Character Vs. Society In Brave New World

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Life in the New World is supposed to be perfect, and most people in this society really do believe that everyone is happy because they are all conditioned to believe this. However, there are a few people that are not happy with the way things are. These people are in conflict with society, which is the main conflict of Brave New World. The conflict Character v. Society is seen right away in the beginning of the book when we meet Bernard. For one thing, he is physically different than every other Alpha. Bernard also does abnormal things. On his first date with Lenina, he stops the helicopter so that they can just look in peace at the water. Lenina does not like this, and she tries to turn on the radio. Bernard also does not take as much soma as the rest of society (at first, anyway). All of these things make him different, isolating him, because he is threatening to society. Bernard’s friend, Helmholtz, is another person that is against society because he also doesn’t agree with everything about society. He stopped …show more content…

Unlike anyone else in the New World, he can see that the government is totally controlling everyone. At one point, Helmholtz says, “I’m thinking of a queer feeling I sometimes get, a feeling that I’ve got something important to say and the power to say it—only I don’t know what it is, and I can’t make any use of the power” (Huxley, 69). Helmholtz and Bernard can’t do much of anything because they don’t have any knowledge other than what the government gave them. John came from the outside, so he does know things, and this allows him to stand up for what he believes. He refuses to sleep with Lenina even though he loves her because she doesn’t love him in the same way, and he throws out the soma because he knows that it is poison. His standing up for what he believes in allows Helmholtz to join in, and this leads to Helmholtz’s and Bernard’s exile and John’s running

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