Friday, April 25, 2014

In the book Brave New World, analyze John's character in all perspective (actions,behavior ...).

Brave New World is a novel of ideas
and themes, so it isn't too concerned with plot or character.  In some ways, John is the
central character of the novel, but really he isn't.  After
all, he isn't introduced until half-way through the
novel.


Here are some aspects to his role and
character:


Foil: John is a
primary foil for Bernard, the one who finds John and exploits him.  Both are idealistic
and naive in their attempts to change others and the status quo.
 Both are introduced by new worlds and change
accordingly.


Savage: John is a
"noble savage," as he is raised on the Savage Reservation.  His name comes from the
verse drama The Conquest of Granada by John Dryden.  Huxley bases
him on a combination of Caliban and Alonso from Shakespeare's The
Tempest
.  He is part slave/savage like Caliban and part civilized Utopian
like Alonso.  After all, the title is taken from a The Tempest, Act
V:



O wonder!
 How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world!
That has such people
in't!



Christ-like
martyr
: John is a son who is split between two worlds, the natural and
the supernatural.  He has two fathers, an earthly one and a mysterious other.  In the
end, he dies for the sins of others: for us, the readers, and for his father, the
Director.  He is meant to show us and the Director the extreme effects of both the
utopia and the dystopia.  In the lighthouse, his body is in the shape similar to that of
Christ on the cross.


Byronic / Tragic
Hero:
John takes on aspects of both, but it's hard to classify him as a
classic tragic hero.  As a Byronic hero, he is "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."  He is
wounded by love, exiled for his beliefs, and rebellious against authority.  As a tragic
hero, he makes mistakes that lead to his death, namely participating in casual sex and
taking soma.

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