Aldous Huxley - Brave New World

How can begin to express words concerning the lives of individuals who have made or have only begun to make a difference? Two such characters, John the Savage, from Brave New World, and Hester Prynne, from The Scarlett Letter, show how their struggles affect their societies. Whether the effect is temporary or permanent, it is important to know how
the conditioning in both worlds affects the manner in which people behave, the relationships between the character and others, and finally, how each protagonist?s ultimate decision can possibly change the world he or she lives in.

Similarities are found among both utopian worlds as to how they react to outsiders and how they are taught their values. But, while people in Civilisation are conditioned before birth, people in the Massachusetts? settlement are conditioned as they grow up. For instance, in Civilisation, people are given different combinations of chemicals to
?diversify? the society. The people are conditioned to behave and operate in the way they are designed. This is why the people of Civilisation feel uncomfortable around Bernard. Since he seems to be different, a deviation from the norm, they feels that he is not a true
part of their society. This parallels the manner in which people react towards Hester. They are taught their values through instruction from their parents and through religion. Since their society is based mainly on the beliefs of their Christian religion, the members of the
society follow the Bible and they incorporate its teachings into their daily lives. Because the Bible sees adultery as a sin, the townspeople instinctually despise Hester.

Furthermore, there are certain similarities between Bernard and Hester. Hester survives by being honest about her emotions. She wants to be accepted by the society but she accepts the fact that she is not accepted by her community. Bernard also wants to be accepted by his peers in his society. However, he cannot come to terms with the fact that he is not
accepted. Thus, while Hester achieves wisdom, Bernard does not.

In Civilisation, people are taught to hate anyone who is old and ugly. This explains why people are repulsed by Linda and do not stop her from taking excessive amounts of soma. Similarly, the townspeople in Massachusetts dislike Roger Chillingworth because they
instinctually feel that there is something wrong about him.

In Civilisation, people are taught to hate the responsibility of motherhood and child-rearing. However, people in Massachusetts see it as a way to procreate. Although both societies have opposite ideas on the subject of proliferation of the species, their members react in a similar manner towards similar situations. In Civilisatiion, when people
discover that John has a mother, Linda, a former member of their society, they appear disgusted by the fact that someone of their society bore and raised a child. Moreover, when they discover that John?s father is an important member in their society, they expel
him from their society almost immediately. The people of the Massachusetts? settlement also appear repulsed by the fact that Hester had a child through her adulterous affair. They try to force her to tell them who her partner was. When Dimmesdale, an important member of the society comes forward, he is so weighed down by guilt and fear, which the
community helps to instill, that he is also driven away from society, except it is by his own death. It is also important to note that while both societies hate the parents, they do not hate the product, the child. For instance, the people of Civilisation all want to meet John
because they like him and think he is good-looking, which is enough for him to be accepted into their community. So, they let his mother, whom they despise, die, taking away from John a major attachment to Savage Reservation, the only life he has ever known. Similarly, the townspeople of Massachusetts like the looks of Pearl and try to take
Pearl away from Hester, whom they despise.

Each society?s beliefs are challenged when Hester and John, deviations from their beliefs, rejoin a society which they are never really a part of. When John lives in Savage Reservation with Linda, the people of that society are repulsed by John and Linda and make them outcasts. When John sees Civilisation for the first time, he marvels at it but
later on, he thinks of its people as strange and abnormal. He is also repulsed by their ways. On the other hand, people of Civilisation see John as strange and abnormal, which is why they are fascinated by him. Meanwhile, in the Massachusetts? settlement, the members of
the society make Hester an outcast because they are repulsed by her and they find her ways to be unorthodox.

In the end, Hester and John are each given a choice in which the right decision seems impossible to make. John is given a choice between an insane life in Civilisation and life of a primitive in Savage Reservation, a life more human in some respects, but just as strange
and abnormal in others. Hester is also given a choice between betraying her lover to partially regain her former, respected status and refusing to divulge Dimmesdale as her lover. In the latter option, Hester will be true to herself but society will despise her even more. However, in each case, something occurs that makes the need to make the decision
disappear. For instance, in John?s situation, Mustapha Mond does not allow him to return the Reservation. But John escapes from Civilisation when he commits suicide. In Hester?s situation, Dimmesdale willingly comes forward.

At first glance, it would seem that these two stories have nothing in common. But there are many similarities between a society controlled by religion and another controlled by an assembly line.