In the first chapter, the D.H.C. proudly explains the biochemical technology that makes possible the production of virtually identical human beings and, in doing so, introduces Huxley’s theme of individuality under assault. Bokanovsky’s Process, which arrests normal human development while promoting the production of dozens of identical eggs, deliberately deprives […]
Read more Critical Essays Society and the Individual in Brave New WorldAldous Huxley Biography
At Aldous’ birth, the Huxley family and their relatives already commanded literary and philosophical attention in Victorian England. Huxley’s grandfather, biologist T. H. Huxley, gained recognition in the nineteenth century as the writer who introduced Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to a wide public and coined the word “agnostic.” The […]
Read more Aldous Huxley BiographyCharacter Analysis Helmholtz Watson
Helmholtz voices the inarticulate feeling of meaningless in the life of brave new world citizens. Helmholtz has something to say, he believes, but he cannot find the words within him. In his struggle to find meaning and expression for his feeling of emptiness, Helmholtz emerges as one of the most […]
Read more Character Analysis Helmholtz WatsonCharacter Analysis Mustapha Mond
Only Mond’s extraordinary power keeps him safe from whispers of his dangerous knowledge and collection of unorthodox books. He is untouchable but not unreachable. With Helmholtz and John, Mond discusses the unspoken assumptions of the society they find so constricting, even confessing his own youthful experiments in challenging authority. Mond […]
Read more Character Analysis Mustapha MondCharacter Analysis The D.H.C.
Yet, paradoxically, he has had an intense experience of love and regret that has changed him inwardly forever. His sadness at losing Linda and the guilt he feels for leaving her represent truly human responses in an inhuman world. Sensibly, the D.H.C. keeps the memory of Linda to himself for […]
Read more Character Analysis The D.H.C.Character Analysis Linda
As Linda herself points out, she has no training for the life she has had to live as a mother. Filled with shame for having a baby and longing for her home, Linda wraps herself in a blanket of mescal and peyote, remaining intoxicated and barely aware of John and […]
Read more Character Analysis LindaCharacter Analysis Lenina
Although she may not acknowledge it, Lenina rebels against her conditioning for sexual promiscuity, the belief that “every one belongs to every one else.” At the onset, she is continuing an unconventionally long and exclusive sexual relationship with Henry Foster. Even in returning to normal sexual behavior, she again rebels, […]
Read more Character Analysis LeninaCharacter Analysis John the Savage
John represents the most important and most complex character of Brave New World, a stark contrast to Bernard, the would-be rebel. Bernard’s dissatisfaction with his society expresses itself most characteristically in sullen resentment and imagined heroism, but John lives out his ideals, however unwisely. In turning aside Lenina’s advances, John […]
Read more Character Analysis John the SavageCharacter Analysis Bernard Marx
In a society of perfectly flawless people, Bernard’s flaw — his short stature — marks him for ridicule. The rumored cause, alcohol in his blood surrogate, links him chemically to the lower castes and undercuts his Alpha Plus status. Bernard himself is painfully aware of others’ responses to his un-Alpha-like […]
Read more Character Analysis Bernard MarxSummary and Analysis Chapter 18
In a lighthouse outside London, John undergoes purification for “eating civilization.” Fasting, whipping himself, and vomiting, John strives to exorcise the guilt he feels for Linda’s death and his horror of sexual contact with Lenina. Reporters, film crews, and then crowds intrude on his privacy. When Lenina herself approaches him, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 18