Soul In Brave New World

Soul. A word without a true definition because it is so much more than an object. The soul is the root of life. The soul is found within the human body, a shield from evil, the essence of mankind. The desire to love, to be loved and be accepted by another group gives someone a soul.

Acceptance by others is something all souls yearn for. In Brave New World, Tommy, the young protagonist, grows up being antagonized by his peers, because of his tendencies to rage and throw tantrums. However Tommy outgrows the tantrums when a teacher, Miss Lucy, tells him “‘It may not help you much. But just you remember this. There’s at least one other person here at Hailsham who believes in other. At least one person who believes you’re a very good student’”

In order to be accepted into the group, they must find people who love them. According to Association for Psychological Science, “People who feel isolated and lonely and excluded tend to have poor physical health, they don’t sleep well, their immune systems sputter, and they even tend to die sooner than people who are surrounded by others who care about them” (Dewall 6). Not only does this capture the need to belong, but the need to have people love and care about you. Ruth, who searches the hardest for acceptance and to be loved never finds it, and is the first to fall out of the friend group. Kathy, who has someone who loves her is the last. Ruth is a perfect example of a soul that needs love. She wants this love so badly she is willing to keep people apart for her own self gain. “‘The main thing is, I kept you and Tommy apart.’ Her voice had dropped once again, almost to a whisper. ‘That was the worst thing I did.’” (Ishiguro 414). Ruth realizes she did wrong by keeping her friends apart, and in order for it to mean something to her she starts to care about the outcome, By keeping them apart, Ruth gets to be loved by Tommy, and being loved gives one a place to belong. She is no longer just Ruth, she is also a part of the relationship Tommy and Ruth, which allows her to achieve her soul’s desire of being loved and accepted. The feeling of wanting to be loved comes from the deepest part of her, from the bottom of her