Loneliness In Brave New World

Aldous Huxley once wrote, “If one’s different, one’s bound to be lonely.” In Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, Brave New World, many of the characters experience a sense of loneliness from being unorthodox compared to the rest of the residents in their society, called the World State. The citizens of the World State are created in identical, mass quantities with a simple purpose to serve the community. They are born into a caste system: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. The Alphas are considered the smartest and most attractive, while the Epsilons and other lower casts are given alcohol or deprived of oxygen to make each clone less intelligent, shorter, and much more unsightly. The citizens are also conditioned to adore their occupations

Although Bernard should have a flawless life, he is not built as strong and tall as the other Alpha-plus men and does not think the same as them either. In the beginning of the novel, Bernard refuses to become intimate with a woman, named Lenina, because he would rather talk and get to know her first, which is a strange and uncommon choice to make in the World State. He eventually gives in but immediately regrets it: “And that’s why we went to bed together yesterday—like infants—instead of being adults and waiting” (Huxley 94). Not only is Bernard Marx unorthodox for believing in a relationship rather than casual sex, he is also skeptical about consuming a popular drug, Soma. He did not agree with the morality of taking soma, as well as the sexual desires it brought

Bernard Marx is clearly unorthodox because he refuses to become intimate with Lenina without building a relationship and because he does not consume soma as much as the rest of society. John the Savage is born on the Savage Reservation. John is brought to the World State by Bernard Marx and clearly does not fit in. Much like Bernard, John does not believe in the social norms of the World State. He does not want to allow himself to feel a desire towards Lenina and punishes her and himself when he does so:
“Strumpet! Strumpet!” he shouted at every blow as though it were Lenina (and how frantically, without knowing it, he wished it were), white, warm, scented, infamous Lenina that he was dogging thus. “Strumpet!” And then, in a voice of despair, “Oh, Linda, forgive me. Forgive me, God. I’m bad. I’m wicked… No, no, you strumpet, you strumpet!” (Huxley