Characterization of Bernard
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses indirect characterization to show how different Bernard Marx is from the rest of the characters. Specifically, Huxley uses Bernard's dialogue to express his feelings about the society he lives in. Huxley writes, " 'It makes me feel as though...' he hesitated, searching for words with which to express himself, 'as though I were more me, if you see what I mean. More on my own, not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body. Doesn't it make you feel like that Lenina?' " While this seems like a rational thing for someone to say, doing something for your own good rather than for the good of your society every once in awhile, in the society depicted in Brave New World, it is very not normal. Lenina, the one Bernard says this too, begins to cry after he tells her this. This shows how outlandish it is to a "normal” person in their society. Huxley also writes, " 'Don't you wish you were free, Lenina?' ". Bernard says a multitude of things like this, very subtle quotes throughout the beginning of the story, to express how trapped he feels in his life and has these thoughts that seem to counter everything that everyone else believes. Huxley achieves his goal of depicting Bernard as an isolated and odd person in his society, a person who seems to be walking against the current of everyone else. However, later in the book, Bernard, who we think is the main character, ends up fading away from the story. While we think he is about to play a pivotal role in the climax and ending of the story, he really doesn't end up doing that. Almost as soon as John the Savage is introduced to the story, Bernard becomes almost completely insignificant to the rest of the story. While before, Bernard was a man of great criticism of his society and it seemed as if he was going to finally rise up and do something about it, he never really did. He ended up going from the nervous but disagreeing man that he was to a cowering man with little backbone at the end of the book. He even went as far as crying and begging the leader of the society not to send him to an Island, while Helmholtz, his friend, was actually quite fine with it. The major difference I would point out between Bernard and Helmholtz is that Bernard seems to want whatever he thinks he will be most happy with. Unlike Helmholtz, it's not a matter of morals and principle, it's whatever will please Bernard. While Bernard hates the society he lives in, he knows that living on an island would be much worse, and so his "morals" and what he was arguing for in the beginning of the book quickly crumble to reveal what was really just selfishness.