Stereotypes In Brave New World

As our world becomes seemingly smaller and a cultural melting pot due to immigration, the issues surrounding introduction of a less dominant culture into a more dominant culture is an ongoing issue. Stereotypes and judgement plague these individuals, and make adjusting to a new society incredibly difficult. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s critically acclaimed speech The Danger of a Single Story explores the social climate in which African immigrants in the United States live in. It tackles the problems with the danger of presenting a single truth of one group of people, through the perpetuation of stereotypes and judgement. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley a future in which everyone is identical, and genetically engineered is dealt with. It details

This is identified through the judgement that is passed upon minorities, remaining resilient in the face of adversity, and the importance of literature providing liberation to minority cultures, which makes their reader/audience more aware, and understanding of cultural differences.

In the two texts, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and The Danger of A Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it is explained that preconceived notions of one's identity from a singular trait lead to lasting judgement from the majority culture. As explored in Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, the entrance of a savage, a cultural outsider, results in great ordeal. This is singularly due to the nature of the cultural outsiders appearance. “Bloated, sagging, and among those firm youthful bodies, those undistorted faces, a strange and terrifying monster of middle- agedness” (Huxley ##). Immediately, and solely due to their first judgement, the outsider is alienated and set apart from everyone else in the society, and more importantly, is assumed to not be apart of a civilized culture. These judgements create difficulty in fitting in for the minority individual, despite coming

In a cultural context, resilience is seen as the ability to not give into the judgement of others, and continue to live truthfully, and representing the values and beliefs of their culture despite opposition. In Brave New World, resilience is demonstrated through the cultural newcomer, John’s, ability to ignore the cultural norms of the society. “The Savage,” wrote Bernard, “refuses to take soma, and seems much distressed because of the woman Linda, his (mother), remains permanently on holiday. It is worthy of note that, in spite of his (mother’s) senility and the extreme repulsiveness of her appearance, the Savage frequently goes to see her and appears to be much attached to her (Huxley ##). Due to the traumatic nature of the situation, John, the Savage, could have easily taken part in the drug induced happiness and ignored his mother, something that the society would have encouraged. Instead, he continued to do what he felt was right based on his cultural beliefs, with resilience and strength. Similarly in The Danger of A Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is forced to show resilience from the constant belittling of those to her culture in her novel work. “The professor told me that my characters were too much like him, an educated and middle-class man. My characters drove cars. They were not starving. Therefore they were not authentically African” (Adichie