Friday, November 14, 2014

Bernard's New World

Damn that John! Why will no one listen to me? I cannot get a savage to show up to a party that I planned, and even Epsilons disobey my orders. John got me into a lot of trouble by just deciding not to show up to the party that I planned for him. Whether I plan a party or a funeral for John, a savage should not just refuse to attend by locking himself behind a door. Whether I tell them to start engines or do back flips, Epsilons shouldn’t just stand in place and disobey my direct orders. I am an Alpha, and I should not be the subject of such degradation. Alphas are at the top of the caste system, and are conditioned to be faster and smarter than Epsilons and savages. Why can’t I be treated as an Alpha should be treated?
Maybe I am broken. I have heard the rumors that people spread. Some worker in the Hatchery thought that I was supposed to be an Epsilon, not an Alpha, and added more alcohol to my bottle to slow my physical growth. Fortunately, the worker realized his mistake and stopped adding alcohol before I became an Alpha in an Epsilon’s body. Because of this mistake, everyone talks behind my back. Foster and the Assistant Predestinator laugh at my resistance to take soma and poke fun at my unsavory reputation. I prefer being angry at the lesser beings that criticize me instead of taking those pills. I only take soma in dire situations that call for drastic action. I do not even discuss my sexual life publically like Lenina, Hoover, or Foster. The Arch-Community-Songster wants to lecture me on the divergence of my ways. He wants me to mend my ways. I do not belong in this brave new world.
But I showed all my critics. The Director tried to stop me from going to the Savage Reservation, but I disregarded his cautions. The Director thinks I am an antisocial rebel that threatens the stability of the World State. And when he felt like sharing those sentiments publically and announcing my divergence, I felt obliged to expose his treachery too. In front of everyone, I presented Linda and John to the Director, shaming the Director for having a family. At that moment, I was on track to become someone that the World State remembers. I would soon surpass all those who doubted me and laughed at my physical degradation.
John humiliated me. John’s refusal to see the guests that I invited for him that night ruined my chances of becoming great, and now I must live with my physical pains. However, I now have found a true friend and fellow rebel in Helmholtz. I told Helmholtz everything, including the miseries of my isolation in this world, and accepted his consolation. When I realized that, “Helmholtz had also come into conflict with Authority,” (Huxley 164) I saw that Helmholtz was my only true friend in this world. He explained to me the complexities of his encounter with Authority and his passion for rhymes. However, John decided that he wanted to ruin that too. Instead of paying attention to me and my miseries, Helmholtz became more interested in John’s Shakespeare and the dead man’s rhymes. Helmholtz even threatened to kick me out of meetings for interrupting John and poking fun at Shakespeare’s words. However, John had finally had enough of us when Helmholtz laughed at Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Helmholtz could not resist laughing at the concept of a family forcing their daughter to have someone that she did not want. I was eventually separated from my friends when we had to rescue John from a fistfight with a couple of Deltas.
            I am ashamed of my decision to watch while Helmholtz helped John fight off the Deltas, but I just could not just risk my life to help. Finally, the police showed up and had to subdue John and Helmholtz, and I was caught before I could sneak out the back door. We were eventually taken to Mond’s office to be disciplined for our disobedience, but I had no idea that Mond’s decision would be to exile me. I have so much to live for in the World State. I love soma. I just want to be an accomplished citizen. However, Mond says that this sentence is not that bad. I can be among people similar to myself on the islands. At least I am not dead.

Works Cited

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. Print.

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