. Not conforming to the use of drugs maintained his consciousness and his ability to be the one who was aware of the limitations and control society has put onto

In Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World, John (referred to as “the savage”) is the voice of freedom in a society ruled by an inexorable pursuit of superficial happiness. In the dystopian setting, the world controllers maintain public satisfaction “but at a very high price—the sacrifice of freedom, individuality, truth, beauty, a sense of purpose, and the concept of God” (Neilson). John’s unorthodox beliefs about monogamy, God, drugs, and freedom clash with that of the overwhelming majority of people in the totalitarian London utopia. This barrier is rooted in John’s natural moral development as opposed to the artificial conditioning of the rest of society and it leads to John’s complete isolation from the people of London.

John the savage, the protagonist from Bernard is introduced near the mid point of the novel. He is categorized between two specific archetypes, which are the seeker and the outsider. Being "born" into this society he is never given a chance to escape from reservation. When talking about the seeker, throughout the entire novel John is trying to find a place where he fits in, and belongs. Bernard was his chance in doing so. With Johns state of mind he realizes that he will never fit in to the so called civilized world of state. After being

He wants everyone to feel the emotions that you would normally deal with through life and experience life as it should be experienced normally. John starts yelling to the people in the Dying Hospital about the soma when they were about to pass it out, claiming it is poison and it is trapping them and turning them into slaves. He then proceeds to throw the soma out the window while Deltas start to run over to him, while he still continues to throw the soma away and then shows the emptiness of the box. " "Don't you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood and freedom are?

John experiences exile on three occasions during Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. During each exile, his lifestyle contradicts the morals, ideas, and behaviors of the Savage Reservation and the World State.

John the Savage’s view of civilization was greatly enhanced after he left the sheltered community of his tribe. When he first arrives in “utopia” London, he is amazed by the aesthetic of the city and the people who live there; here he recognizes how different the paradisal city is from the barbarous environment of his tribe. John exclaims,“how many godly creatures are there here! How beautiful mankind is!” (129). John is exemplifying the value of learning a new culture and religion from the perspective of one who has been sequestered

John pushes against the society’s standards. He is against taking soma, a drug that puts you are peace and goes against the social means. John takes the soma from workers at the hospital receiving their pay. “’Free, free!’ the Savage shouted, and with one hand continued to throw the soma into the area while, with the other, he punched the indistinguishable faces of his assailants. ‘Free!’ And suddenly there was Helmholtz at his side —‘Good old Helmholtz!’—also punching—‘Men at last!’—and in the interval also throwing the poison out by handfuls through the open window. ‘Yes, men! men!’ and there was no more poison left. He picked up the cash-box and showed them its black emptiness. ‘You're free’” (213). John hates people taking soma because it takes away their freedom, which keeps them from thinking and speaking freely. He continues to fight the system when he isolates himself at the lighthouse because he is so against the World State. He ends up not wanting to be in the world. He hangs himself to show everyone how messed up it is and prove himself to the world controllers.

When these and other questions weigh upon his mind he begins to realize that something is fundamentally wrong with the world he is living in. In Brave New World the main character, Bernard, is set apart from society by physical differences, which, in a society of ‘engineered’ people is extremely inhibiting. It is these ‘defects’ which cause him to look for a deeper meaning than the drug induced happiness forced upon him. These characters, although alienated in the novels, are believable and rational. The acts of their questioning in their search for the truth and real emotion persuade the reader to do the same thing. It is in this manner that the utility of these novels becomes apparent; through the demands they make of the reader personally - a superior social commentary, one that demands interaction, is born.

John, a savage, has never been able to fit in society. Moving through two contradicting societies, John is unable to adapt to the major differences of the civilized society due to the different ways upon how it is conducted. Living with the savages, John feels isolated from the savages as they exclude him from most of their norms. John wanted to

John as we know today was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was also the brother of James, who was also an apostle. John was the son of Zeebee and of Salome. His father was a fisherman while living in Bethsaida in Galilee on the border of the lake Gennesareth. John's mother was one of many women who gave to the maintenance of Jesus Christ. John's parents were very good people, they loved God and his son. It is said that john and his brother James were fishing when Jesus came and chose them. They were soon known as the fishers of men. The John of whom I am talking about is John the Evangelist.

John tries to change the framework of this brave new world based upon his values, but all his attempts opposing stability can’t be accepted and finally lead him to his death. Linda’s death marks a transition point of John’s life. Through this trauma, John experiences these citizens’ indifference. He can’t understand their callousness toward a real human’s death. Linda was his real mother, and he loved her very much. This kind of close relationship did not exist in the brave new world. Therefore, John can’t adopt citizens’ attitudes, and the citizens view him as a person who will destroy the status quo. This event affects John’s feelings and forces him to take a stand against the brave new world. Preventing soma distribution is his chance to confront this “enemy”. He thinks, “Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world be made beautiful” (210). This reflection makes him consider a rebellion –

I’d have gone round ten times-twelve, fifteen. Palowhtiwa only got as far as seven. They could have had twice as much blood from me” (Huxley 100). This shows John’s urge to be a part of the savage community and be like the other savages. Him being different, causes him to be sad since he is not free to do as he wishes.

The life of a savage has an entirely different set of morals, beliefs and limitations compared to the life of a person living in Brave New World. John, a character in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, has never been to or has been trained in Brave New World. John was exposed to old literature, the experience of working for things and having a choice of doing things. Unlike John, Lenina was trained hypnopædically to never have to worry about anything and to love everything about her life. Lenina doesn’t know anything about things of the past like the bible or Shakespeare.