Outsiders in Brave New World
Outsiders are a very common theme in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Many characters show traits of an outsider. John is one character who fits the bill. He is the ultimate outsider. Other outsiders in the book are Bernard and Linda. All of these characters have traits that make it difficult for them to “fit in” to the society of the New World. They don’t fit in a conforming society. These three characters are perfect examples of outsiders in Brave New World. Bernard is an outsider who doesn’t want to be an outsider. He wants more than anything to fit in, and when he does, he takes advantage of it. He is physically smaller than the other Alphas. Other Alphas think that a “gamma put alcohol in his blood surrogate” when he was a baby, which is why Bernard never fully developed physically (Huxley, 46). He also “spends most of his time by himself – alone” (Huxley, 45). The other Alphas don’t really want to be around him. Bernard has one friend, Helmholtz Watson, who is also an outsider. Everyone in the beginning of the book views Bernard as an outsider. When Lenina tells her friend Fanny about being interested in Bernard, she “look[s] startled” and strongly disapproves of the idea because of Bernard’s “reputation” (Huxley, 44). People don’t accept his differences because they are brainwashed to think that everyone who is different doesn’t belong in their “perfect” society. Bernard later starts to fit in to society because of his newfound popularity after bringing John back from the Reservation. He begins to conform because deep down all he wants to do is fit in. He throws a party and is all of the sudden the most popular kid around. He really enjoys his newfound popularity. His sudden change in attitude shows how shallow he is. He disapproves of the society in the New World because they didn’t accept him in the beginning. When they accept him, he likes the society which shows how hypocritical he is. John’s mother, Linda, is another classic example of