Curiosity within
Curiosity is human nature that people are born with. From the moment someone is born they becomes curious of all their surroundings and what they can do. Curiosity also leads to instability because every one becomes curious sooner, and or later someone will break the rules or do something they aren’t supposed to. Also, if one realizes they aren’t really happy then they will become curious and try to find something that will make them happy. This will lead to instability in society where a small amount of people like a certain thing and others don’t. It will all lead to people arguing and destroying the so called “perfection” that they have reached. Therefore, stability will never be reached because of people’s curiosity, and because of society’s will of trying to be perfect which makes it imperfect.
In the World State everyone has a certain job to do and the people are separated according to their caste system, there are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. They are ordered from higher class to lower class but this doesn’t stop curiosity between all of them. There are some people in the World State that experience curiosity. Bernard Marx is one of the few that are really experiencing curiosity and want something different. A great example is when he begins to feel something for Lenina and when they are on a date he asks “Don’t you wish you were free Lenina” (91). He is not the only one though Lenina is also experiencing different emotions and she is
Bernard Marx’s dislike for the oppressive World State is solely superficial. His outrage stems from his own personal sense of injustice- although he is an Alpha, he is an outsider. Emotionally, Bernard is an enigma to others. Physically, Bernard is thin and small; a complete juxtaposition to the other Alphas. These physical and emotional defects are the root of his feelings of separation to society, and his value of individualism and non-conformity. This point is exemplified on page 56, which explains ‘The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and
The poem entitled “Curiosity” written by Alastair Reid is a symbolic poem that uses cats as a metaphor for humans. It relates felines to people in the sense of curiosity, and what could be considered actually living life to the fullest. Essentially, this work contradicts the popular phrase, “curiosity killed the cat” by placing it within a broader context. Instead of discouraging curiosity, Reid explains why people should embrace it.
People of the World State have no feelings because they were conditioned from birth to not value or worry about anything. In the scene when Lenina was telling Fanny that she was not comfortable with promiscuity, Fanny deemphasized Lenina's feelings and told her it was wrong to have sentimental value towards one another: " Everybody belongs to everyone else."(Huxley 43). In other words, Fanny told Lenina that she does not need to value anyone, nor does anyone need to value her. The government has established that having feelings towards another person causes social instability. The
Bernard Marx was alienated in the Brave New World because of his general appearance. As an Alpha Plus, Bernard was unusually short and ugly. Suggested by Fanny, Bernard's condition resulted from an error when he was still in a bottle, the workers
Through this process, ninety-six copies are made using the same embryo. This results in people in the New World being exactly the same or almost identical to others from the same caste. Ideally, stability is attempted to minimize conflict and differences between the individualizes in the World State. Bernard thinks less of himself and believes that he is treated different than the other Alphas because of his height and “the mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects”( Huxley 65). Bernard Marx treats the three lower castes unfairly because he feels inferior to other Alphas and wants to assert his
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
“The Director paused; then, folding his arms, he turned impressively to Bernard. ‘Marx,’ he said, ‘can you show any reason why I should not now excite the judgment passed upon you? ‘Yes I can,’ Bernard answered in a very loud voice.” (Huxley, 127),
Not As Perfect As It Seems The society of Brave New World is like a utopian society. But what makes this society such a perfection is the background behind it, people in this society are conditioned to know what’s best for them. They take soma in relief for happiness and to feel good about themselves. Soma replaces their mistakes, and their problems to a whole other dimension to make it seem like a whole brave new world where everything is “perfect”.
Although the phrase of “every one belongs to every one else” (Huxley 43) is used by the society of the World State to show social conformity and unity, multiple cases of alienation and isolation are present among the main characters within the novel. In the World State, people live “where everyone is happy, but no one is free” (“Brave New World”). In the beginning of the novel, readers are introduced to Bernard Marx, who is conditioned to be an alpha, one of the highest rankings in the social ladder, but is alienated because of his size and anti-social approach to the civilized lifestyle lived out by the majority of his colleagues. Bernard’s characterization by Huxley sanctions the reader to enter into the controlling society of the World State. Bernard has “erratic attempts to conform to a society in which he feels essentially alienated” (Neilson). Correspondingly, John, the savage, believes in love and marriage, which are values instilled into him by the natives while he lived on the reservation.
Curiosity is often defined as a strong desire to know or learn something. Being filled to the brim with curiosity is one of the most amazing feelings. Finding something you are interested in and wanting to know every single thing there is to know about it. Being inquisitive is such a powerful thing, always wanting to see more, to hear more, to do more, to be more. It makes people who they are, if someone is not very curious, they might be very dull because they know what they know and they are content with that. It is the naturally curious people that get more out of life, because they are always searching for something more, something bigger and brighter, and often they find it. But, in certain situations, being overly
Bernard Marx, one of the central characters who is an Alpha Plus but ashamed of his outlook. From his private thoughts, he has the desire to fight the system and become a popular person. His low self esteem makes him feel that he has the need to yell at the Epsilons to protect his dignity as an Alpha Plus. Even if Marx 's inner thoughts shows that he is a rebellious and indignant person, his actions show otherwise. Because of his unsatisfiable sexual desires and low self-esteem, he criticizes everyone. But the irony is that the ones he criticize are those he most desire to become. He loathes John for his barbaric characteristics. Yet, Marx has to use the "Savage" to maintain his popularity. Marx is trapped in a world which he tried so hard but failed to fit in. From his imagination, he fought his boss. But in reliality, he begged to not to be send to an island and blamed the fault to John and Watson. He critizes Lenina for taking soma. Yet, he
As it is seen in Brave New World, the World State has controlled so much of their lives that they have lost their consciousness through conditioning. In other words, the World State has controlled their minds so much that the people are unaware that they have lost their person freedom but since conditioning has failed on Bernard, he is able to recognize the loss of individuality in the World State. The government controls because they would rather have others lose their personal identity than have them be a threat to society. Therefore, if the country progresses to being all-powerful and invading the lives of individuals, there would be conformity and a loss of individuality.
Bernard Marx is an upper class Alpha who constantly struggles being different from the rest of the Alphas, and, in the beginning, tries to find a way to become more popular. By the end of the novel, Marx has come to terms with the society which he had first seemed to dislike. Marx meets a woman called Lenina Crowne, and they both travel to a savage reservation. There, Marx and Lenina meet John the savage and his mother Linda. Linda is originally from the civilized world and became pregnant which, in that society, is illegal and was sent to Reservation herself. Once brought back to the New World, John soon found the differences between the two worlds to great. All his values and morals clashed with those of the new society. It turns out, John was the only sane person left. He didn't understand how the citizens lived the way they did, with no morals or values. There, he struggled for his right to think freely. To be happy, to be sad, to be mad, to
Ever since the creation of man, society has been trying to achieve harmony between its citizens and establish a utopia in which everyone can live in peace and harmony. During the 1800s many citizens of capitalist countries believed that they were living in this utopia, however the working class begged to differ. It was not until the mid-1800s that someone finally stood up for these proletarians as this man believed that the exploitation of members of the working class was unfair. This person was called Karl Marx. This German philosopher inspired workers to rise up and challenge injustices and exploitations. In addition, his views on life and the social structure of his time revolutionized the way people think. It was not until Karl Marx
This idea of a revolution is where the objective and subjective interests of class come into play. Interests can be thought of as what a group may want and may include power, money, change or other things can be seen as in the better interest of the group. Marx believes a class’s interests may be objectively determined. An outside observer should be able to determine a course of action for someone within that class. In the case of