Proud Blonde!

Make your own Attack Ad

The ability for high school students to create such an ad, an extreme form of propaganda, could cause a very unstable environment during the elections in the United States. The internet has allowed people everywhere to put their views in the mouths of the presidential candidates, to have them say exactly what they want to hear and publish it everywhere for others to see. The availability of this technology has been used for purposes that are not formal, but for pure fun. Proper fun is alright, but this kind of technology could cause mockery that could become uncontrollable and mis-interpreted. Our society is the kind to take this risk, and there will always be the people who take it too far, but for now, its just for fun.

“Geek!” “Nerd!” “Fag!” Yell the high school guys to me and my friends after we get our bio tests back. So what if I got the highest mark? So what if my friends and I study for hours the nights before the test to do our best? I compare this to the feelings of being the outsider that Bernard, Helmholtz, and John felt in Brave New World. These men grew up in a world of conditioning to be pneumatic and promiscuous, men and women both. They are the outcasts in the book because they surpassed all this conditioning and still have a mind of their own. They still want to think on their own, about science, truth, and beauty. These men are the essence of loneliness and abandonment within their society, the nerds with their heads in the toilets getting the swirlies in today’s world.

John the Savage and Mustapha Mond were of the highest intelligence and maturity introduced in Brave New World. These two men showed their understanding of the world far beyond any other characters. From knowledge about other gods and higher powers to the emotions of love, respect, and dignity within families, John and Mustapha understood both sides of the world. The pneumatic conditioning as well as life before Ford and mass production techniques both have bonuses and faults. John doesn’t understand the pneumatic, conditioned way of life because he grew up on the reserve with emotions and responsibilities. He wanted marriage and kids and pains that came with the way of life he had in mind. He wanted to sacrifice personal loss and pains for all the feelings of love, accomplishment, and reward he would get with the reservation life, our life. Mustapha understood these feelings and respected them, but had to choose between personal happiness and the happiness he could provide for the whole of Brave New World. He chose the opposite of John. Mustapha saw the need to keep society stable, therefore continuing the conditioning of all the ‘twins.’ Both men made huge sacrifices to keep their values. John sacrificed personally, from losing his mother, realizing he could never change the only women he loved, Lenina, and ultimately sacrificing his own life rather than accepting the way society in Brave New World was run. Mustapha also sacrificed, not only personally, but also socially as he kept his knowledge to himself, valuing stability over science, truth, and beauty. Both of these men came so close to enlightening the whole world, but came up just short, as seemed to be the theme of the book.

Bernard and Helmholtz also showed intelligence in the book, but never could really understand or comprehend the way their minds worked. Solidarity and thinking were forbidden ideas in Brave New World, yet Bernard and Helmholtz could sit together in the same room, just thinking in silence, talking only about solidarity. Both men had that feeling of knowledge of more than the conditioning they had yet didn’t understand what it meant. Like always having the words on the tip of your tongue but could never get them farther than that. Bernard had the advantages of being to Savage Reservations and taking in the way they lived, but with his conditioning, never could manage more than a few days within the reserves. That’s when Bernard found Linda and John, who he managed to get out of the reserve and take back to Brave New World where he could study them, and eventually gain popularity through it. Helmholtz had his intelligence strengthened by his career, a very high class professor. When Bernard and Helmholtz got together, it was Helmholtz who did most of the talking; he was very easy going and found his words much easier than Bernard. It was Helmholtz who first warned Bernard about the way he was treating John, Helmholtz knew it was only a matter of time before John revolted from the way Bernard was using him. Helmholtz could relate better to John as well, he better understood John’s thoughts. Both Bernard and Helmholtz were sentenced to an island, somewhere they could be who they wanted, not what society told them to be. Helmholtz understood this gift, while Bernard was horrified by it, another example of their differences in intelligence. Bernard and Mustapha were as close to human as the clones got. Both men played very significant roles in the book and without them, the blinding differences of Mustapha Mond and John the Savage would never have been taken as seriously as they were and ought to be.

When I read, I am always comparing the characters, plots, and settings. While reading Brave New World, I found striking similarities between John the Savage, Mustapha Mond, Bernard Marx, and Helmholtz Watson to another book I read in english last year, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Calpurnia, Caesar, Marcus Brutus, and Marc Antony are all easily related and compared to the characters in the 15+ chapters of BNW. John the Savage and Marcus Brutus both show tremendous integrity in their respective books, both being introduced and surrounded by a epicurean, pneumatic society they want no part of. Mustapha Mond and Julius Caesar are the leaders of society for their stories, each having immense power over the other characters. Bernard is like Calpurnia in their personalities that shy away from hard times and critisms, but are always at the front of the line for awards and attention, Bernard with Savage and Calpurnia with Caesar. Helmholtz is like Marc Antony with the hidden intelligence but personality that waits for the right moment, though both missing their prime moments. This comparisson I used throughout BNW for a better understanding of the characters, and maybe the next book I read, I will compare those characters to BNW characters.

As was clear from the very first time John was introduced to this book, he was the center of attention. He kept everyone anxious to read on and in the end, fulfilled his mysteriousness. I had made guesses to what might happen in the book and how it might end, but with John hanging himself, I was completely shocked. It was the opposite of what I had expected. I had envisioned John as the Jesus of this book, the one who would cure all this insanity, and now he was dead.

I can see why John hung himself, with all the pressures of an entire society thinking of him as nothing more than a source of entertainment. They read about him in the papers and watched movies on his habits, never fully understanding what this ’savage’ was doing. John was only looking for peace and quiet, wanting to get away from this crazy society, and the more he tried to hide, the more interesting he became to the people. I can’t even imagine trying to go from what he considered as a normal society in the Savage Reservation to this Brave New World. He lasted longer than I believe I would have.

I can only imagine the pain John was going through, sitting beside his mother on her death bed and had curious children come in and insult her. I do not blame him for a moment for hitting the young kid, the situation may have been handled better, but death is something we all fear, at least now. Linda was a very kind and loving mother to John, as he grew up in the reservation, she could always talk to him, though sometimes she couldn’t answer all his questions. I have lost grandparents and aunts and uncles, and I know the kind of pain John went through sitting at his mother’s bedside and just waiting and waiting. It is not fun.

I am glad to see at least one sane person with strong ties and feelings or one person. The relationship between a mother and her child is unique and completely, in my opinion, necessary for one to grow up normally. I have a great deal of attatchments to my entire family, but my mom always knows everything I need. She can read my feelings and understand my point of view. Her opinion is the one I hold dearest to my heart, and I love her to death.

This past summer I had the chance of a life-time to go down to Indianapolis, Indiana for a leadership conference, and it showed me how only a few hours on a plane can land me into a completely different world. I was amazed to see the differences from Alberta to Indiana, I can’t even imagine the differences from countries on the other side of the world. I can relate to Linda and Lenina in their confusion of leaving on ‘vacation’ and winding up in a new world. They had ultimate culture shocks, going from their highly developed worlds to the most undeveloped area at the time, like me going from the Vermilion to the huge city of Indianapolis. Amazing how 2 places so close can be the complete opposite.

The values of the Savage Reservation are exactly the things which are banned in the developed world. Marrige, love, family, and thought are huge aspects of everyday life in the reservation, and something Lenina has never experienced in her whole life. The imense pride of Americans in their country astounded me when I visited out neighbors to the south, they belived in and could recite every word of their constitution and national anthem. Even the food and drinks were severely different in the Savage Reservation for Lenina. She was not accustomed to these simple dinners that were the same every day. When I was in Indianapolis, I tried real iced tea and had to explain what a poutine and macadamia-nut cookie was. Experiences like this changed how I seen my life and others around me.

Beating drums, naked dancers, black snacks, and whips. To me it makes my worst nightmares come true. I completely understand why Lenina covered her eyes and begged them to stop, I would have been terrified as well. This sacrificing ritual clearly meant everything to the natives of the Savage Reservation yet caused a great deal of pain and agony to Lenina, and even myself. Growing up in anti-abusement societies, both Lenina and I finally agreed on something in this book, the whipping of the young boy was horrible and sickening.

The many different stages to this festival have obviously been carefully thought out and display very strong feelings. I interpreted this ceremony step by step. The drums, first and formost, display the rythm of the heart of every person in the reserve, everyone becoming one, similar to the Solidarity Services in the ‘new world.’ The dancers each representing the differences we all share, from different sexes to body shapes to personalities. The snakes… The horrible snakes representing our sins and faults. And finally the whipping of the young boy, the ultimate sacrifice, shows everyone must succumb to pain. This pain caused by our similarities, differences, and sins. A ritual of life.

John is the ugly duckling of the Savage Reservation. He has been an outcast his whole life, from his different skin tone to his mother’s reputation. As he relives some of his past for Bernard, John explains how he had to suffer from neglect and poverty in his own house and community. HIs mother loved him, but also blamed him for the way they were living. Mitsima tried to teach John about they way they lived on the reserve, but when it came to important rituals, even Mitsima chose a native child to be sacrificed. When Pope and the other men came, they ignored or removed John from the entire house. John was living through hell.

Linda vowed to herself she would try to teach her son everything she could about the world, although she couldn’t answer when John grew up and began to ask questions, like how helicopters fly. This is when John began to look to the elder reserve natives to explain his questions. He has had to learn to accept both worlds, for there was no way to chose one over the other. He has the values his mom taught him, like “everyone is everyone else’s” but also the values taught to him growing up in the reserve, like marrige. These completely contrasting beliefs would have me confused out of my mind.

In the plane above the Savage Reservation, Lenina and Bernard were entering into a whole new world, or exiting their new version of the world. The fences that separated village areas from village areas made me think about the fences used to keep dinosaurs in their cages in Jurassic Park. High voltage kept every person and everything in and let nothing out. Lenina and Bernard were used to a kind of freedom of movement, they could go anywhere in their world because they were Alphas, but to come into a world of containment must have been crazy.

The ‘crazy’ people that occupied the village Bernard and Lenina visited reminded me greatly of our civilization and the reserves we have for our Native Americans. From families and diseases to the rituals and ceremonies we celebrate, these ’savages’ were the only people in this book that make sense to me. I hope Bernard and Lenina realize this life they are living is, although dirty and abandoned, the proper way of life. Should the book make a turn for the better, it will be when Lenina and Bernard are in the Reservation.

A little too much alcohol in blood surrogate and all of a sudden, he is stopping over the storming sea and wanting nothing more than to talk. I can see, with her up-bringing, why Lenina would be so confused and concerned. Bernard is completely acting out of the ordinary and doing everything against what he has been taught, and just as if we did the same, he was considered crazy and rumors were spreading like wild fire. Lenina is more accepting of Bernard than I ever would be in her shoes.

Lenina was only acting as she had been taught and conditioned, but I think she will realize where Bernard is coming from when they visit the Savage Reservation. I can feel Bernard’s frustration with Lenina and her pneumatic way of life. No woman should ever give herself away as easily as she does, it is morally wrong to me and just plain disturbing. At the Savage Reservation I think Lenina will finally figure out how wrong she is living her life, and want to become more like Bernard. It would be the kind turn around this book needs if Lenina joins Bernard in his attempt to right society again.

I would be completely embaressed for all of the characters in Brave New World should they have been real. No one in this book knows the way they are acting is completely self-demeaning. The entire base of this book seems to be rested upon the ideas of promiscuity, lack of self pride and dignity, as well as a lack of respect for every gender, age, or rank. Everything that we consider wrong in our society today is the ideal way to live in Brave New World’s society.

Young children are encouraged to experiment sexually, adults are expected to go out with hundreds of people a year and not stay with only one of opposite sex for any extended period of time. The higher the rank of the person, the more this is encouraged. Anything I have ever believed in, from faithful marriges to self-respect and dignity are frowned upon in this book. Brave New World would be a dangerous read for some people, many would be offended by its contents and completely object to so much as acknowledge its existance.