![]() ![]() In his isolation, John immerses himself in Shakespeare, a 900-year-old author utterly forgotten by the World State, thus further pushing 'the savage' away from the societal norms around him. Bernard and Lenina view this ritual as repulsive, while John expresses his frustrations at having been banned from participating, marking the cultural divide between the World State characters and 'the savage.' John, then, becomes the ultimate outsider, rejected by both the civilized and primitive worlds. The only character to have been raised in isolation from the World State, John's initial entrance comes during a brutal Native American ritual, showing that he is a very primitive man in comparison with the other characters of the story. ![]() The most admirable figure of Brave New World, however, is John "The Savage," who makes his first appearance roughly halfway through the book. Ultimately, Marx proves to be an interesting and sympathetic character, but not one that the reader can easily respect. This success, however, collapses when the savage refuses to take part in Bernard's attempts to remain popular. After a trip to a New Mexico Indian Reservation and his subsequent discovery of John 'the savage,' he begins to abuse his newfound popularity and fame by taking part in all of the aspects of the World State which he had previously criticized, showing that he is a devout critic whose secret motive is to become what he criticizes - jealousy at its best. But, ultimately, his motivations are materialistic, not idealistic - he wants for things that he cannot have. ![]() For example, just as the Director has finished discussing how the World State has eliminated 'ovesickness,' Bernard is shown to be himself lovesick, jealous, and angry. He suffers from a sort of inferiority complex, due to his small height - physically, he resembles a person of the lower class more than an 'alpha.' While Bernard is not a 'protagonist' in the traditional sense of the term, he proves to be a good viewpoint character, because his motivations are clearly human. By the standards of the "Brave New World," Marx is a dysfunctional person, his conditioning having obvious flaws. Bernard Marx is perhaps the most compelling character throughout the first part of the book, his last name ironically being that of the founder of Communism. ![]()
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