A protagonist is described as the prominent character in a novel or text. In Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, John the Savage is the central protagonist opposed to Bernard Marx or Helmholtz Watson because he symbolizes cultural difference amongst the World State and the Savage Reservation. Although Bernard and Helmholtz demonstrate differences that would not be accepted in the civilized society, they are only seen as leading characters. Huxley uses Johns character to point out the short comings of what would become of a negative Utopia or dystopia, which is the driving force behind Huxleys message in the novel. Bernards physical difference would be the sole cause of his rejection to society and would make him one of Huxleys leading characters in the story.
Everything can be taken away from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. This quote stated by Victor E. Frankl, demonstrates the perfect example of what has been stripped from the people in Huxleys society. In order for a man to earn a genuine free life, he must experience pain and suffering. A man without anguish is a man without a soul, and Huxleys future describes a world without pain and a world without a soul. Bernard Marx is an individual that longs for freedom yet is conditioned accept his position in life. Throughout the story Bernard is shown to be someone that is out casted from the society because he looks and acts different. An example of this would be when Fanny says they say somebody made a
mistake when he was still in the bottle-thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood surrogate. Thats why hes so stunted (Huxley page 46). Bernard is not socially accepted amongst the other caste members in society because he does not share equal interest in such things like Obstacle Golf and soma. Even when Bernard has had an intimate moment with another person, he still feels lonely and unsatisfied. This is portrayed when Bernard attends the Solidarity Service and afterwards feels miserable (Huxley 86). Bernard is even out casted when he speaks to Helmholtz, his closest and possibly only friend that shares equal frustrations with society. Helmholtz judges Bernard for not showing enough pride when Bernard begins to unload his feelings during the discussion in chapter 4. Although Bernard demonstrates qualities and differences that separate him from the rest of the society, he would not be considered the protagonist of the story because of the sudden change in character in chapter 11 after Bernard has brought John back to the civilized society. Bernard starts to show qualities of a normal character in Brave New World when he starts taking soma and sleeping with women. This is shown when Bernard tells Helmholtz about all the women he has slept with in the past week (Huxley 156-157). Although Bernard is considered one of the leading characters in the Brave New World, he is not the central protagonist of the story nor is his friend Helmholtz who shares an equal dislikes for the World State.
Huxleys uses his character Helmholtz Watson to act as a foil to Bernard Marx since he is not fully developed character. The foil between the two characters is that Bernard is two weak and unfit for the position that he was given in his caste system as an Alpha plus. Helmholtz is a strong, intelligent and socially accepted person who feels that he is too strong for his position and feels that the shallow culture he lives in his stifling him. An example of this would be when Helmholtz says to Bernard did you ever feel as though you have something inside you that was only waiting for the right chance to come out (Huxley 67)? Although Helmholtz appears to be superior to Bernard and other people in society, he is still defined by the culture he was raised in. Helmholtz still demonstrates qualities that a conditioned Alpha plus would have such as enjoying outdoor sports, solidarity services and sex practices. This helps create a cultural gap in the foil that is between Helmholtz and John because John understands the concept of love, marriage and parents coming from the savage reservation, while Helmholtz believes these things to vulgar due to the culture he was defined and conditioned to believe. An example of Helmholtz still being defined by the culture he was raised in is when Helmholtz laughs at the play Romeo and Juliet and the concepts of marriage and love (Huxley 184). Helmholtz is proven to be a foil to both Bernard and John, and is a good example of one of the leading characters in Brave New World. Though this is true, he is not the central protagonist of the story. The protagonist is the driving force behind Huxleys message, and in that case John would be the perfect example of that message.
John the Savage is the driving force behind Huxleys message because he demonstrates cultural difference between both the World State and the Savage Reservation. John is an individual that is rejected in both societies for his differences. In the World State, John is rejected because he is not conditioned like everyone else to have a place in society and is seen as uncivilized coming from a society where history, monogamy and family are still practiced. In civilization, family and monogamy dont exist and history is forbidden because it causes problems in society. An example of this would be in chapter 3 when Mustapha Mond quotes Ford and says history is bunk (Huxley 34). In the savage reservation, John is out casted by the other savages because his mother Linda came from the civilized world and still performed certain practices that she was conditioned to believe were acceptable. John was brought to London as an experiment by Bernard and Mustapha Mond to see Johns response to civilization. The response is that John is appalled to view the lifestyle and practices of a civilized society. An example of this would be how John reacts when Lenina tries to have sex with him (Huxley 194). Johns only knowledge came from the stories his mother told him about the World State and a book on Shakespeare he picked up when he was young. Johns separation between both societies demonstrates him to be the ultimate outsider. Huxley uses this as a metaphor to compare John to a Utopian society and what its outcome would be. In the end of the novel, John cant cope with civilized society and commits suicide. Huxley is saying that a utopian society without individuality and humanization is the outcome of a broken society. In other words, utopia truly means no place.
Aldous Huxleys Brave New World is a novel about a utopian society that is controlled by totalitarian government. Huxleys message is portrayed through the character John the Savage because he symbolizes the outcome of a negative utopia as well as the cultural difference in both the World State and the Savage Reservation. Although Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson would be the considered the leading characters of the story, John the Savage is the central protagonist in Brave New World.
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