Brave New World Essay

Rogers, Susannah
August 23, 2008
Book Report: Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Fiction


Bernard Marx managed to become an outcast in a world where your fate is sealed. He was created an Alpha, the highest biological rank in this society. He is everything an Alpha should be except he is physically much less than an Alpha is created to be. He criticizes the society he lives in and has an unorthodox view of sex, religion, philosophy and education. Unlike a secondary character, Hemholtz, who believes there is much more in the world than is shown in this society, Bernard’s complaints are petty and temporal. I believe, had he been born up to the physical standards of an Alpha, he would not complain and would be a working part of society. Unlike the man his name derived from, philosopher Karl Marx, Bernard’s frustrations derive from his inability to fit into society, as opposed to Marx’s philosophical criticism of it.
Lenina Crowne is a worker at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center. This is the center for decanting and creating the classes of humans. Lenina Crowne is beautiful, and desired by multiple characters, including Bernard. She is seemingly orthodox but her behavior often shows otherwise. She often dates exclusively, occasionally having long-term relationships, which are unacceptable in this society. But ultimately, Lenina is a model citizen of the World State, for example she relates through sex but is completely unable to share Bernard’s sour outlook. Like all citizens of the World State, she often takes soma, the government issued pill that gives consumers a self induced “holiday”, or, psychedelic trip.
A narrator tells the story. It is a novel that tells the story of a dystopia. In this society, humanity lives in a technologically advanced society. This dystopia is void of many problems in the world today such as poverty and warfare. However, art, religion, philosophy, and human expression have been sacrificed to live in...