Deciphering Bernard
In Huxley's Brave New World, Bernard Marx is known as an Elite Alpha, working below only the Director and Controller. He is engineered to be one of the most intelligent and cultured individuals in society, but we quickly realize Bernard is not like his peers, being abnormally secretive about his thoughts and actions. Fortunately, the novel is narrated from a third person perspective, giving us access to Bernard's unfiltered thoughts in real-time. From these glimpses, it is possible to infer a lot about his character.
We are first introduced to Bernard through the thoughts of others. Described as having "...that unsavory reputation" (25) and spending "...most of his time by himself-alone" (32), Bernard is already set as an outcast in a society where everyone is engineered to not be one. The idea of being alone is almost non-existent, so when Bernard is portrayed as someone who deviates from that ideology, he is called out. He reinforces this idea when asked by Lenina if she could accompany him to the savage reservation, responding, "'Hadn’t we better talk about it somewhere else?' he stammered, looking horribly uncomfortable" (39). Even though these conversations take place in public all the time, Bernard feels uncomfortable as he believes it is a private matter. This idea of 'privacy' is what differentiates Bernard from his peers. From birth, people are taught to openly express their feelings towards others without reluctance, but with Bernard's unusual behavior, it is explained as a pre-birth accident: "'somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle-thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood-surrogate. That’s why he’s so stunted'” (33). Bernard believes that it is because of this rumor he is being treated differently and doesn't feel involved in society, so when people pity him as the causality of an unfortunate circumstance, Bernard feels justified in responding to them in the way he does.
Bernard's hate for the society he lives in is what defines his reputation. Often, Bernard responds to others with, “Ford, how I hate them!” (37) or “Damn you, damn you!” (38). At this point, Bernard doesn't care about how others think of him as it is already established that he will always be the person whose growth was stunted because of an alcohol overdose in his blood-surrogate. He has nothing to prove, so he just spends time alone pondering about his life and the society in which he was born. Bernard conforms into what he is expected to become, resulting in the disrespectful views people place on him.
Bernard's inability to conform to the norms of society motivate his desire to leave. In order to escape the futility of this situation, he attempts to reconcile his thoughts by visiting a savage reservation, where he can study, and maybe relate to, the social norms practiced there. Until now, Bernard has been a static character, unwilling to change, but with his trip to the reservation, however, we begin to witness the transformation of Bernard from his emphasis on individuality to its abandonment for social success.
Sparsh S.
We are first introduced to Bernard through the thoughts of others. Described as having "...that unsavory reputation" (25) and spending "...most of his time by himself-alone" (32), Bernard is already set as an outcast in a society where everyone is engineered to not be one. The idea of being alone is almost non-existent, so when Bernard is portrayed as someone who deviates from that ideology, he is called out. He reinforces this idea when asked by Lenina if she could accompany him to the savage reservation, responding, "'Hadn’t we better talk about it somewhere else?' he stammered, looking horribly uncomfortable" (39). Even though these conversations take place in public all the time, Bernard feels uncomfortable as he believes it is a private matter. This idea of 'privacy' is what differentiates Bernard from his peers. From birth, people are taught to openly express their feelings towards others without reluctance, but with Bernard's unusual behavior, it is explained as a pre-birth accident: "'somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle-thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood-surrogate. That’s why he’s so stunted'” (33). Bernard believes that it is because of this rumor he is being treated differently and doesn't feel involved in society, so when people pity him as the causality of an unfortunate circumstance, Bernard feels justified in responding to them in the way he does.
Bernard's hate for the society he lives in is what defines his reputation. Often, Bernard responds to others with, “Ford, how I hate them!” (37) or “Damn you, damn you!” (38). At this point, Bernard doesn't care about how others think of him as it is already established that he will always be the person whose growth was stunted because of an alcohol overdose in his blood-surrogate. He has nothing to prove, so he just spends time alone pondering about his life and the society in which he was born. Bernard conforms into what he is expected to become, resulting in the disrespectful views people place on him.
Bernard's inability to conform to the norms of society motivate his desire to leave. In order to escape the futility of this situation, he attempts to reconcile his thoughts by visiting a savage reservation, where he can study, and maybe relate to, the social norms practiced there. Until now, Bernard has been a static character, unwilling to change, but with his trip to the reservation, however, we begin to witness the transformation of Bernard from his emphasis on individuality to its abandonment for social success.
Sparsh S.
Bernard seems to be an outcast, however I cant help but wonder if that is partially his own fault. From the text, the other alpha plus's, while they do occasionally talk behind his back , try to be friendly with him, quoting phrases and inviting him to participate in events. Bernard usually responds by just leaving without much explanation. With the addition of john to his resume, Bernard becomes a lot more extravagant and social, which shows that Bernard can be social, he just choses not to.
ReplyDeleteLike you mentioned in the beginning, Bernard is in a position above almost everyone else we are introduced to. He is engineered to be one of the smartest people around, only to be below the director and Mond. What strikes me about all of these characters, the smartest characters, is despite having been raised in a society like the world state, they all have some connection to the outside world. Bernard questions the society on a daily basis. The director had himself gone to the savage reservation when he was young. Mond had read Shakespeare and other religious texts. Even characters like Hemholtz, who are continually defined as the smartest of the smart, had connection to "art," as Hemholtz tried writing his own literature. Did Huxley do this purposefully to almost mock the dystopia he himself created? As if to say even the smartest of the smart want out?
ReplyDeleteI agree that Bernard is definitely engineered in a very different position than pretty much everyone else in the society. However I don't think that his isolation is completely the fault of his creation. The way he acts is very isolating in itself, he looks down on everyone he talks to and he basically rejects even the nicest people's attempts to befriend him. However his behavior could also be attributed to his creation so its probably just a mix of both that isolates Bernard.
ReplyDeleteI think part of his isolation is his fault, as you point out. For one thing, the second he is put into a position of power or influence, he starts backstabbing his friends, like Helmholtz. Helmholtz forgives him, because Helmholtz is a very good person, but someone who wasn't Helmholtz probably would not have.
Delete-Sasha
I think that it is interesting how the attitude and behavior that Bernard has is both constructed and fed into by this society that seems to not want this type of person.You would think that there would be no way for a person like Bernard to come out of this society, even when it has so much control over everybody.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Bernard is different than his peers, in particular his fellow Alphas. As the text goes on we can see how he becomes more developed and conscious of his own thoughts and opinions. Like others have mentioned, I think that his personality could be attributed to both his creation and self-isolation. For his curiosity and unwillingness to conform, I appreciate and respect his character. However, I must admit that I am often times frustrated by him and his actions... or lack their of. I really wish that his character was more proactive about change because I think that would give the book more movement. Nonetheless, interesting and meaningful analysis!
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