Embrace misfits?
People in today's society tend to be "normal" and have a place to "fit" into our society. However, there are those who are "abnormal" and do not "fit". In today's social order, it is "normal" for those who "fit" and those who do not "fit" to co-exist. In the novel Brave New World, those who do not "fit" are cast out onto an island far away from civilization. Those who are cast out are referred to as misfits. Looking at Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World as a guide, should we embrace or shun the misfits in our own world? When a world is manipulated it is insufficient and flawed since those who have created it are imperfect. There are different types of misfits in the book Brave New World. They represent and
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Her room mate Fanny remarks "They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle thought he was a gamma and put alcohol into his blood-surrogate. That's why he's so stunted."(Huxley 46) Bernard must deal with the defect of not being proper height. This causes him to have less sex and be mocked by other citizens who fit in. Bernard becomes a rebel when he thinks against the order of the world state. When the Character refuses to take the soma, he is overwhelmed with bad feelings and a sense of self-consciousness that restricts his performance in the world state.
Secondly, another physical outcast in Brave New World is Linda, a beta female who gets pregnant and forgotten about in a reservation. On the reservation, she had become old and unpleasantly overweight. When she returns to the world state students are frightened and disgusted by her. When her physical appearance causes her a sense of unhappiness she takes an over dose amount of soma and kills herself.
Thirdly, her child John, kills himself in the end of the novel. He is also a misfit due to his natural birth. When he lives on the reservation, he is an outcast because he is not of the aboriginal race. In hopes that he will be accepted into the world state John says "Oh brave new world that has such people in it. Let's start at once"(Huxley 141). John believes that in the world state he will find his
In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, Huxley creates a futuristic world governed by conformity and submission to society. Citizens of this World State are conditioned to follow a set lifestyle determined at birth in order to create a stable civilization. However, there is still some form of individuality in each person, specifically in the characters Bernard, Lenina, and Linda. Within each of these characters, their difference in personality does not fit the norms of society, and they therefore try to suppress their own traits with unique methods such as soma. In times of sadness and despair, Bernard, Lenina, and Linda each give up a part of their own individuality and ideology, sticking to the
Cursed to a life of isolation because of his appearance, values, and outrageous thoughts, John was alienated mentally, emotionally, and physically in both the Savage Culture and the World State Culture. Torn between keeping true to his virtues and conforming to society, the treatment of John highlights the values of both cultures in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Bernard Marx’s physique is “hardly better than the average Gamma” (57). He is “eight centimeters” (57) shorter than a standard male of his caste. Marx shows immense hostility towards other members of the alpha plus assembly. Mentioning it as a sore reminder of his “physical inadequacy” (57). Other members of the world state often cite the possibility of alcohol having been put “into his blood-surrogate” (41) as a justification towards his underdeveloped growth. The mockery and “practical jokes” (58) put fourth by the men and woman make Bernard feel like “an outsider” (58) and make his “self-consciousness…acute and distressing” (57). Bernard is envious toward other members of his ladder. Men whose
In the Brave New World, people who are different from the normal standard are alienated and isolated from society because of their individuality. The society of the Brave New World is structured and ordered – the government attempts to control everything. Alienation in the Brave New World can be categorized into three areas, appearance, intellect, and morals.
|supposedly had alcohol in his test tube when being created, Bernard. He is pretty much always miserable and self pitying. In this society, everyone belongs to everyone |
In conclusion, Bernard is interested in pursuing his personal desires, instead of conforming to society because he doesn’t like the way society is and what it is restricting people from.
Bernard was an outcast in the beginning of the book. He is flawed in a “flawless” world. “Well…’ said Bernard, and hesitated. No, he really couldn’t deny it. ‘Why shouldn’t I be”, this quote proves that Bernard is an outcast because he hesitated. (Huxley, 184) Living in the World State it is uncommon to hesitate. Bernard did not fit into the standards of the World State and everyone knew it. Bernard did not like to participate in orgies, group activities, and he looked different from the other citizens, “‘He is so ugly!’ said Fanny. ‘But I rather like his looks.’ ‘And then so small.’ Fanny made a grimace; smallness was so horribly and typically low-caste.” (Huxley, 41) The above quote proves that Bernard was an outcast because he looked different from the others. Bernard is just like every human being he wants to fit in with everyone else.
Bernard is introduced as a man that does not fit into society and is different from everyone else in the “Social Society”. Throughout the novel he changes though, he becomes self-centered and views himself as a superior to others. The main event that lead up to this change is his encounter with the “Savages”, which allowed him to secure his job and further his career.
The novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley first published in 1932, presents a very bleak out look of what future society will be like. The novel presents a future of where almost total conformity is a carefully guarded aspect of society. Even before one is "decanted" they are conditioned to fill a specific roll and to act a certain way.
Unlike the Grandmother, the Misfit truly questions the importance of his life and his part within it. When the Grandmother begins to plead for her life in a religious sense, the Misfit shares his thoughts on Jesus and religion. He states that “Jesus thrown everything off balance,” (O’Connor, 195) then goes on to actually compare himself to Jesus. “He hadn’t committed any crime and they could prove I had committed on because they had the papers on me.” (O’Connor, 195) Here, the Misfit victimizes himself. He believes he has been obligated to suffer for a crime he has committed, yet does not fully understand the reason why. Although he does not necessarily admit that he committed the crime, it comes off as though he knows he did something
Isolation is seen everywhere and it generally pushes the human conscience to extremes. As shown in The Chrysalids novel and The Outsiders movie, isolation reveals that human beings can be very strict and judgmental towards certain social groups; however, in the future, it can lead to constant war and the extinction of mankind. As depicted in The Chrysalids by John Wyndam, Waknuk is a community brainwashed by tribulation that causes the citizens to believe that being normal is the main focus in life. Similarly, in The Outsiders, people that come from a lower economic status were isolated and they were not accepted. Both communities becomes an unfriendly environment totally narrow-minded of differences, which causes judgment, discrimination,
The Misfit is a complex character created by Flannery O’Connor. He is talked about first when the Grandmother reads his criminal background at the breakfast table. Right when the Misfit meets the family the Grandmother starts questioning his faith and past, and through the Grandmother’s persistent behavior that you find out the truth behind the Misfits hard exterior. The reader understands that the Misfit was brought up by parents who were the “finest people in the world” (O’Connor 1312). With this type of background, how can one expect the Misfit to be such a cold blooded killer? Because of his kind nature in the beginning of the story, it’s almost impossible to understand how he could just kill. Through deeper analysis one can
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.
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.
Aldous Huxley illustrates through the theme of individualism that being exiled can be both an alienating and enriching experience through using several characters and examples throughout the novel. Even though Bernard was looked down upon based on his size his caste and power lead him to overcome those standards. Huxley uses Bernard to illuminate the work as a whole by proving what an individual is capable of no matter the