1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.
Societal detachment is a commoly highlighted theme in literary works. Brave New World is one of many novels that illustrates this phenomenon through the portrayal of a class hierarchy. In the novel, the separation of Bernard, a lower class member, sheds light on how the judgment of capability by society is based on rank and the judgment of morality channels through a conforming populace.
In the novel, Bernard is designated as a beta class member, a person with a small height and consequently lower stature. In this society, activities surround a hedonistic approach towards life through sexual fulfillment. The activities that Bernard is limited to and supposed to attend are constrained by a society that is responsible for producing surrogates to create class division. The class hierarchy is indicative of the attempt to separate certain citizens from others to create a distinct role for each citizen. Through Bernard's character, the reader is able to see society's assumption of a Plato-like perspective where each person plays his or her role in society and has limits on freedom in order to maintain order. This society intentionally discriminates against its members and shows injustice towards lower class members, such as Bernard, despite of their potential to rise to the top.
Furthermore, through the portrayal of Bernard's character, the author displays the degree of morality observed by citizens of the society in Brave New World. Even though society limits distress by creating a rigid class structure, an individual conscience is absent. Produced as surrogates designated with certain rights and tasks in life, members of this society are similar to conformists. Their own individual perception of right and wrong is blurred due to society's institution of subservience. Through the conjunct effort of society's members, the citizens adhere to their individual pursuits of continuous pleasure. Bernard significantly highlights this morality in the novel due to his status in society that arouses conformity to society's views.
Brave New World illustrates how alienation of one member of society can serve to effectively highlight the various sensitive aspects of society as a whole. It is through the ideas of eligibility, conformity, and falsified conscience that the author of this novel wishes to warn future generations to remain wary of threats to equality and individualism.
Personally I have not read brave new world, so the whole essay is a little confusing to me. Your first paragraph has a lot of plot, which seems like a good thing for this book, but the plot that you gave didn't really help me understand what you were trying to say about the book.
ReplyDeleteI also haven't read the book, and I agree with Laura that while Bernard seems like a character who does fit well with the prompt, you could give at least a little backstory,so the reader can see his alienation more in the context of his situation. I think this would better prove your point.
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