Brave New World Discussion Blog Post #2

Explain why John and Bernard Marx are similar and why they are different.

       Bernard and John are similar in the book mainly because their childhoods were very much alike, and their disposition towards the utopian society is pretty much on the same level. However they are different in the sense that John was looked down upon by his people because he knew how to read and function in a society, while Bernard was looked down upon because of his abnormally small height. John was the child of Linda, a Beta from the utopian society who got stuck in the Santa Fe Savage Reservation. As a child, his mother taught him to read english when she wasn't drunk on Mezcal that Popé always brought. He grew up essentially without a mother, which is a very similar circumstance to that of everyone in the utopian society. Bernard received his education normally, and lived without a biological parent. But where John grew up as a superior (that is, smarter) minority, Bernard Marx grew up appearing to be part of an inferior (shorter, and Gamma-like) majority. They both have a shared hatred/dislike of the utopian society, one point that they most definitely agree on is the excessive use of soma, John does something about it: "'I'll teach you; I'll make you be free whether you want to or not.' And pushing open a window that looked on into the inner court of the Hospital, he began to throw the little pill-boxes of soma tablets in handfuls out into the sea." (213). Both of these individuals don't agree with the morals of the society in Brave New World, oftentimes Bernard will deal with his problems rather than ignore them with soma like the rest of his people. John's actions reflect a similar disposition towards the drug. While both Bernard and John are similar people, they are similar because of different reasons. John is against the society in London because he grew up in the more organic, primal area of The Reservation, while Bernard is a member of this utopian society but is less than fond of they way they go about things. The takeaway message here is that it doesn't matter where you come from, if you have similar interests, then you can find a friend in anyone.