In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the protagonist, John, is torn between two opposing worlds. Over the course of the story, John goes from the primitive "savage land" to futuristic London, England in his search for a sense of belonging. However, he comes to find that although the two settings represent opposite ends of the spectrum with regards to ideals, he will never truly belong in either society.
When the reader is first introduced to John, he lives in his native "savage land". Here, the inhabitants lead "primitive" lives, much like that of Native Americans. To John and his people, sex should be shared only between married couples, and the gods govern the lives of the people. Although born and raised in the "savage land," John is considered an outcast, so when the opportunity arises, he eagerly moves to London in hopes of finding acceptance and a sense of belonging. Upon arriving in London, though, John faces a huge culture shock. In this new, futuristic society, intercourse is a virtually mandatory social activity, science has extinguished the notion of a God, and marriage is a taboo subject. Since the ideals John was raised with clearly oppose the ideals of the people who now surround him, John is one again pushed out of society. In this way, the different settings used in Brave New World represent the identity crisis that John endures over the course of the story.
To John, the vivid contrast between the "savage land" and London present two distinct opportunities to assimilate into society. However, the conflicting societal ideals of the two settings carry a much deeper meaning for the reader. On one hand, the "savage land" represents a very traditional way of life, much like modern day society. On the other hand, life in London represents a more promiscuous and unorthodox set of ideals. Through the use of symbolism, Huxley aims to personify the conflict that modern societies must face when attempting to find a balance between tradition and innovation.
Throughout Brave New World, Aldous Huxley utilizes his protagonist, John, as the mediator between conflicting societies. When John attempts to find his place in the "savage land" and London, representing the past and the future, respectively, he comes to find that neither way of life suits him. John's struggle allows Huxley to convey the idea that it is necessary for societies to integrate tradition with change in a powerful and personal way.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Prompt 2
In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the main character, John, is plagued by conflicts bought upon him by two opposing societies. When he is brought from his native "savage land" to a futuristic society in London, he finds that everything about him, from his looks to his "primitive" beliefs, is conflicting with the people around him. Over the course of the book, John's main dilemma is struggling to find the proper balance between sticking to his beliefs and finally finding his place in society. As expected, this compromise sparks not only internal conflict, but external conflicts between John and the rest of society, thus further complicating his search for a sense of self.
Throughout the story, John's main conflict is internalized as he fights to find a place in society while sticking to his beliefs. At the beginning of the book, John is outcast from his native society because he looks too much like people from western society to be able to properly fit in. When he moves to London, he is still shunned by the community because although he physically fits in, the beliefs that he grew up with in the "savage land" are too primitive for their way of life, and are therefore frowned upon. It seems that no matter where he goes, John will never be able to satisfy his deep desire to find a place where he belongs while staying true to himself.
Aside from the internal conflict that plagues John over the course of the book, John is also faced with countless instances of external conflict. While in the "savage land," John found his very existence to be in conflict with the society he was raised in. Since he was the only white man in a world of indians, John was an outcast, which eventually drove him to violent actions when he attempted to kill a native man. The external conflict that haunted John in his native society followed him to London, and in fact worsened over time. Since John was very firm in his beliefs, and these beliefs contradicted everything that modern society stood for, John found himself butting heads with society once again. After the anger building inside of him boils over, John lashes out by publicly standing up for what he believes in, and he finds himself pushed out of society again. This recurring pattern of isolation, combined with John's internal and external conflicts, help the reader to empathize with the decision John eventually has to face: is it better to be physically isolated, or to be surrounded by other people but feel even more isolated because you have no sense of belonging?
Ultimately, the various internal and external conflicts that John faces over the course of Brave New World pushes him to seek refuge in isolation. Although John hoped at the beginning of the book that his move to London would help to resolve his internal conflicts, it ironically sparked even more conflict in his life. However, even though John never came to find a place to finally fit in, he was able to partially resolve some of the conflict over his sense of self by finally deciding that sticking to his morals was more important than the approval of others.
Time: 32 minutes
Throughout the story, John's main conflict is internalized as he fights to find a place in society while sticking to his beliefs. At the beginning of the book, John is outcast from his native society because he looks too much like people from western society to be able to properly fit in. When he moves to London, he is still shunned by the community because although he physically fits in, the beliefs that he grew up with in the "savage land" are too primitive for their way of life, and are therefore frowned upon. It seems that no matter where he goes, John will never be able to satisfy his deep desire to find a place where he belongs while staying true to himself.
Aside from the internal conflict that plagues John over the course of the book, John is also faced with countless instances of external conflict. While in the "savage land," John found his very existence to be in conflict with the society he was raised in. Since he was the only white man in a world of indians, John was an outcast, which eventually drove him to violent actions when he attempted to kill a native man. The external conflict that haunted John in his native society followed him to London, and in fact worsened over time. Since John was very firm in his beliefs, and these beliefs contradicted everything that modern society stood for, John found himself butting heads with society once again. After the anger building inside of him boils over, John lashes out by publicly standing up for what he believes in, and he finds himself pushed out of society again. This recurring pattern of isolation, combined with John's internal and external conflicts, help the reader to empathize with the decision John eventually has to face: is it better to be physically isolated, or to be surrounded by other people but feel even more isolated because you have no sense of belonging?
Ultimately, the various internal and external conflicts that John faces over the course of Brave New World pushes him to seek refuge in isolation. Although John hoped at the beginning of the book that his move to London would help to resolve his internal conflicts, it ironically sparked even more conflict in his life. However, even though John never came to find a place to finally fit in, he was able to partially resolve some of the conflict over his sense of self by finally deciding that sticking to his morals was more important than the approval of others.
Time: 32 minutes
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Prompt 1
In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the main characters live in a futuristic society where every aspect of life, from creating offspring to what social caste each individual belongs to, is scientifically controlled; even happiness can be controlled in their carefully governed world through the use of "soma." On numerous occasions over the course of the story, the characters utilize soma to escape their negative feelings by taking a "soma holiday" from their pains. Throughout the story, soma symbolizes not only happiness, but also the power that their controlling government and the new technologies they created have over the lives of the people in their society.
In Huxley's futuristic utopia, the dictatorial government specifically creates each person with certain likes, dislikes, beliefs, and desires, all in order to move toward their ultimate goal: stability. Another key to this pivotal desire for stability is the use of soma. Serving a dual-purpose, soma maintains the state of blissful ignorance that the citizens live in, while simultaneously ensuring that no one is unhappy with the rule of the World State, which would in turn cause people to question their authority and overthrow those in power. Although the characters don't realize it, their use of soma is symbolic of the World State's control over their lives.
Another important feature of the society of Brave New World is their use of science and new technology. From the very first page of the book, it is clear that science is very important to the functioning of their society. Soma is arguably one of the most popular and common innovations of their time. Everyone uses soma, craves soma, and essentially worships soma. In this sense, the use of soma throughout Brave New World symbolizes how science and technology exerts a great influence over the lives of the various characters.
In the most literal sense, soma represents happiness and blissful ignorance. Instead of dealing with their problems, the characters simply take soma and wash away their issues. Even for people in our modern day society, the pursuit of happiness is a very important aspect of life. This universal importance of happiness caused a riot toward the end of Brave New World. When a mass of workers became infuriated by having their soma ration thrown out the window by a rebellious character named John, they caused an uproar, personifying their desire for happiness (and soma). The excessive use of soma also brings about the death of one of the characters, showing that you really can have too much of a good thing, and that being happy all the time, ironically, isn't the best way to live.
Throughout Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the character's use of soma represents not only happiness, but also the power that the government and science have over their lives. Although they strive for perfection and stability, their world is far from it, as they come to realize over the course of the story. If not for their use of soma keeping them in a state of blissful ignorance and holding power over their heads, their "utopia"would very closely resemble our own modern day, chaotic world.
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