ipl-logo

Free Will In Brave New World

2084 Words9 Pages

Though many try to obtain free will, this difficult task often results in defeat. In the novels, Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the characters’ lives are predetermined; thus, driving them into mental instability. A predetermined life acts as a catalyst for mental deterioration. The protagonists suffer from depression as a result of their predetermined lives, as well as, the characters blindly obey their controllers, and have a longing to break free from being controlled. A study was conducted and determined that, “feeling trapped is a direct experience and symptom of inner passivity. [...] It’s a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness” (Collin 248). Therefore, a predetermined life results in …show more content…

In Brave New World Bernard feels oppressed, resulting in his determination to break away from the seemingly utopian society. While discussing the hypocrisy of conditioning with Lenina, Bernard discusses the feeling of being enslaved, “No the real problem is: How is it that I can’t, or rather because, after all, I know quite well why I can’t -- what would it be like If I could, if I were free -- not enslaved by my conditioning” (Huxley 78). Bernard’s life is always controlled; therefore, he ponders on what life would be like if he was self-determining. He has a longing to break away from the seemingly utopian society; thus ending his mental deterioration that is prevalent due to his lack of control. Furthermore, Bernard receives a permit to visit the Mexican Reservation as a holiday. In order to visit the Reservation, Bernard must have the Director’s approval, “A permit for you to initial, Director” (82). Bernard is attempting to escape reality and break free from the promiscuity that is prevalent throughout the society. He wants freedom and the ability to escape the control that other’s have over him; therefore, eradicating the mental instability that he has experienced. Bernard escapes his powerless life by visiting the Savage Reservation, while Dwayne tries to break free from the control others possess over him by falling into a violent rampage. Finally, similar to Dwayne, Bernard has a longing to escape from his predetermined life that is driving him to mentally

Show More
Related
712 Words | 3 Pages

Brave New World is full of many characters who will do everything they can to avoid facing the truth about the truly broken society that they live in. Where they are held captive and convinced that how they live is the only way to achieve happiness. In chapter 7 you meet a boy named John, Bernard and Lenina take him from the savage reservation back to the utopia. John chooses to use Shakespeare as his way to avoid facing his truth and his broken past. Shakespeare plays a big role throughout this book, representing first, the art and ideas that are rejected by the Brave New World in the interest of maintaining stability.

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

The Glass Castle When being put on this Earth, there is one of two options that can be made. To follow our fate and let life take us there, or chose the power of free-will. In Jeanette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, the Walls family are faced with stimulating and challenging decisions that can greatly affect the rest of their lives ahead, depending on which path they chose. It’s all a matter of fate or free-will.

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

“The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are”- so what happens when those books are taken away? In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, a wayward firefighter by the name of Guy Montag comes to realize the shallow, thrill-seeking nature of his own society, eventually choosing to overcome the pressure to fit in and rebelling in want of knowledge. Throughout the book, the struggle between the need to conform to society battles characters’ internal questioning reveals how pursuing only temporary pleasures leads to a meaningless, unhappy life, an inability to process the world around oneself, and ultimately strips away what makes one human- the ability to think and make decisions about oneself. Faber’s struggle between outward acceptance

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout history, many powerful men have strived for equality- to eliminate the people and qualities they view as imperfect. The government agency Harrison fights against in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, works for the same goal, but in a different way. Harrison Bergeron rebels against a government who handicaps the unique, the intelligent, the beautiful, and the strong. However, despite their efforts, they can not conjure up handicaps which control him. Consequently, he escapes from imprisonment and revolts.

Read More
467 Words | 2 Pages

His understanding bothers him; however, he believes it sets him on a pedestal. Bernard looks down upon others while he still conforms to society making him an outsider to his world.

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

Conclusion In Chapter 5 of Brave New World, Bernard and Lenina have meaningless sex under the influence of drugs. These events demonstrate Huxley’s depiction of the degrading society that he saw in the Roaring Twenties when he visited the promiscuous United States. By magnifying these concerns in his utopian society, he allows the reader to question the direction of the real world’s values. Bernard acts as Huxley’s voice of reason, he does not believe that someone should take drugs yet he does it to fit in with those around him.

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

Once Bernard finds John, he starts taking advantage of John’s uniqueness as an opportunity to fight his internal class struggle. Rather than yearning for change in society as in the beginning of the novel, Bernard is more concerned with impressing others and climbing up the ladder. While there are no monetary stresses in Brave New World, Bernard feels the need to improve his status because of his mistreatment by the lower classes as a result of his physical disabilities. For example, when Bernard is trying to get the lower castes to prepare his helicopter, he has to exert force, even as an Alpha male, to accomplish tasks (Huxley 64). Bernard starts treating John like an object, rather than a person.

Read More
1021 Words | 5 Pages

In Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World” the world has fallen into an authoritarian order, of which control is kept through constant distraction and suppression of information. Though through this remains communities of “savages” who reject the new world order and have continued more traditional human life in reservations. It is in one of the these reservations the Aldous Huxley introduces the character John, a foil to the society he is introduced to. This exile from the land and the ideologies of the home John once knew to the “brave new world” allows John to both learn about himself and gives him the ability to see the corruption within the world state. John is introduced in the novel as the protagonist, Bernard Marx, and his female companion,

Read More
650 Words | 3 Pages

A racehorse with blinders, I was barreling towards the finish unable to see the free abyss parallel to me. The serenity of that winter day gave ample space for tendrils of inner reasoning to wind through my mind, cognitive dissonance gave way to a flood of power that ignored the confines of societal perfection. Discovering I was not perfect planted seeds of homeostasis within me. Pulling the trigger changed me. Reality's controlling confines beckoned my return but freedom sang valiantly around me and some things are more powerful than hypnotized contentment as an incentive.

Read More
905 Words | 4 Pages

By creating characters in the novel who are excluded and labelled the author demonstrates how cruel society can be to people. The purpose of this essay is to show how the author reveals the experiences of marginalised characters in society. Joseph Davidson is an introverted, fourteen year old boy who feels that he is trapped within his own world of chaos, and he too is a marginalised character in the book. It is suggested by the author that other characters believe that Joseph’s mother smothers him too much and his father has

Read More
1018 Words | 5 Pages

The mind it not simple, it is not black and white. Instead, the mind is a very complex space filled with various types of emotions and ideals. Throughout The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac focuses his attention on an eventful journey, more specifically, enlightenment. Ray Smith (Jack Kerouac) is a man who has been through thousands of life-altering experiences and has let his mind reach its potential of free will. Thankfully, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder) guides him into the religion of Buddhism.

Read More
622 Words | 3 Pages

“Actions are the seed of fate. Deeds grow into destiny” said by Harry S. Truman is about actions creating fate which then turns into destiny. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a story of a boy called Santiago who decides to follow his destiny. Santiago’s adventure takes many turns caused by his fate and free will. The momentous events that happen in life are caused by a combination of both fate and free will.

Read More
624 Words | 3 Pages

Bernards alienation because of his physique and his enrichment from his different moral views illuminates the meaning of the novel overall which is the definition of freedom. The utopia in the novel puts a lot of emphasis on conformity and discourages individuality, which is something Bernard doesn’t follow the rules of. As seen in a conversation in chapter 6 with Bernard and Lenina, Lenina insists that the society has a great deal of freedom represented by soma and its hypnotic state. The author uses this technique to show the reader that the true definition of freedom is not conformity and obedience, instead, it’s the independence to be an individual apart from the rest of

Read More
1727 Words | 7 Pages

He suffers from psychological complexes, that alienated him from society, and he 's unable to face the realities of life. This research indicates the modern theme of breakdown, absurdity, uselessness, loneliness, and bitterness of life. The protagonist also realizes that the escape from the responsibilities is not a solution to life 's problem. A person ought to create a struggle for his survival, otherwise, there 's the decay of humanity in alienation. In the novel, the author appears to

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

Making a Difference in My Community What are your long-term personal and education goals? How has knowledge or awareness of your own culture and other cultures affected your understanding of yourself? What key experiences with your own and/or other cultures influenced your goals and your interactions with others? Please provide specific examples.

Read More

More about Free Will In Brave New World

Related Topics

Open Document