Suffering In Brave New World

Individuality causes suffering in the individual. In Aldous Huxley’s book Brave New World, Huxley uses symbolism to speak to the theme of Individualism brings the Downfall of the Beholder by showing that being an outcast makes someone feel like they are being pursued like an animal, the individual can use their isolation to explore themselves and their spirituality, and the only way to truly escape a society is by death. Bernard is an outcast and feels like he is pursued by his enemies.
A creature is something that is grotesque, it is something humans see as a monster. Humans are frightened by odd looking creatures, to the point where they hunt it down so they can stop being frightened from something different. This is the type of response …show more content…
But as he explores his spirituality he deliberately makes himself suffer. When Bernard meets John for the first time, John tells the story of how he did something the others never did, he stood against a rock with his hands out as if were being crucified, John continues the story with ¨I did something that none of the others did: I stood against a rock in the middle of the day, in summer, with my arms out, like Jesus on the Cross." "What on earth for?", "I wanted to know what it was like being crucified. Hanging there in the sun…", "But why?", "Why? Well…" He hesitated. "Because I felt I ought to. If Jesus could stand it. And then, if one has done something wrong… Besides, I was unhappy; that was another reason.¨ The phrases used in the quote speaks to the theme of Individualism brings the Downfall of the Beholder. Through the use of phrases like "Because I felt I ought to. If Jesus could stand it. And then, if one has done something wrong…¨. John feels that he should punish himself if he feels that he has sinned. Huxley uses this to foreshadow that John will become a martyr by showing him trying to be crucified because of sin, just like Jesus was. There is lots of symbolic messages about Christianity in Brave New World. Christianity promotes that suffering is a part of life. John is suffering constantly throughout the novel, his suffering is a symbol of Jesus Christ. John also says ¨I was unhappy; …show more content…
John is constantly suffering whether it’s his problem with the sinful society that keeps tempting him or the fact that he can’t be with Lenina because she is a part of that sinful society. He tries to escape the circle of society so he isolates himself. But society keeps dragging him back. His only way out is to kill himself. John finally make his decision after he is swarmed by people from the World State. His suffering is a form of entertainment to them. John finally gives up, he is seen when the citizens enter his lighthouse, “Mr. Savage!” Slowly, very slowly, like two hundred compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east…” (Huxley 259). This quote speaks to the theme of Individualism brings the Downfall of the Beholder through the use of phrases. The phrase “Slowly, very slowly, like two hundred compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, a few seconds,”, the phrase explains that John has committed suicide by hanging himself. It explains the way the corpse’s feet are swaying in different directions while it hangs there, like the needle on a compass. John’s reason for taking his life is because he was tired of suffering from society. Society is a circle and John entered that circle, when he