FREE ESSAY ON A BRAVE NEW WORLD

A BRAVE NEW WORLD

A Personal Utopia:
An Analysis of a Key Passage in Brave New World
The key passage of Aldous Huxley's Brace New World takes place after John has been
arrested and is a conversation with Mond. When John and Mond speak of ideal societies, a
major part of Brave New World, the aspect of human nature which makes us search
continuously for our personal Utopia, becomes apparent. In Mond's study, the sacrifices
each character makes in order to find a Utopia are interconnected. The search for a
personal Utopia reveals Huxley's view on human nature of sacrificing everything to live
with self-fulfillment.
The connection of the sacrifices each character makes is shown in the study, helping the
reader understand that it is human nature to sacrifice something to live a more
fulfilling life. One sees that all, except Helmholtz and John, are willing to give up an
important part of them so they can feel fulfilled. Mond is willing to sacrifice the one
thing dearest to him- science. He says he gave it up in hope of Controllership. He got
what he paid for by continuing his interest in science, "By choosing to serve happiness.

Other people's-not mine." [235], or by serving stability instead of collapsing the
fragile social structure. At the beginning, Bernard was willing to give up his position
in the new world so he could further his studies in finding a society more suited to his
needs; but, in the end, he did not want to give up his rank and failed in finding an
ideal society. 
It becomes apparent that anyone who will not give up a major part of themself will fail
in their quest for a greater society. John is not willing to give up anything, be it
antiques to happiness. In the end, however, he ended up making the ultimate sacrifice-
his life. By ending his life, he escaped into what his society's religion believed to be
a Utopia; it is better known as heaven. Meanwhile, Helmholtz is able to somewhat adapt to
any surronding and makes the sacrifices as needed, that is the reason he was not biased
to any other cultures. There are still faults in his beliefs, thanks to hynopaedia.
Helmholtz cannot understand Othello, he is not accustomed to the social inability the
book thrives on. He was still by far the most able, and willing, to understand John's
society. 
The characters present in the passage always hope to find a perfect society, although
none can succeed. Helmholtz is a perfect example of this; he sees his position in his
society and, as far as he knew, this was the best society for him (although his thoughts
wandered outside the new world's limits), and he decides to make the best of what he has.
When the subject of islands appears, one see that the island is a reflection of the
search for an ideal society. Mond wishes he is on an island, but, by controlling moral
decisions for the inhabitants of the new world, he is able to make changes from within.
John could never find a society that even mildly fit his needs. Again, this is because he
was not willing to give up things that were most important to him, namely instability.
This search drove him to his death. Much the same, there is Bernard. Bernard's death is
symbolized by his exile to Iceland. Bernard was searching for ideal socities, but in his
research, could not find anything worth sacrificing his position for.
The key to finding one's own personal Utopia in Brave New World is through
self-fulfillment. The countless masses of "normal" people are fulfilled and see that they
help the community by having a certain identity, that is if they have the intelligence to
realize it, if not, hynopaedia takes care of it. Helmholtz, again, is the exeption and
can make any place his Utopia. Mond was not self-fulfilled because he lived with the
guilt of giving up science because he could not see that it was for the better. All those
who were not fulfilled invent their own personal hell. By not being fulfilled, they have
no reason to live. Bernard hated his appearnce as well as the culture in which he was
living. He ended up being exiled on account of this. John did not make use of the
technology and stability around him creating self-loathing, as it did with Bernard. His
self-loathing was taken to the extreme, and ended his existence. The characters
differences make it harder for them to allow themselves to become swept away in their
society's view on self-worth, creating them to feel less meaningful.
Through all the characters in this key passage, one sees that human nature is to continue
trying to strive for self-fulfillness, or self-worth. Mond, it seems, does not continue
this, but since he makes decisions for everyone, he could slightly alter the outcome of
people's lives. John does not seem to look to be fulfilled, although he turns to
masochism. Masochism is commonly used to take out anger upon the self to "purify" one. By
using this aspect, Huxley still creates the idea of being fulfilled. Bernard would
fulfill himself by finding an ideal society and recognizing it. He has already been
exiled to Iceland, but he does not see its potential. Helmholtz does his best to make
every society the best, and he recognizes the oppurtunity of being exiled to the
Falkands.
The dialogue between John and Mond is is the passage where many ideas are combined to
create a better view on human nature. Through connecting the sacrifices each character
does or does not make, you can see that it is human nature to search for the best of all
possible worlds. You find that you must sacrifice things in order to obtain a reward.