Brave New World Conformity Analysis

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

Often individuals choose to conform to society, rather than pursue personal desires because it is often easier to follow the path others have made already, rather than create a new one. In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, this conflict is explored. Huxley starts the story by introducing Bernard Marx, the protagonist of the story, who is unhappy with himself, because of the way he interacts with other members of society. As the story progresses, the author suggests that, like soma, individuals can be kept content with giving them small pleasure over short periods of time. Thus, it is suggested in the book that if individuals would conform to their society’s norms, their lives would become much

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s most famous novel, and other similar pieces of literature, focus on a dystopian society where “progress” no longer benefits the the people. Instead, it oppresses them, they are subjugated to the will of the society for the benefit of those at the top of that social system. Those whose only goal is to perpetuate themselves. Individuals within that system whose actions and beliefs match the will of the society are know as being orthodox, while those who don’t fit into the rigid hierarchy established by the society are considered outsiders, who must be forced back into line. Huxley saw this occurring in his society and it has grown even more dramatic today. In order to illustrate his pessimistic thoughts on the trends of society, Huxley created a series of outsiders, primarily Bernard Marx, Mustafa Mond, Helmholtz Watson, John the Savage, and Linda, and uses them to demonstrate how the system uses various methods, chiefly, conditioning and the power of institutions to force the outsiders back into Orthodoxy even to the expense of their lives.

Having been a somewhat of an outsider in his life, physically and mentally, Aldous Huxley used what others thought as his oddities to create complex works. His large stature and creative individuality is expressed in the characters of his novel, Brave New World. In crafting such characters as Lenina, John, Linda, Bernard, and Helmholtz, not to mention the entire world he created in the text itself, Huxley incorporated some of his humanities into those of his characters. Contrastly, he removed the same humanities from the society as a whole to seem perfect. This, the essence and value of being human, is the great meaning of Brave New World. The presence and lack of human nature in the novel exemplifies the words of literary theorist Edward Said: “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Huxley’s characters reflect the “rift” in their jarred reaction to new environments and lifestyles, as well as the remnant of individuality various characters maintain in a brave new world.

As man has progressed through the ages, there has been, essentially, one purpose. That purpose is to arrive at a utopian society, where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, or sadness is unheard of. Only happiness exists. But when confronted with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, we come to realize that this is not, in fact, what the human soul really craves. In fact, Utopian societies are much worse than those of today. In a utopian society, the individual, who among others composes the society, is lost in the melting pot of semblance and world of uninterest. The theme of Huxley's Brave New World is community, identity, and stability. Each of these three themes represents what a Brave New World society needs

In the World State, the citizens’ appearance is regarded as one of the ultimate possessions of the government. Bernard Marx, for example, was immensely isolated because of his general appearance as a social misfit. As an Alpha Plus, he was abnormally short and unprepossessing to many of the citizens in the World State. Bernard’s small stature makes him resemble a Delta rather than an Alpha Plus, and it is even rumored that alcohol was inadvertently injected during his gestation (McQuail). When Lenina Crowne tells her friend Fanny that she has taken a keen interest in Bernard, Fanny obnoxiously proclaims that “he spends most of his time by himself—alone” (Huxley 45). Lenina then shoots back, “well, he won’t be alone when he’s with me. And anyhow, why are people so beastly towards him? I think he’s rather sweet” (Huxley 45). Bernard was considered an outcast because of his physical defectiveness, but because he was aware of his conditioning, his criticism of the World State allowed him to pose a challenge to the ideology to the general conformists.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Becoming yourself while not conforming is the greatest accomplishment. Whether or not we think we do it or not, we all have done it at some point in our lives. In 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was murdered outside of her apartment. Many people heard this innocent woman being brutally murdered and just assumed someone would help. So why do people just assume someone will help? Why are we so scared to stand up for what we believe? Why are we so terrified to stick out? Stop conforming and be an individual.

Any one person who opposes conditioning by showing the slightest sign of uniqueness is instantly questioned as a fault in society. Huxley conveys a utopian world lacking individuality, utilizing symbols and hyperboles to annotate the increase inhuman promiscuity. Huxley places double entendres to express loss of personal identity due to promiscuity overtaking the individual. The recurring theme throughout the entirety of the novel consists of an individual's validity of showing cultural distinctiveness and specific characteristics in order to establish a sense of uniqueness.

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World as a satire of a utopian future, never hesitating to call to question all that society holds dear: religion, love, freedom, and most importantly, individualism. Huxley incorporates this absence frequently in the novel to accentuate the importance of being an individual and having beliefs and values. The novel is centered around the loss of individualism and the belief that an individual is no longer their own person because they’re no longer an individual, or everyone belongs to everyone, as it is said in the book. From birth everyone is conditioned to be of their class, and those in that class are all the same, from the clothes, to the job, to the events attended.

“To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.” This quote, by Theodore H. White, shows the struggle between the desire to conform to society or to be one’s own individual. In Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, the theme of power’s tendency to change one’s willingness to conform to society is shown. This is presented through the thoughts and actions of Bernard Marx, Linda, and John.

Even in a society where individuality is unacceptable, great minds tend to set themselves apart from the crowd. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson overcome their differences and apply their similarities to the common cause of helping John the Savage. Before John came to the new world both men were unhappy but they couldn’t figure out what their lives were missing. Both were alpha plus men, even though Bernard was small and ugly while Helmholtz was strong and handsome. This fact should have made both men really happy but Bernard was plagued by rumors of alcohol in his blood as Helmholtz was plagued by beautiful women wanting sex.

”(194).Lenina is the major character closest to the average World State citizen. Her resistance of the conditioning shows that everyone in the World State has the potential to the same, which would disrupt the social order and lead to

Societies are built to hinder its people from diverging from the main path, In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; Bernard Marx transforms from an outsider to the product his society that was initially intended. Huxley demonstrates this change through Bernard’s

Throughout Aldous Huxley’s classic dystopian novel entitled Brave New World the reader experiences life in a post-apocalyptic world which claims to be an ideal society. However, it quickly becomes evident to the reader that this society is not ideal. In fact, the society depicted in Brave New World is immoral because the freedoms of the individual are non-existent. This is a result of the government’s total control of society and through the over sexualisation of society. The government’s total control of society is illustrated through the predetermined social and economic roles for everybody, the disallowance of people to think for themselves, genetic engineering, social conditioning and their control of people’s emotions. Furthermore, The

Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” is an insidious novel which explores the possibilities and outcome of dystopian society. The novel takes place in a dystopian society which is similar to communism in the sense that individuality is unacceptable, yet different through this particular society's use of a social caste system. The protagonist, named John, was born and raised outside of the “regular” society on a reservation and was brought to civilization by a psychologist in order to conduct a “social experiment”. Huxley is able to portray the theme that without suffering, one cannot be significant or find raw happiness through John’s coming of age in which his exile causes