The Strength of an Individual Identity
John, the Savage, was raised on the Reservation where he acquired his own individuality due to his differing skin tone from the rest of the community. When removed from his first home and put into the place his mother considered him from, John’s identity was put to the test by the conformative government in the World State. John was first exiled from his homeland based on his skin tone and then in exile in his proper society according to his mother because of his beliefs and individualism. In Brave New World Aldous Huxley, the author, condemns political control of science, religion and technology because of its ability to destroy society; this is demonstrated through John’s struggle of being different …show more content…
Throughout John’s childhood his entire community “disliked [him] for [his] complexion” which left him always feeling inadequate compared to the other boys (Huxley 111). This pain forced John to work harder to try to find his individuality in order for him to be happy which he never would of had the ability to do in the World State where he would have been stereotyped before his birth. In addition to becoming an individual because of the Reservation, John also gained a respect for sexual encounters. This respect was unfortunately one thing that caused him and his mother to have an uncomfortable relationship and in addition no close family members. John’s mother, Linda, said that she “used to have [men] sometimes. Because I never could make him understand that that was what civilized people ought to do” which caused John and Linda to often fight when she had men over (115). This drove a wedge in their relationship because men were over often in hopes of making Linda appear more civilized in an uncivilized community. Instead it pushed John to find strength in himself and not in his community which helped to create his strong personality. This strong personality was forged from heartache but would have never been allowed in the World State because of their focus on conformity and control. Another thing John gained from his time on the reservation was his uncensored education. On the reservation books had not been destroyed or censored by the government so, John had access to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare while he was growing up. Access to these books gave John another perspective on how the world used to be. This was a perspective the people on the reservation lacked because they could not read and the World State lacked because of the censorship the
John, the Savage, was raised on the Reservation where he acquired his own individuality due to his differing skin tone from the rest of the community. When removed from his first home and put into the place his mother considered him from, John’s identity was put to the test by the conformative government in the World State. John was first exiled from his homeland based on his skin tone and then in exile in his proper society according to his mother because of his beliefs and individualism. In Brave New World Aldous Huxley, the author, condemns political control of science, religion and technology because of its ability to destroy society; this is demonstrated through John’s struggle of being different …show more content…
Throughout John’s childhood his entire community “disliked [him] for [his] complexion” which left him always feeling inadequate compared to the other boys (Huxley 111). This pain forced John to work harder to try to find his individuality in order for him to be happy which he never would of had the ability to do in the World State where he would have been stereotyped before his birth. In addition to becoming an individual because of the Reservation, John also gained a respect for sexual encounters. This respect was unfortunately one thing that caused him and his mother to have an uncomfortable relationship and in addition no close family members. John’s mother, Linda, said that she “used to have [men] sometimes. Because I never could make him understand that that was what civilized people ought to do” which caused John and Linda to often fight when she had men over (115). This drove a wedge in their relationship because men were over often in hopes of making Linda appear more civilized in an uncivilized community. Instead it pushed John to find strength in himself and not in his community which helped to create his strong personality. This strong personality was forged from heartache but would have never been allowed in the World State because of their focus on conformity and control. Another thing John gained from his time on the reservation was his uncensored education. On the reservation books had not been destroyed or censored by the government so, John had access to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare while he was growing up. Access to these books gave John another perspective on how the world used to be. This was a perspective the people on the reservation lacked because they could not read and the World State lacked because of the censorship the