In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World a character named John is introduced towards the end of the book. John who was also known as "the Savage" was a boy who was born with parents who were from the "civilized" society, but was raised by his mother who became stranded in the reserve. He therefore was influenced by the people who didn't live in the "civilized" society.
John was eventually brought back to the "civilized" city by Bernard and Lenina. However, he found life in civilization maddening, so maddening to the point that it caused him to take his own life.
Could John be a metaphor or clue to what Huxley's reaction to living in this futuristic society that he had created? Or could he have been a metaphor for what Huxley thought would have been the reaction most people living in his time would have had to living in the society of Brave New World?
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I think that most people living in this time would be to busy watching television or using the internet to truley think about what this society could do to them. So, no. I do not think that Huxley thought people of today would take their lives because of the society they live in.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think John represented how people in Huxley's time would react to this "civilized" society. Just look at our present-day society, which is more familiar than the society of Huxley's time pertaining to the novel. People like us would be shocked to live in the novel's society. We just wouldn't consider it "humane".
ReplyDeleteI think John killing himself symbolizes that there is no hope of going back once we convert into this futuristic self. Just like John we will be stuck there, the only escape will be destruction.
ReplyDeleteI think that John's death is just a warning of the possible things that can happen if we turn into the New World. I do also agree with Danny that our people are too distracted by the media to think about what society can do to them and how it can lead to their demise
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