Aldous
Huxley's novel Brave
New World
is
set in a dystopian future where the World State creates humans in a
very inhumane way. Through this process, society is able to create
people who are trapped in social classes for their entire lives. Free
thinking is discouraged to say the least and individuality is
suppressed to the fullest extent. Amidst this culture of conveyor
belt worshiping and drug induced happiness we meet a character that
transcends his cohorts. Bernard Marx is an extremely intelligent and
aware person in a world that demands conformity and through this
contrast we see Bernard as a complex character living a very simple
world. Due to this we see Bernard in two different lights; his need
to conform and his inward questioning.
Bernard
works for the Director of Hatching and Conditioning (DHC) and
disagrees with the core principles that drive the Director to do what
he does. It would be unwise for Bernard to openly disagree and
disrespect the DHC and doing so would probably end with Bernard being
sent to Iceland. Bernard blends quite well because he has to. He is
inwardly torn but he still behaves (for the most part) as a
functioning member of the society that has been created. Bernard
partakes in very normal activities such as flying a personal
helicopter, chanting “Orgy-Porgy” with a group of adolescents,
and observing Savages in their natural habitats. Although Bernard is
a free thinker and a non conformist, but by obtaining a doubleness of
character he can maintain a certain image and stay alive in A.F. 632.
Bernard
Marx is different in many ways starting with his stature and
complexion. He is a strange looking boy who is shorter than most of
the others in his caste. Everyone blames extra alcohol in his blood
for the way he appears, they say something went wrong on the assembly
line which caused him to turn out odd in appearance. No matter how
much he tries (although there is never any reason to believe that he
does try) he will never change the way he looks. Another distinction
that Bernard Marx cannot hide is his own last name. While it does not
cause any problems in the novel Huxley purposefully names this
inwardly thinking character after the most famous Communist mind of
all time. However, the rest of his “undesirable” characteristics
are much less objective and when they are on display Bernard is a
shocking character. He does shocking things like have conversations,
look at the ocean, and limit his sexual promiscuity. Bernard Marx is
a radical when he is alone or with Lenina and he constantly questions
why society has to be the way it is.
All
in all, Aldous Huxley created a character in Bernard Marx that
combines the conformity of the time with a sense of curiosity and
desire for change. As a perfect example of “streaky bacon”,
Bernard is an extremely relatable character that shows the reader the
loss of self that can occur due to conformity. Huxley creates a
doubleness of character while also creating a sense of irony through
the moral standards of the novel and showing Bernard's reactions to
these. In a very inhumane society, we see Bernard as an extremely
human character.
