Henry Foster Character Analysis

In Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New World, we are introduced to Henry Foster, an underdeveloped side character in the novel, he is an Alpha working in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, who is an expert in figures and obsessive with punctuality. With his caste as an Alpha he is no stranger to the reality of conditioning and how it goes on to shape their world. Henry conforms outwardly because he chooses to be happy with his station and what it has given him in life, though every now and then he does seem to question and/or wonder the way things are done in the New World, inwardly. This shows that despite his minor questioning he doesn’t delve too deep for an answer, knowing what it would do to him if he did. With

Henry’s monogamous relationship with Lenina shows that despite his conditioning he still doesn’t conform wholly by experiencing a one-on-one relationship between two people because he enjoys her company, though it does not last after she begins seeing Bernard. Henry’s change in mood while flying over the Slough Crematorium after Lenina’s delighted laugh at the switchback from the hot air shooting out of the chimneys, he curiously wonders in melancholy who it could be whether an Alpha or Epsilon, male or female that is “being finally and definitely disappearing.” Henry, for just a small moment, seems to understand a faint notion of humanity to be disturbed at the prospect of unknown bodies being disposed of in such a way for fertilizer. After which he tries to lighten the mood by asserting that despite who they were, they were happy while alive and that everyone is happy, in a “resolutely cheerful voice.” Henry is shown to be kind of like Bernard, in the way that he is aware of his conditioning, but unlike him he conforms outwardly, choosing to be happy. He knows that their happiness is just a conditioning by the government, but instead of dwelling on that he chooses to go

His obsession with figures and punctually can stem from the void that is left from the fabricated happiness, he has been conditioned to love what he does, but so as to not question their methods he focuses on his numbers. His four month monogamous relationship with Lenina at the beginning of the novel shows that while he conforms to many of the rules there are some he is willing to bend for her enjoyable company. His thoughts on humanity, though faint, do give hope that he does understand that the methods of the World State are questionable and can be seen as inhumane. Despite these small unconformities he doesn 't dwell on them too much knowing that nothing good can come from them, as they are not made to question the ways of the World