Huxley's Brave New World--Response 2 of 4 by Kazzandra

Part II: pages 57 – 122

         The introduction of the story that captivated me from the beginning fades away as the plot begins to unfold. Lenina and Bernard soon become the main characters in the story as the chapters revolve around their life in the World State and their journey into the Reservation. I quickly assume Bernard is the protagonist rebelling against the many antagonists made up of the loyal, robotic society of the World State. I side with him on his beliefs and feel pity for him being such an outcast since he is against the way of life he had no choice but to follow. Fortunately he has a bit of a confidante named Helmholtz Watson, who like Bernard, is resentful of the world they live in; however, their reasons are quite different.

         To truly enjoy this so-called perfect world, you have to be perfect right down the middle. Excessive perfection is too much to handle such as Watson’s character and being less than perfect makes you a bitter loner such as Bernard. Here is where I find a flaw of the perceived perfection. When everything has been manufactured to the minutest detail to create a perfect world where supposedly no problems are to occur, a malfunction that arises will be placed under a magnifying glass where it would be seen how much of an error it really is and how it naturally wouldn’t fit in a place of complete correctness.

         It becomes quite easy to relate one aspect of this new world and my world- sex. The only difference is how open everyone, like Lenina, is about this personal topic. Everyone knows sex sells more than a global warming video and apparently in his time already, Huxley realized the impact of sensuality in people’s lives. The Solidarity Service is almost like a public forum of what boys do with themselves in the restroom when no one’s around. Basically, it’s like removing all the barriers of personal vicinity in which I can finally understand the World State’s motto that everyone belongs to everyone.

         The Reservation is soon introduced, which is the author’s way of providing a completely opposite viewpoint that the reader can use to differentiate worlds. Also, John’s mixed breed character clashes with Bernard as they both are misfits and Lenina and Linda portray how different women of different societies are. These new characters draw me in as I wonder about their significance to the story.