In his book Brave New World Aldous Huxley the character John is referred as “Mr. Savage”, an ironic name for him because John seems to have the most human qualities compared to the people from the Other World. As humans, we are born with the gift of free-will and we are capable of expressing a range of emotions that we can communicate to others. Our ability to overcome adversities and learn from our experiences makes us individually unique.
The citizens from the Other World, such as Lenina, do not allow themselves to feel any type of emotions that they will find unpleasant. “And if ever, by some unlucky chance anything unpleasant should somehow happened, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday” (237). Soma was created to help them block all the unwelcoming feelings that a bad experience would bring to their people. On the other hand, John never hid or stopped any emotion, not even the horrible ones like the sadness and grief he felt when losing Linda, his mother. “The savage stood for a moment in frozen silence, then fell on his knees besides the bed, covering his face with his hands, sobbed uncontrollably” (206). For the people of the Other World this behavior might have been unpleasant to see, but it seems to me, that John’s grief and pain is one of the most human emotions a person could feel after losing someone they love and care about. I think a part of being human is to have emotional experiences throughout our life time. It makes us feel more alive to have emotions even when they are unpleasant, because feeling something is much better than not being able to feel at all.
It is for characters like Mustapha Mond, that “happiness is never grand” (221). Therefore just how John says “Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning how to put up with it” (238), helps with the stability of the society because none of its citizens will have to encounter any unpleasant event that will make them unstable. On the contrary John had to learn, just like any human, to cope with the good and bad events that life brings. He went thought a tough childhood, his mother didn’t care much for him, and the people from the Indian Reservation didn’t accept him or Linda. “One day they [the boys of the Reservation] sang a song about her [Linda], again and again. He threw stones at them. They threw back; a sharp stone cut his cheek” (129). Even though he went through a lot of pain during his child hood, he never gave up. However, it was this horrible episode of hearing the Indians boy singing about Linda that motivated him to learn how to read, “The more the boys pointed and sand the harder he read” (130). It is the motivation and the courage to keep going after hard times that John seems more human than the other characters from the book that don’t even let themselves face situation that will cause them distress. Happiness cannot be grand, but just because of this reason humans should not stop living their life. It is all the experiences, whether they are bad or good that make John a better human because he is able to learn and appreciate the things in life.
It seems to me the characters from the Other World don’t have their own identity, John on the other hand is his own person. Humans are set apart from each other because of the way we feel and act. Our own way of dealing with situations and emotions separates us not only from animals but from one another. Even though the people from the other world refer to John as savage, he is the character with most human characteristics. He allows himself to feel, even though those emotions are not the most welcoming, he allows himself to learn from life and to be happy with the natural way of living.
Tati, I really like what you said about John never giving up, even when the Indian boys threw stones at him. Like you mentioned, Linda didn't care for John. However, John still stood up for his mother. That episode shows how much character and love John has. He truly loves his mother, and she doesn't deserve his love. He stands up for her and pretty much fights against the entire tribe, yet she can barely tolerate him. John is probably my favorite character because of this. Why do you think that Linda treats John so poorly?
ReplyDeleteTati, I really enjoyed reading your post. I agree that John being called Mr. Savage is ironic because of the fact he seemed to be the most humane out of the people in "civilization."
ReplyDeleteI like how you including Mond's quote about how happiness is never grand. It seemed to me that everyone in civilization has a sense of false happiness because if they were truly happy they would not have to rely on soma everytime something unpleasant happens.
Rebecca, I think Linda treats John badly because she has been conditioned to think that being a mother is bad. It's like she views John as sin.
John plays a significant role throughout the book but at the end commits suicide. What do you think the end of the story says about happiness and the idea we currently have of humanity?
I agree Lydia, that Linda has been conditioned to think that having a child is a horrible thing. She could never truly leave the society, even though she lived on the reservation.
DeleteCiara, I agree with what you are saying. I think that this shows that Linda simply having a child makes her no longer a part of the society in the society’s point of view but in reality she will always be a part of the society by her up-bringing. She has been taught her whole moral and humanity by the society so those qualities will always remain a part of her character.
DeleteI was thinking, Why doesn't being away from the society change Linda’s perspective of the motherhood situation?
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DeleteCiara, I also agree with you that by having a child Linda became an outcast of the society. I also feel like the D.H.C. left Linda at the Savage Reservation because he knew he would become ostracized by society as well.
DeleteBrandi, I think at times Linda wanted to be a mother to John;but at the same time had conflicting views: the one the she had grown to accept from what society told her, and the views that the Savage Reservation had towards motherhood. "Civilization" taught her that having children was "uncivilized" and barbaric while it's completely natural on the reservation. Linda also has problems adapting to the change in her environment which causes her to get frustrated with John.
Do you guys think that part of the problem with Linda was that she really didn't know what it meant to be a mother?
I think that was absolutely part of the problem, and it all goes back to the society's conditioning. She didn't understand what it meant to be a mother, nor to have one, so she didn't realize the negative effect she was having on John. I think that can also be said for her sleeping with the other husbands on the reservation, becoming an alcoholic, etc.
DeleteI agree with Ciara that Linda doesn't know how to be a mother because she never had one and before she became a mother herself, she always thought the concept to be hysterical like the rest of her society. Honestly, however, while they are still living on the reservation, I think Linda does do a decent job caring for John given the circumstances and her background. I think she really does care for him and wants the best for him. Of course she is still going to try to live her old, perfect life, but when that becomes impossible for her, I really do think she tries to care for her son. When they get back to "civilization," I think Linda is so overwhelmed with emotion and happiness that she is back. She takes so much soma that she can hardly remember John. I don't blame her for this act and I don't think John does either. Do you think he understands where she is coming from or do you think he stands up for him because she is the only person he truly knows and has a connection to?
DeleteI think it's because she's the only person he has a connection too. We see that after he realized he participated in the orgy he went and hanged himself. So I don't think he ever understood where anyone in the society was coming from. He loved his mother, yes, but I don't think he agreed with anything she did.
DeleteI think the end of the story supports the idea of "happiness is never grand" but at the end we as human beings have free will, and we are able to decide how to live our lives. John even says to Mond that he will rather have an unhappy life than just being in a society were they dont allow themselves to improve, learn or even feel. At the end John makes his own decision, which sets him apart from the others.
ReplyDeleteLydia, I believe that John possessed a constant state of in-between. He was not accepted in the society, the reservation and was prohibited to go to Ireland (the society of outcasts like himself). He secludes himself to a life alone, praising Linda and not conforming to the horrible thoughts/ sexual actions that the society glorifies. Once John gives into the temptation of Lenina (who I believe as symbolizing the society) he gives up on life because he views his actions as an unforgivable sin. He no longer had any hope in life because his hope was extinguished when he gave into temptation. He became of part of what he knew as actual unmoral sin. He was the last hope for a truth of what is good and moral in life but he (society’s hope) even gave into the society's trance. I thought of John hanging himself of a symbol that all hope is gone and killed by the overpowering temptations of a controlling society. What do you think, was hope extinguished when he hung himself?
ReplyDeleteBrandi, I do not believe that all hope was extinguished when John hung himself. I do agree with you that John symbolized the good and moral in life however, he was able to pass part of this on to Lenina. At the end of Huxley’s novel Lenina and Henry Foster go to see “The Savage” with the other citizens of London. Upon arriving, Lenina sees John and begins to cry for him. I believe that this shows how Lenina and the society are capable of returning to what John stood for. If the citizens are able to adopt some of John’s characteristics, hope will be restored in small increments. Helmholtz is another good example that hope was not extinguished when John hung himself. Helmholtz developed his thoughts about society on his own before John was introduced into the society. If Helmholtz and others like him are able to differ from the society and realize that they are their own person and have their own thoughts, hope will never be extinguished.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about that, that John was the only character who had his own identity. He wasn't born from machines and tubes but had an actual mother and grew up with knowing how to feel and have emotions. Also when you think about it, the people who lived in the brave new world society are way more savage then the people on the reservations. They are force to have no choice in how their lives start and how it ends. They use soma to hide ignore their feelings instead of embracing it. Which is one of the main things that makes us who we are. We have emotions.
ReplyDeleteTati i liked how you pointed out john having his identity and The people of the Controlled World were their own person because that is so true. The identity of the world that Lenina and Bernard lived in was ofthe society because the Motto was "everybody belongs to everybody". John Being called a savage is ironic but in the eyes of the people in Other world he was a Savage because his behavior was unfamiliar and strange to them. One interesting thing that got me was that they were well conditioned and hypnotised but they still needed soma to control their feelings. What feelings do yall think they had like the ones John had or not as strong?
ReplyDeleteGood point Oscar. I don't think the people of the controlled world needed soma for the same reasons John may have used it (if he had believed in using it). John's problems are very severe and will make significant changes in his life. For the others, their biggest worries are whether or not they have enough soma or who they are going to have sex with later that day. If they get the smallest of headaches, they take soma to free themselves from that tiny pain. They know no real pain. John however, does know real pain. I don't think that the peoples feelings are near as strong as John's. If soma had never been an option for people in the first place, I think they would have learned to live without and almost ignore the pain anyways. However, I think the government just wants to keep everyone happy as to have no rebellions, so they invented the soma to take care of that potential problem.
DeleteJohn is very much an individual. He had an emotional connection to his mother and the people around him. What makes us human is the fact that we can feel, even when it hurts. I think its important to note that John and Hemholtz came to understand one another even though they came from different worlds.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I found interesting is how John is considered as savage, yet he seems to be the most human character. This is something that Europeans have always done. When the Europeans first encountered the Chinese, they labeled them as barbarians, even though in some ways the Chinese were more advanced than the Europeans. This is also another connection between the savages in BNW and the real life indians that existed when the book was written. In many ways the indians were more human than the english who were trying to "civiliz" them. In most native societies everyone worked for the good of the people, the widows and orphans would eat before any warrior ever did.
ReplyDelete