Most people just look at the outside of a person in order to judge their character. They’ll have a quick glance and automatically infer their many qualities. If the person is worth listening to, they might stick around for a while. Else, it's going to take a little more than personality to get the attention of a batch of people. Brave New World showed a principle that Neil Postman would write about 50 years later. And even though the medium is not the same here, the problem being presented is similar. In two sentences: When you do the things people want, they will come to you no matter the circumstance; When you stop showing what they like, they forget all about you and what you did. Such a character is Bernard Marx—a failed Alpha male. As for his personality, I can't really argue that he is a likeable character, but it is true that people only look at Bernard’s deficiencies on the outside. People tune into a broadcast to watch what they want, need, or want to have and can’t get. When their favorite team starts losing many people (that's me) just turn off the TV because it's not what THEY want to see.
As noted on page 173, the people felt as if they had been tricked “by a wretched little man who had alcohol poured into his bottle by mistake.” As before, when Bernard was treated badly by the entire community, when the savage decided not to come out of his room, the crowd took back everything positive they said about him of the savage. Also with the reporters that wanted to interview John, they are all about show business. It’s a principle that you’ve probably heard about countless times, but after seeing it again here, I felt inclined to post it here.
-Nicolas Guardado
ReplyDeleteI do not feel like Bernard was so much judged for his appearance, but his appearance allowed for multiple theories about his peculiar behavior. Even if Bernard did not look like the runt of the litter, he would still remain an outcast because he did not agree with society's practices. Bernards character was quite odd because he did not agree with society's conventions, but he also wanted all members of society to like him.
I do not agree entirely with you, Baron. The citizens in their society are conditioned to treat height with respect. Since Bernard is much shorter, he feels the effects of the disrespect. This, in turn, causes him to act differently. It is a vicious cycle that he is stuck in, and it is all because of their programming.
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