BNW Essay Draft 1

Pre-write

Significance

·         Goes into a deep moral argument about society with the Controller

·         Carries the experience of both living with the Savages and The Brave New World society

·         Only character that is alienated in both societies

Reveals societies moral values and assumptions

·         Sex is only meant for married couples and is a disgrace and taboo outside of it, Lenina tries have sex with John but he calls her a “whore”

·         Sex is common form of pleasure that has no emotional strings attached, it’s an expected form of enjoyment that doesn’t need to be earned, Lenina is incredibly confused and frustration over John’s refusal to have sex with her even though he “likes” her

·         Before John is sent into isolation he speaks with the Controller who reveals the reason for all this pleasure and “happiness” is to create a stable society without pain

·         Consumption of drugs (“Soma”) is the accepted way of relieving stress and emotional pain

Essay

           

John, debatably the main character of The Brave New World, reveals the moral values and assumptions of both the “civilized” society and the “Savage” society.  John is the only character to be alienated in both cultural worlds. Through his alienation he is able to look at the societies from a perspective that members of the society could not see.  

Sex is held sacred in John’s world but is a common formality in The Brave New World. The main reason for John’s isolation on the Savage Reservation is his mother. Her inability to function like other women savages (knitting and repairing cloths) and her over indulgence (in the savage’s eyes) in sex put a name on Linda and her son.  He is the son of a “whore” and has no business being with other savage boys. Even though John is a stronger and more worthy savage boy than most other boys, he is regarded as dirty and wicked. Not because of his actions but because of his mother’s reputation and skin color. Sex is a sacred bond only married couples should share according to the Reservation but John experiences quite a different moral value in The Brave New World.

Even though John is alienated on the Reservation he still believes in the moral values he was raised around.  These values are not shared by the occupants of The Brave New World. The alienation John receives in this “civilized” society is self-inflicted. When approached by Lenina for sex without any sort of vow of marriage or trial for him to overcome for this right John blows up in anger and scares Lenina away into the bath room so he can be a lone on a rant.  People in The Brave New World find sex to be a common form of pleasure that has no emotional strings attached.   It’s an expected form of enjoyment that doesn’t need to be earned. This is what frustrates Lenina so much when John tries to earn the right to marry her because the idea of working for the opportunity to have sex is foreign and unheard of to her. The same idea of casual sex is what angers John so much because this behavior is what alienated John from the Reservation and is probably the worst crime Lenina could commit to John.  The main reason for John’s significance in the novel is his conversation with the Controller that actually creates The Brave New World society.

John is taken by security guards to meet with the Controller before he is banished. He is alienated from The Brave New World in a privet conversation which reveals a lot of moral values behind The Brave New World.  This is where John is given reasons to justify all of this pleasure, life without pain, and “happiness”.   Stability is the reward for a society run without individuality and logic. The Brave New World is kept stable by structured set of rules and regulations that keep people from thinking logically and wanting more than just pleasure. Anyone who is willing to break these rules is seen as a threat to this society and needs to be sent away in order to prevent cancerous corruption.   Anyone deviating from the norm or creating new ideas that were not taught to them while they were asleep is assumed to be a threat.  This is ultimately what leads John’s banishment.  In order to save the rest, John must be pushed out of the “cell” and never let back in.

John’s alienation is what allows him to look at society differently.  He is not one of it so he there for needs to look at life from a different perspective than anyone else he knows. Through this gift or curse of enlightenment John reveals to the audience the moral values and assumptions inside the novel of The Brave New World.