There are a few characters in Brave New World that feel isolated even though people aren’t shunning them. These characters reveal new perspectives on the society of the novel. Bernard actually thinks about who he is and what he thinks. His thoughts uncover shocking features of the culture. John was raised into a completely different society, so he doesn’t understand the norms and beliefs of the society or where they came from. His presence brings sharp contrast to the story to emphasize the features and views of the society.
John simply doesn’t know what the society thinks, or how they react to changes. When he hugs his father, who was raised in a different culture, his father gets upset. This shows that the people in the society not only aren’t attached to others, but also reject this type of attachment. John’s father is very uncomfortable in this situation because he was completely unprepared for it. John wants people to open their eyes and think about what they are doing and how its wrong, but the people in the society don’t seem to mind because they were raised not to react to the ramblings of another. The fact that John cares about the people shows that the people don’t really even care about themselves.
Even though Bernard was raised in the culture of not caring about others or feeling anything but happiness, he feels unfulfilled and looks for more in life. Bernard rejects the sex and drugs that all the other people are doing, in order to better understand life and himself. Bernard has the capability to feel comfortable while looking out over the ocean by himself, while any other person in the society would quickly become bored and go do more sex and drugs. Bernard reveals that the people have become reliant on physical stimulants in order to be happy, and anybody who wasn’t was simply strange.
These two characters different personalities reveal different things about the society. Since John didn’t know how people would react, he was much more up front about the things he wanted to express. Bernard quietly questioned issues that arose around him. John’s presence emphasizes how people interact with each other and how nothing in the society is personal or heartfelt, whereas Bernard’s presence shows the problems around the individual’s own thoughts and habits.
Huxley uses alienation to express the norms and moral viewpoints of his society. He points out the differences in the features of his selected characters and the culture they are surrounded by to identify what the society believes. John the savage questions the society to attempt to change the unchangeable. Bernard questions himself to change the small corner of the world which he can make better.
