Freedom In Brave New World By Mustapha Mond

The Freedom to be a Savage “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” This quote is from the wise Indian politician and lawyer Mahatma Gandhi. He brings up the idea that freedom is not freedom without making mistakes and learning about them. The concept of freedom is different for everyone and usually, it is defined by the society one grew up in. Societal norms are a big issue in the story of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The story takes place in London, a society that is controlled by Mustapha Mond, a World Controller. Two characters, Bernard and Lenina, live in London where everything is conditioned and perfect. The main character, John the Savage, lives in a society that is the complete opposite.

Huxley does this to get the different perspectives of the characters so the audience can understand their definition of freedom. John truly has the most unique form of freedom, a freedom that most people could probably relate to because London’s version of freedom is probably one of the most controversial and a version that Huxley is using as a warning to the future. John’s view of freedom is different from Mond, Bernard, and Lenina's because of his views on how to live a normal life feeling free from oppression. First off, John and the people in London have different views when it comes to love and happiness. London people believe everyone should be happy, perfect, and stable. The motto of this society is “Community, Identity, and Stability” (Huxley 5). John’s perspective on this is very negative because he was raised in a society where no one is perfect, people age, give birth, get diseases, and die normally. In London, love is not a marriage type, instead “Everyone belongs to everyone else” (Huxley 35), the people in the society have sex with anyone they want as long as they feel the sexual

John was raised reading books because of his not being able to fit in with the Savage society. Books like the Bible and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth. In London, only the elite of the elite read these books. These books are forbidden to be read. This leads to the art and science of society. This society has no clue what true art is. Using science to condition people in their sleep, or hypnopedia is the way they show the people what they are supposed to like and despise. They also use a powerful and very addictive drug called soma. “A gramme is better than a damn” (Huxley 99) is a common quote that symbolizes how they control people to be happy and not to worry about anything. While controlling people with drugs and conditioning, they do not introduce the idea of religion. Instead of God or an idea of another god, they have the idea of worshiping the spirit of Henry Ford. Henry Ford’s death marks the beginning of their enlightenment. John was raised separated from the Indians but learning from afar. As he read Hamlet and the Bible, he realized someone was looking at him, invisible but the presence was felt. Every time he was alone in the night, with thoughts of suicide, he did not know what to do with his life but “He discovered Death and God.” (Huxley 117) Huxley includes the thought about religion because many people question the thought of God. Sometimes it seems that God is not