BNW ESSAY DRAFT 1

Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a play or novel (BRAVE NEW WORLD) in which such a character plays a significant role, and show how that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values. 

PRE-WRITE

(INDIVIDUALISM) IDEOLOGY <<< Bernard Marx  >>> CLASS (ALPHA +)

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                  EMOTION (RANGE OF)

ESSAY

     Writers and authors use alienated characters to show the values and morals of a society. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Bernard Marx is one such character. Bernard is not alienated from society by race or gender but by a combination of his ideology and classification of his intelligence. Huxley uses Bernard to show the reader the values and morals of the "civilized" society in Brave New World.

     The first thing that Huxley uses to separate Bernard from the majority of society is his intelligence level. Bernard is classified as an Alpha Plus which automatically alienates him from ninety percent of society, the Epsilons, Gammas, Deltas, and Betas. His intelligence and his access to normally restricted areas separate him from even other Alphas. For instance his access to the Reservation allows him a second, outsider, perspective on the morals and values of the society he lives in. Also this intelligence and access gives Bernard a more bi-partician view of society as opposed to being easily taken in by the joys of the society, like soma.

     Bernard is also separated from society by his ideology. Bernard generally takes an outside approach to society and that alone causes people to question his sanity. Bernard believes in individualism in a society that believes that everyone should give their all to society. This individualism and ideology presents Bernard as a contrast to the society to highlight the views of both him and the society. When two things are presented in contrast to each other it is easier to pick out the difference.

     Another thing that separates Bernard from the rest of society is his range of emotions. It is not exactly his specific emotions but his tolerance for those emotions. Bernard is the only person in his "civilized"society that would deal with his emotions, good and bad, with out a gramme of soma. Like his individualism and ideology, Bernard's tolerance of emotions creates a contrast to compare the rest of his society to. This contrast makes it easier for the audience to define the morals of a society.

     Alienation is one of the best tools a writer can use to draw attention to the values and morals of a society. In Brave New World the alienation comes in the form of Bernard Marx with his class, ideology and emotions. This alienation can produce something to contrast the society's values to or can provide a different perspective on the society, either way it is meant to show the society using one, outside, alienated character.