A Brave New World

1. London 2540. 632 years after the birth of Henry Ford. The world is in a perpetual state of happiness. Resources are a plenty (due to a population limit of 2 billion and death by age 60). Violence and crime are but an afterthought. Everyone gets along. In short, it's your perfect world, one not even Disneyland could match. But, much like Disneyland, everything is not what it seems. Each person is designated a "caste" as a zygote: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. Gamma, Delta and Epsilon are forcibly stunted mentally and physically to do menial tasks and to all look and act exactly the same. Imagine an army full of Patrick Stars. That's what we're talking about. Alpha and Beta are allowed to develop normally and have the mental capacity to do anything with pluses and minuses attached to measure looks and thinking. It's just that Betas are given less demanding jobs than Alpha to emphasize the caste system. The unfortunate part of it all is that it's modeled exactly like Henry Ford's Assembly Line. Efficiency and profit are the focus. And those who are deemed unworthy are indoctrinated to hate books and knowledge (most notably by hearing messages in their sleep). Because knowledge is power. And knowledge might lead the lower castes to revolt against the higher castes. Combine that with most people simply being too high on soma to care, and you have a society that doesn't care about what its government does. And this leads us to Bernard. He is an Alpha-plus, extremely brilliant and decently attractive. But, for some unknown reason, he is shorter than most Alpha-pluses. In fact, he is about as tall as Betas. This leads him to develop an inferiority complex, and others to make fun of him. He only has one friend, Hemholtz, who is physically and mentally gifted even beyond an Alpha-plus. As he and  another girl, Lenina, visit the Savage Reservation, they encounter two people: Linda and John. Linda, it turns out, was the wife of Bernard's boss, and accidently got pregnant. Fearing the public shame, she decided to stay with the savages. There, she is sleeps with every man and is the subject of beating by the females. Tired of living as a savage, John asks if he can see the "New World". Bernard agrees, intending to embarrass his boss, the Director. He succeeds, but his fifteen minutes of fame shortly end. As such, he blames Johm. John has problems of his own. He does not agree with the sexual promiscuity of society, and as such is ashamed of his feelings for Lenina. His mother, consuming soma at unhealthy intervals, soon dies. This, coupled with the uncaring attitude of everyone else, soon sends him in a fit of rage. Bernard and Hemholtz arrive to help him, but only Hemholtz does while Bernard hesitates. Due to the riot, Bernard and Hemholtz are exiled. John is not. John, however, attempts to exile himself at a lighthouse and flog himself as punishment. However, others take notice and soon his whippings cause a sexual orgy among the crowd. Saddened by his actions of taking soma, John hangs himself.
2. The theme is a warning. A warning of what society might become if it focuses on only consummation and efficiency. A warning of technology and what happens when governments control it. And a warning of the pursuit of happiness, and how far you'll go to get it. Another theme is conformity vs. individuality. While John advocates individuality, society demands conformity.
3. The author's tone is jaded and sarcastic. For example, he constantly uses Miranda's speech from The Tempest "O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't." ironically so as to compare what John sees as civilization to what we know as civilization. There is nothing beauteous, nothing brave about civilization. Another example includes the ending.  John is trying to punish himself, make himself beneath everyone, and all it does is cause a sexual orgy among the populace. A final example includes the reversal of taboos in today's society compared to Brave New World's. In Brave New World, society revels in sex. There's nothing shameful about being naked. Drug use is common, and people fear the word "mother" and anything of literary value. In today's society, we shudder at the mention of sex. Being naked gets you arrested for public indecency. And we have the "War of Drugs". In short, society is blissfully happy, despite going against everything current society stands for, and for good reason. Because they are extremely high.

4. Satire - This novel continuously makes fun of society's focus on efficiency and pursuit of happiness and consumerism  all as a warning of what might happen if we continue down that path. Most notable is society's worship of Henry Ford.

Allusion - John is constantly making references to Shakespeare. That's because Shakespeare represents the antithesis of society. His work is power, everlasting. It contrasts with consumerism and promotes the individual. Much like John, Shakespeare is not needed for an ignorant society to flourish.

Symbolism - Soma symbolizes happiness at all costs. Society symbolizes an emphasis on efficiency over morality. And Shakespeare symbolizes a society that placed an individual over conformity.

Characterization

1.Direct - "For whatever the cause (and the current gossip about the alcohol in his blood-surrogate may very likely  for accidents will happen  have been true) Bernard's physique was hardly better than that of the average Gamma.  He stood eight centimetres short of the standard Alpha height and was slender in proportion.  Contact with members of the lower castes always reminded him painfully of this physical inadequacy."  pg.64

"The dress of the young man who now stepped out on to the terrace was Indian; but his plaited hair was straw-coloured, his eyes a pale blue, and his skin a white skin, bronzed.

(pg. 116)

Indirect - ""'He's so ugly!' said Fanny. 

'But I rather like his looks.'

'And then so small.' Fanny made a grimace; smallness was so horribly and typically low-caste.

'I think that's rather sweet' said Lenina."

-Page 46

Also, by quoting Shakespeare, John indirectly characterizes himself as an erudite. The fact that he is able to quote correctly shows that he understands connections, something that society in Brave New World cannot.

2. Syntax does not change. Reason being is that the story is somber. No reason to change that.

3. Bernard is a flat character. He is an outcast who is only concerned with bettering himself through society. He is also Mr. Harvey Two-Face. On one hand, he loves that he is not a drone to society. However, he is also fearful of announcing his rebellious thoughts, meaning he is a coward. John is round. At first, he is idealistic, believing the world to be better than it is. However, as the story progresses, he finds that all is not as it seems. As such, he starts regressing to a reclusive, almost insane state until he kills himself so as to escape society.

4. Honestly, I felt like I met a person. What I liked about Bernard is that he, much like everyone else, is two-faced. Different faces for different situations. And I liked his insecurity, because I don't know anyone who isn't at least a little insecure. He (as demonstrated by his usage of John) is also heavily flawed.