Brave New World Essay

Brave New World Essay 

2010 AP Literature and Composition Essay Prompt: Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.

(The prompt asks for the meaning of the work as a whole, I haven't read the entire book.. so..) 

In a group of people each individuals are different and independent, but the book, Brave New World illustrates a community of informed and organized humans who are designed and programed to do a task. Within the community, scientists injected an overdose of alcohol into an infant causing it to be different from the rest. The alpha, Bernard is shorter among all the other alphas and mentally he is aware of the scientific experiment and the soma-consuming people. He is forced to act "normal" to fit in, but still often alienated by his appearance. Huxley uses Bernard's emotions and actions to show the alienation as the meaning of the work as a whole. 

Bernard is an outcast from all the other alphas, he shows a significances to the story line. He is able to emotionally connect with his inner feelings unlike other alphas, gammas, and betas. He can feels anger towards Henry Foster because he talks about Lenina like she is a piece of meat. Bernard realizes that he is different from the rest so, he chooses not to intake the soma pills which is a drug that is intended to keep people happy. Being isolated from the rest was merely difficult for Bernard to fit in to keep a disguise that he is one of the programed alphas, he chooses to pretend. He tries by excitedly mimic the after effect of soma. Huxley uses Bernard as a comparison to the robot-like human beings, but also chooses Bernard as an important character to make a connection with the readers. 

Bernard's actions of asking Lenina to go to the savage shows a human-like characteristic. Which is significant to the book, because Huxley shows the population as dehumanized qualities such as Gammas and Betas are shocked to work in machine factories everyday, because they are classified as "lower." Although Bernard is an alpha, he is alienated by the other alphas due to his height. Often his actions and inner thoughts are more humanistic, allowing him feel and also act different from the rest. 

Huxley's creation of the Brave New World is appeared to be a reference to humans just living and doing what society want us to do. The London facility shows a good representation of controlled and monitored human beings where they are forced to be shocked to do things. Often in a factory, even in a factory of producing people, there will be mistakes. Huxley includes Bernard, who was physically and mentally different from others. The Brave New World revolves around Bernard's alienation which are reflected upon his emotions and actions.