In the novel Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley, the main conflict is Character versus Society. The protagonist of the story is Bernard Marx, who in the beginning of the story is unhappy with how his life is going. He feels like there is more to life than being intimate with someone and taking soma. Since the society stands for having multiple, non-emotional relationships and a never ending social life, one never has the time to reflect. Bernard went against the society’s views when he asked Lenina about weather she ever feels as if she want to be more than “just a cell in the social body”(78). As an answer to the question she started crying. Even though Bernard is able to think about such theories and question the society Lenina, who has been properly conditioned wouldn’t even dare to question such things, especially since they are about the society she lives in. This shows how much effort the society put in it’s people to condition then, in order for them not to be able to think for themselves. Another time when Bernard tries to change his life and also opposes society is when he uses the savage to gain popularity. He is trying on improving his life quality, but he is going against society indirectly because, John is actually corrupting Helmholtz and Bernard with Shakespeare. Going against society in these direct and indirect ways, has changed the protagonist’s view on the society. Instead of not wanting to be part of it and looking for ways to find what was being hidden from him, towards the end of the novel he was enjoying life fully, and when he has been told that he will be exiled he wished he wasn’t going to be because he was actually starting to take pleasure in his new life.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Topic #2: Why does John Galt go on strike when the Starnes heirs take over the Twentieth Century Motor Company? Do you think he is right or wrong to start a strike? Explain.…
- 1222 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Brave New World is the story of a utopian society and the faults within it. The characters idolize absurd aspects of life. Loyalty is degraded under the belief that everyone belongs to everyone. The characters are trained to avoid feelings like anger and despair in situations such as death. Any problem can be fixed with the consumption of Soma, a drug with similar effects of alcohol. The morals of sleep-learning specialist Bernard Marx stray from the rest of society as he accepts loneliness and monogamy. On a trip to an outside community known as ¨The Reservation,¨ Bernard is greeted by a population who expresses the same beliefs as our normal world. Upon his return to Brave New World, he brings with him John Savage and his repulsive mother, Linda, who has history in the society. Bernard Marx exploits these characters to reveal a harsh aspect of the Brave New World society, which alters his status from quirky and lonely to conventional and popular.…
- 667 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Brave New World reinforces the idea of “Everybody [belonging] to every one else…” (Huxley 121) and this is evident by the atrocious conditioning each person is exposed to. As a result, regardless of one’s class, every one is content with the caste he/she is in and is oblivious to the restraint that was placed on him/her. Furthermore, the concept of isolation is meant to benefit the civilized people as it disconnects them from the living style of the Indians who are viewed as savages. This is disturbed when Bernard brings John and Linda into the Fertilizing Room with an ulterior motive of humiliating the Director, who John “… said in a clear voice: ‘My Father!’ “ (Huxley…
- 1476 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In the two utopias that we learned about, the major concern was the steadiness of happiness and stability. When the citizens of the society once realized that their life they have been living was no longer what they had come to expect. When Bernard of Brave New world begins to realize that he is to smart for his society he is given the right to leave and is no longer is accepted back. Bernard is evicted from his society because he is jeopardizing the fake society led by Mustapha…
- 769 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In Huxley’s, Brave New World, Bernard Marx, one of the story’s main protagonist’s, fails to play the role of a dystopian hero. An Alpha male, who is supposedly meant to be a big, strong, leader figure, is unsuccessful in fitting into society because of his substandard physical appearance. Due to his dissatisfaction and lack of confidence with himself, Bernard’s main goal is to fit into the dystopia and raise his social status. However, because Bernard is so focused on himself, he is unable to criticize or recognize the wrong within his own society. He does not meet the requirements of a dystopian hero because he fails to believe or feel that something is wrong with the society as he thinks there’s something wrong with him, he does not question…
- 1386 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
To begin, both the real world and the World State have their own standards for their citizens. This is quite evident in the World State in Brave New World as citizens are conditioned to conform or they are tortured by their society. In chapter 16, Mustapha Mond reveals to Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson and John the “Savage” that he was a pretty good physicist who made a new discovery. He tells them that his punishment for it was “Very nearly what’s going to happen to you young men. I was on the point of being sent to an island,” (Huxley 232). Upon hearing this, Bernard goes mad and immediately points fingers to his two friends, saying, “You can’t send me. … It was the others,” (232). This exchange between Mond and the other three men show the way the World State kept a short leash on their citizens. This quote reveals how any form of…
- 991 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the book "Brave New World" the author Aldous Huxley wrote about a world different from our own. This world shows that their is not only one way of functioning in a society, in fact the way the World State runs and the way we run are different. For example In their world everyone is bread from labs to be the same and have no unique qualities while in our world we are born from our mothers womb and have individual unique qualities like some are smarter than others or faster than the rest. In their world they breed people from embryos and modify them to fit in within certain social classes like for instance the lowest social class are the elipison who's main work criteria is based on physical labor and need no forms of intellectual thinking. While on the other hand Alphas are the most superior and are taught almost everything that…
- 532 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Subsequently, based on an expansive establishment of indistinguishable, effectively controlled individuals, the general public flourishes. Steadiness lives, yet the individuality found in nature, has been long done.But an example of some individuality is Bernard Marx, who endeavors without accomplishment for a bona fide human feeling past his standard crabbiness. The government recognizes how love includes valuing another's interesting personality, demonstrates a risk to their established consistency. The oppressed world's option is dealt with eroticism, which is intentionally intended to obscure the feeling love and bring about feelings and urges. This sorted out arrival of sexual urges undermine the serious sentiment one individual for another. At the Solidarity Administration, Bernard finds the activity debasing, pretty much as anybody sticking to any optimism about sex would be revolted. John's feelings towards love are so violated after what he’s seen, and so much so he feels he has to take his life. In Huxley's oppressed world, the medication soma additionally serves to keep people from encountering the upsetting pessimistic impacts of contentions that the general public can't…
- 686 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“A cultural shift is not always an ideological one - or at least not always the one you imagine. Our norms are always evolving.” says David Harsanyi. As time goes by, everyday habits are altered to match current events and society. Neil Postman makes a point in Amusing Ourselves to Death by stating that modern society is becoming like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and not like George Orwell’s 1984. Postman includes many factors in his argument like the different forms of entertainment, control, and the concealment of truth and information. The society in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is controlled by pleasure, egoism, and the irrelevance of truth. Neil Postman is correct, modern society is becoming…
- 1000 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Bernard Marx is the central figure of the novel. Huxley introduces Bernard by giving the reader the knowledge of what's on Bernard's mind. He explains how Bernard is lovesick, jealous and angry. After analyzing Bernard, one can determine that he wants things that he cannot have and he is too over-ambitious. Bernard also lacks confidence and is often anxious because he always feels like he is not good enough. Bernard's horrible attitude is revealed when "Bernard left the room with a swagger as he banged the door behind him, in the thought that he stood alone, embattled against the order of things, elated by the intoxicating consciousness of his individual significance and importance." (Huxley, 47) In this quote, Huxley reveals Bernard's anger and attitude. It also determines his lack of care of others as it is clear that he is very self-centered. It is clear that Bernard will be a key character that will shape the direction of this novel because of all that unconfidence and anxiety that is ready to release and explode out of his system. An event will likely occur that would change Bernard's personality and actions. By the change of Bernard's motivations and thoughts, the story itself will also change as he has a great effect on it.…
- 353 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Aldous Huxley wrote the book Brave New World in hoping to create an alternate society showing that utopia’s can have dystopia aspects. One of those aspects are class distinction where people are classed before they are born and are labeled as specific and robot-like people. Another aspect is the use of drugs and how it is oftenly used to persuade people into thinking the way the government thinks and a third aspect is consumerism where people are constantly consuming products and rules and the way other people are living their life so you feel like you should follow their lead. In today’s society, class distinction is also used, it is used to separate different levels of intelligence and resources, it is used to have a lifestyle that fits…
- 936 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The society that exist today and the one that exist in Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, have similar concepts in the way that the world is run. It was decided long ago, that in our society we must have crucial roles that we must all participate in, in order to have a functional system. Brave New World’s society is created intentionally in order to create a “functional system”. For example, they already have rules and regulations that the public must follow in order to prevent any chaos from occurring, such as no one participating in making the world a better place by working together. Our society has had crucial roles among people because of custom.…
- 706 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The judicial branch is responsible for overseeing the local, state, and federal court systems. It explains the meaning of the Constitution and laws passed by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch. Now the Supreme Court is ahead of the judicial branch because it is the highest court of the land. The Supreme Court rules if whether or not the issue itself is constitutional. (Dictionary, 2013)…
- 436 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
For centuries, people have been trying to fit everything in our world into categories. By creating a hierarchy with these categories, people can put their favorite things into higher categories to prove that they are better than other work in that field. Literature, with a definition that is different for everyone, is normally kept in the category of well-done written work. This means that your grocery list or books that fall short of the standard of greatness necessary are not considered to be in this category. Yet, video games often have a well written story, but are left out of the category of literature because they aren’t written down work like novels are.…
- 862 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson are both alphas and share the same unhappiness with the world they live in, but they still tend to contrast in the way they are unhappy with this society. Helmholtz is distressed because of the restrictions that are put on his thoughts and expressions. He is viewed as the ideal man in the eyes of his peers. Helmholtz is easily accepted by the civilization he lives in, while Bernard is not so fortunate. Bernard is upset with the society he lives in because he doesn’t fit in due to his looks. Although these two share the same social status and both have distress living in the world they do, their reasons for their unhappiness differ.…
- 120 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays