Questions about the future of Brave New World:
-Will soma run out? If it does, will the people's eyes be opened to the injustice of what seems to them to be a utopia? What will their thoughts be on this new world?
-What are Bernard's intentions in bringing John, the Savage, to the One State? Are they purely selfless, or does he have other motivations?
-Does Bernard still have feelings for Lenina? After so much excitement with bringing John to the One State, might his thoughts about her be pushed to the back of his mind, if not extinguished?
It seems to me as a reader that soma will at some point run out, causing chaos throughout the society and thus proving that problems must be dealt with instead of being something from which to hide. The people are conditioned to think that "a gramme is better than a damn," and they frequently take "holidays" to escape the pressures of life through the drug soma. For instance, after being scarred from the activities at the reservation, "Lenina felt herself entitled...to a complete and absolute holiday. ...she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity." The people are very accustomed to using this for an escape, and do not hesitate to do so. Its consistency in the book implies that such reliance on it will be tested at some point; people need soma like they need food, water, and shelter. If it is taken away, the One State will likely fall into disaster; people will begin to question the ways of the society, eyes will be opened to injustice, and rebellion will likely ensue.
Bernard's intentions originally seemed to be for the better of both John and himself, neither exclusively. He made "the first move in a campaign whose strategy he had been secretly elaborating ever since, in the little house, he had realized who the 'father' of this young savage must be [and offerred him a trip back to London]." This implies that Bernard wishes to help the Savage and introduce him to the Director, who he presumes is John's father. However, he later seems to enjoy his fame, however short-lived it is, and uses it to his advantage. For instance, he plans to attend a party with John for more people to see him and to see what the Savage is like, but John refuses to come-which reflects badly on Bernard. Outraged and hurt, Bernard talks to him about him, John, about "refusing to come to my party and so turning them all against me!" Although his intentions may have been pure to begin with, they became selfish; Bernard is more concerned with his reputation and how others viewed him and less with the comfort and well-being of his new friend; he has begun to take advantage of what has been brought to him through the Savage. Huxley shows Bernard's character begin to change and become more selfish through these acts and new-found opinions. If they are to change from here or are revealed to be one way or another is yet to be discovered.
At the beginning of the novel, Bernard seemed to have true feelings for Lenina, as opposed to the shallow attraction shown by most other members of the One State. For instance, he overhears several men discussing her "'as though she were a bit of meat.' Bernard ground his teeth. 'Have her here, have her there. Like mutton. Degrading her to so much mutton.'" He had respect for her before she had respect for him, a trait that Huxley gave him so that the reader might be sympathetic to him. As time progresses, however, and he discovers the newness of the reservation and the entire world that it showcases, Lenina is pushed to the back of his mind. We as readers rarely hear about her in a romantic way as Bernard begins to focus more and more on John and the fame that accompanies him. This leads us to believe that Huxley's character was given these traits to show that people can be completely engulfed in fame and begin to forget what was previously important to them-implying that fame and fortune does not always do one well. It seems that in the future Bernard will realize what is really important and might go back to be with Lenina instead of glorifying in his new fame.
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