Huxley utilises the interaction between characters to convey the values and ideals featured in Brave New World. During this essay I will be discussing how Huxley has successfully used conversion between characters to achieve portrayal of values within chapter thirteen. The opening paragraph sees Henry Foster inviting Lenina to the ‘ feelies’, when Lenina declines his offer he simply asks “‘ Going out with someone else? ‘ It interested him to know which of his friends was being had by which other. This reflects not only the way Henry views situations and values but is also acting as a voice for the entire society in Brave New World. It is clearly observed that a lack of morality exists and that possessive values are absent.
“ Henry detected weariness in those purple eyes, the pallor beneath that gaze of lupus, the sadness at the corners of the unsmiling crimson mouth”. It would seem Henry cares about Lenina but cannot determine the reason she is upset and so merely inquires whether or not she is ill. He then states some of his pre-learned hypnopaedia “‘ A doctor a day keeps the jim-jams away’”, which is usual in Brave New World when a character cannot think of a response. It becomes clear Lenina has feelings for John, though her thoughts are littered with unrelated issues, taking away the emphasis – “‘ John,’ she murmured to herself, ‘ John…
‘ Then ‘ My Ford,’ she wondered, ‘ have I given this one its sleeping sickness injection or haven’t I? “ The way in which the disregards these feelings displays there is no value to the notion of love within their society. It is apparent Lenina is experiencing feelings she does not fully comprehend, the verbs used to describe her actions here are extremely dynamic. We view Lenina’s reactions as odd as they do not fit in within the context of Brave New World, she cannot acknowledge these feelings as John does. On first thought, it is as if Lenina does have deeper values than those of the characters within the society.
Her emotional monogamy contrasts with that in which she has been conditioned to believe. However, this is not really the case as although she experiences on the surface what would appear to be love, but is perhaps solely the frustration of not being able to ‘ have’ John. She feels threatened and insecure by this as it is a situation she has not been through before and is not conditioned to expect. Throughout Brave New World, Fanny is used as the voice of society. She ensures Lenina is seen as unorthodox within this particular register. She also falls back on hypnopaedia to reinforce her arguments, and always dominates their conversation, portraying importance to conform within their society.
Lenina then takes this advice, as she feels ashamed of feeling differently, her language is hesitant and occasionally left unfinished. Fanny always has the last word during their conversations, and as always, her departure here is very final. This reflects that society cannot be changed or influenced in any way and obligatory to conform to this society, as Fanny is acting as the whole of their society in this scene. This helps to confirm the routes mapped out for John and Bernard in the story. The interaction between John and Lenina is extremely important in the portrayal of the values and thus lack of, in the society and register of Brave New World. Lenina’s conception of love is to engage in sexual acts, whereas John is able to view a deeper meaning and has much stronger, identifiable feelings toward Lenina, which we, as the audience, can recognise as love.
John tells Lenina he loves her, therefore she makes the assumption he wants to have sex with her. Any move toward individuality is lost within this scene. She also quotes hypnopaedia to John during their dispute – ‘ A gra-amme is be-etter…
‘. John becomes so angry with Lenina when she ‘ strips off’ for him, perhaps as he feels she is degrading herself (she does not respect herself, as she is merely an individual, unimportant within this register), as well as the notion of love. Another reason for his display of anger is that it possibly reminds him of his mother and Popi??. This scene differentiates between John, whom the audience can relate to in what he is feeling, and the Brave New World society as a whole, once again conveying little depth to their emotions and warped, absent morals and values. The change in who is dominating the situation is also important during this particular scene. Upon entry, Lenina is very assertive toward John and clearly has some sort of power over him and dominates most of the actions taken and conversation.
However, she does become increasingly irritated and exasperated with him as time goes on. This is mainly due to the fact that she does not understand the way he feels – “‘ I’d like to undergo something nobly. Don’t you see? ‘ ‘ But if there are vacuum cleaners… ‘” It is impossible for Lenina to see the symbolic nature of how John wishes to act, as this is not how people inside their society behave.
The interaction here is ingeniously written, John often cuts Lenina off mid-sentence in an attempt to make her understand his feelings, but she cannot and so becomes frustrated and angry. Again, many dynamic verbs are used, unusual when describing Lenina’s character, as she rarely experiences strong emotions at all. The loaded post and pre-modifiers used to describe Lenina here are negative and clearly express how agitated she is – ‘ irritated’, ‘ annoyed’. Another instance in which John’s nonconformist attitude is shown, is when he receives a telephone call, to inform him that his mother, Linda, is dying.
Though there is only one voice is heard in this conversation, we are aware as to the nature of the call through the use of rhetoric. Again, he uses archaic, Shakespearean language – ‘ If I do not usurp myself, I am. ‘ / ‘ Yes, didn’t you hear me say so? Mr. Savage speaking’. The voice on the other end of the telephone did not understand him, due to distinct lack of both historical and literary knowledge prominent in Brave New World society. John’s reaction is similar to that of our own yet is seemingly odd in Brave New World as ii is extremely out of place.
This reaction is, once again, stressing how unimportant relationships between individuals are. Soma still plays an important part for characters such as Fanny and Lenina. Lenina uses it when in uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations and surroundings, for example when going to see John. This demonstrates dependence on objects rather than people, thoughts or feelings in the book.
‘ Half a gramme had been enough to make Lenina forget her fears and embarrassments’ These emotions appear very normal ones in her situation and yet she has the need to take soma to counteract them. When Lenina is under the effects of soma, the tone used mimics her actions, unhesitant and flowing. It appears that here she is under control of the situation, but really she is under the power of soma.
