Exile and Alienation: a Brave New World Literary Analysis Essay on Society’s Failed Utopia

The Brave new world movie is an example of the dystopian fiction which is a story in which the society's efforts to establish a perfect world goes in vain. The society in question in this novel is set in London in a futuristic concept where the state government has tried to make attempts to create a completely stable civilization one where the society is always happy. Exile experience in the brave new world is universal and several characters experience some form and shape of it throughout the chapters of the novel. These forms of exile are presented in form of alienation and otherness or rather the fact of being unique from others. In this book, Aldous uses the theme of exile as a way of expressing his views and fantasies about the life in the brave new world. This theme has been experienced by various characters in the book either directly such in the case of Helmholtz, Bernard, and Linda or indirectly such as for John and Mustapha Mond. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses the theme of exile by depicting diversions from society. The exile that different characters experience appears to be caused by the brave new world, contradicting this utopian society. Exile is forced upon them because of their unhappiness. According to chapter six, the threat of Benard being exiled is a very devastating and it makes him reconsider if he truly wants to be isolated from the rest of the people. In chapter four, Benard is short, thin, antisocial and at times ill-tempered and as a result of his physical character, he is rejected by most of the women when he asks them out. This fact makes him more agitated and irritated. Benard's anxiety contributes greatly towards his separation from the other Alphas. This anxiety makes it hard for him to engage with others according to their social behavioral standards (Huxley 2006). He is unique from them in the sense that he is not carefree and fails to have a healthy sex life and fails to interact in an easier and unselfconscious way. This, therefore, alienates him from others and adds to his feeling of isolation. His isolation is therefore attributed to his physical inferiority. This negatively affects his reputation as they are regarded as unusual. He is ashamed of himself and his physical inferiority makes him act as an outsider which makes him feel more miserable. This result to him regarding himself as an individual due to his loneliness brought about by his isolation (Huxley 2006). The theme of exile is also portrayed in the novel of the brave new world by Linda, who is the mother of John. John is immoral and does not take into account on the rules of the savage reservation and with such behavior, she is put in constant problems with the inhabitants who resented her immorality and her take on alcohol. After her abandonment by the director in the savage reservation, she never fitted in the society of the savages since she breaks the rules hence not accepted by the society. She, therefore, spends a large part of her life being exiled in the worlds of in between since she cannot fit in any society. This makes her become miserable and lonely as she is in exile. She is unhappy in her life at the reservation. She misses Soma and living in a clean environment and misses civilization (Huxley 2006). While at the reservation, her relationship with the other women is not that great as she separated a number of women through having sex with their husbands. Her relationship with John is complicated. Though she tries to encourage civility, John prefers to spend time with the Indians as he wanted to be a part of that society. After Linda's long years of struggle and shame while in the savage reservation, she throws herself in the Soma holidays hence shortening her life through her addiction. At the end of it all, death comes as a solution to release her from her terror. Benard character as portrayed in the chapter is a clear indication that he is at ease with going into exile following his unhappiness. He is therefore seen behaving in a manner suggesting that he is motivated towards exile. He, therefore, tells Lenina that he does not want to be a part of the social body and thus he wants to be an individual (Huxley 2006). Benard is thrilled at the idea of him being threatened to be sent to Iceland by the director following his visit at the director's office to get a document that would allow him and Lenina to visit the savage reservation. He even boasts about this idea to his friend Helmholtz. This indeed is an odd character which makes Helmholtz be embarrassed. John decides to exile himself by living in an abandoned lighthouse which was located in the deep in the English countryside. It is at this place that he hopes to start his rituals of purification as he desires to cleanse himself of the evils brought about by civilization. He thus indulges into whipping himself as one of his purification strategies. Unfortunately, three men happen to appear and what to be a public affair for John turned to be a public affair as these men contacted the reporters who made their arrivals in a Helicopter so as to interview him as he was remembered to be the savage. Though he threatens most of these reporters, they still continue to add up and become more resilient in undertaking their report. The amount of his punishment on himself shows that his life is solely affected by his own guilt. Thus, his situation and self-guilt are as horrifying as the dystopia. His retreat to the lighthouse appears as the equally horrifying vision of a life with self-induced pains, emptiness, and purposelessness (Huxley 2006). To sum it up, it is important to note that inferiority has a direct influence towards putting a person into exile. Most of the characters in the novel such as Benard, John, and Linda are contented with taking their Soma ration and are substitutes for the actual life. These characters, however, have proved to have no concept of self-worth following their inferiority and unusual conducts. This causes them to be unhappy and is thus known to savage and the rest of the people who live in the reservation as witnessed in Linda's life. It is thus clear that the theme of exile in the Brave New World depicts diversions from the society. Exile is thus forced upon them following their unhappy lives.

References

Huxley, A. (2006). Brave new world. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

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