Brave New World: Analysis of Major Characters
"Brave New World: Analysis of Major Characters" examines pivotal figures in Aldous Huxley's dystopian narrative set in a future society that prioritizes collective stability over individuality. Bernard Marx, an Alpha citizen, grapples with feelings of alienation due to his abnormal physical condition, leading him to explore deeper emotional connections through his relationship with John, a savage raised outside the societal norms. Lenina Crowne, an Alpha worker at the Hatchery, embodies the society’s conditioned values and becomes entwined in Bernard’s experiment, ultimately leading to tragic consequences.
John, the savage, is a complex character influenced by his upbringing and education through Shakespeare, which shapes his understanding of love and tragedy. The narrative also highlights Mustapha Mond, a World Controller who oversees social conditioning, and Thomakin, the director of Hatcheries, whose past with John's mother, Linda, adds depth to the story. The characters illustrate the tension between human emotion and societal expectations, probing the consequences of a highly controlled, dehumanized world. This analysis invites readers to reflect on themes of identity, societal structure, and the nature of happiness within a mechanized culture.
Brave New World: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Aldous Huxley
First published: 1932
Genre: Novel
Locale: London and New Mexico
Plot: Science fiction
Time: 632 A.F. (After Ford)
Bernard Marx, a citizen of the world in the year 632 a.f. (After Ford), a world in which individuality has long been forgotten, a world dehumanized and organized around the motto “Community, Identity, Stability.” Marx, born of a “pre-natal bottle” instead of woman, is an anomaly in the community because too much alcohol got into his blood surrogate while he was incubating before birth. He has sensibilities, therefore, similar to those of people living during the time of Henry Ford. Marx conducts an experiment that fails: By studying a savage named John, whom he brings to the new culture, he learns that human emotions produce only tragedy in the brave new world.
Lenina Crowne, an Alpha worker in The Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center, who is interested in Marx. She was predestined to her class, as were all citizens of the community, for, depending upon the community work to be done, citizens may come from the bottles as Alpha Plus Intellectuals all the way down through Epsilon Minus Morons. Lenina helps Marx with the experiment, falls in love with the savage, and is whipped to death by him when he attacks her in a fit of passion.
Thomakin, the director of Hatcheries, who years before had abandoned a woman he had taken with him on vacation to the Savage Reservation, a wild tract in New Mexico preserved by the state to advance the study of primitive societies. When it is discovered that Thomakin is the father of the savage whom Marx brings back to London, Thomakin resigns his directorship of the Hatcheries.
John, the savage who is the subject of Marx's experiment and is Thomakin's son. John received his only education by reading an old copy of William Shakespeare's plays. While beside himself with passion, he whips Lenina to death and, in a fit of remorse, hangs himself.
Mustapha Mond, a World Controller responsible in the main for the conditioning of the young to the ways of the brave new world.
Linda, John's mother, the woman abandoned by Thomakin at the Savage Reservation.