Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Political and Social Ideas

The characters in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World represent certain political and social ideas. Huxley used what he saw in the world in which he lived to form his book. From what he saw, he imagined that life was heading in a direction of utopian government control. Huxley did not imagine this as a good thing. He uses the characters of Brave New World to express his view that utopia is impossible and detrimental. One such character he uses to represent the ideology behind this is Bernard Marx. Bernard Marx is a character that represents those who are different from the norm, a character still relevant in today's culture. He is an archetype of those who are looked down upon as different. He signifies those who look and/or think uniquely. Bernard is the outcast who longs to belong. Bernard is pretty high up in the social system in Brave New World. He is an Alpha Plus at the top of the caste system and works in the Psychology Bureau as a specialist on hypnopaedia. Bernard, though, is flawed according to his culture on the inside and out. "'He's so ugly!'... 'And then so small.' Fanny made a grimace; smallness was so horribly and typically low-caste'" (46). Bernard's looks pushed him to be an outsider. His physical insufficiencies cause him to be different mentally. The way that he thinks and acts is different than that of the cultural norm. "'They say he doesn't like Obstacle Golf.'... 'And then he spends most of his time by himself - alone'" (44). The way that Bernard acts is so different than everyone else in the world in which he lives. In Brave New World, being alone is a rare occurrence, and sports are something that everyone participates in. Bernard also thinks of women and relationships differently. Though promiscuity is a normalcy in Brave New World, Bernard sees relationships as a personal thing and does not think of a woman as someone to just have. "'Talking about her as though she were a bit of meat.' Bernard ground his teeth. 'Have her here, have her there. Like mutton. Degrading her to so much mutton'" (45). Bernard gets angry hearing others talking so casually about sexual relations with a woman. Bernard goes against the grain in the way he looks, acts, and thinks. He does not follow the cultural standard and is therefore despised, teased, and labeled a freak.