Brave New World Essay Questions: Question #1 John's Death John, the Savage, was doomed from the beginning. He should have stayed on the reservation and not gone to the World State. His suicide was due to many factors. One was when he pledged his love for Lenina, and she in return took off her clothes. This was very bewildering to John, since her tart like ways appalled him. He could only think of love, and she could only think of sex. Another instance was when he went to go see his mother in the hospital, and the kids came in and called her fat. John's upbringing was much different than the people of the World State, especially in the view of death. Those kids were there to get used to dieing and not be afraid of it. But John was not, and that's why he punched the kid when he asked him why she was so fat.
Brave New World Start
1st UK edition
First edition coverFinally, John never fit into one society. He grew up on the reservation, yet they never accepted him. And although the people of the World State liked him, he was ridiculed for his views of life. This isn't really an encounter, but is one of the main reasons why he killed himself.
The Savage's death symbolizes society's corruption, and the fact that the only way to be truly free of it, is to die. His inability to change society into what he thought was right, was the real reason why he died. He knew that the people of the Brave New World were never going to change, and because of that he didn't want to have any part of it. In a sense, John died for everyone else's sins. Due to this, one could make the connection between Jesus dieing for people's sins also.
Question #2 DYSTOPIA (no freedom, problems are never really solved) Brave New World is a dystopia. Although the people of the World State may think it is a utopia, they are actually brain washed and trained to accept it. A dystopia is a civilization that has citizens that are fearful, unsafe, or are not free. These characteristics of a dystopia are not realized at first, but soon become very apparent once the reader has read further into the novel. Freedom would not be apart of a dystopia, which is something that BNW's society also lacks. Most people are able to live their everyday lives without any care, especially the Alphas and Betas. But the lower classes are held back from birth, and not given the freedom to do what they want and to live the lives that they would have made for themselves. The higher classed individuals are restricted in others ways too. They are not allowed to question the World State's authority, and they aren't permitted to be different than the group. Bernard was exiled for not following the rules, due to his urge to be separate and not participate in many of his society's ways. He did not want to be sexually promiscuous, and for that, he was thought of as weird.
Another anti-utopian aspect of Brave New World, is its problems and conflicts never being solved. When John threw the soma out the window, and everyone started beating him up, the cops just gave everybody more soma. This is like people today using drugs. They don't want to deal with life's problems, so they go into an altered state of mind where they won't have to worry about it. This disillusionment that is created, is exactly what Huxley is trying to point out. That when we try to create a utopia, and think that we have accomplished this, what we are actually doing is creating a dystopia. This concludes me to believe that there will never be a utopia, due to society needing conflicts and controversy to keep it functioning. Arguments are essential to the well being of a society. Without them, there are no checks and balances to make sure people are living freely and without problems.
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Brave New World (Styx album)
Brave New World (song)