Brave New World Chapter 18- "Dangled a pair of feet"

That evening the swarm of helicopters that came buzzing across the Hog's Back was a dark cloud ten kilometres long. The description of last night's orgy of atonement had been in all the papers.

"Savage!" called the first arrivals, as they alighted from their machine. "Mr. Savage!"

There was no answer.

The door of the lighthouse was ajar. They pushed it open and walked into a shuttered twilight. Through an archway on the further side of the room they could see the bottom of the staircase that led up to the higher floors. Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet.

"Mr. Savage!" (Huxley 266-267).

In the last Chapter of Brave New World, John begins to lose his sense of individuality. Since isolating himself from civilization he begins to find it hard to "conform" and he resorts to self punishment of whipping himself. He does this in despite of taking soma like the people of the brave new world would, to conceal the bad feelings. When the reporters and Lenina came to bother him, it was the last straw their pressuring made John feel like he lost all sense of himself ever since coming to this brave new world. John did not understand this civilization and lifestyle of conforming, accepting, and obeying to society's set rules; of the brave new world and so he ended his life though suicide.

Brave New World Chapter 17- Happiness...

"But I like the inconveniences."

"We don't," said the Controller. "We prefer to do things comfortably."

"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."

"In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy."

"All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy" (Huxley 246).

 

In Chapter 17, John and Helmholtz continue their argument regarding religion. John says that the people in society would not be in a denial of their own personal opinions and thoughts. The people will not find true happiness in this type of society that does not encourage individualism. Mond simply believes that soma will cure anything and everything that seems to hinder the "New World state", however he is only hindering the individual lifestyle,that John happens to see and believes in.

Brave New World Chapters 15-16- Poison to the soul

(Individuality is/ is not harmful)

"Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world be made beautiful. A reparation, a duty. And suddenly it was luminously clear to the Savage what he must do; it was as though a shutter had been opened, a curtain drawn back.

"Now," said the Deputy Sub-Bursar.

Another khaki female stepped forward.

"Stop!" called the Savage in a loud and ringing voice. "Stop!" 

(Huxley 216-217).

In chapters 15 through 16, John becomes aggravated and begins to act out as a way of coping with Linda's death. He is on the street and runs into some people who are getting some soma, and he tells them to please stop. When he tells them this he is regarding that its poison and it will kill them. Being that Linda died, he believes that caused it. Being an individual in this situation I think is positive being that he is advising them to not take soma. He is not harming society in a bad way, but to society he is.  In order to help better the people in this society he tells them the bad effects of Soma and ultimatley it is not harming anybody in society.

Brave New World Chapter 13-14- Death in the BNW

(Individuality is/ is not harmful)

"Quick, quick!" He caught her by the sleeve, dragged her after him. "Quick! Something's happened. I've killed her."

By the time they were back at the end of the ward Linda was dead.

The Savage stood for a moment in frozen silence, then fell on his knees beside the bed and, covering his face with his hands, sobbed uncontrollably.

The nurse stood irresolute, looking now at the kneeling figure by the bed (the scandalous exhibition!) and now (poor children!) at the twins who had stopped their hunting of the zipper and were staring from the other end of the ward, staring with all their eyes and nostrils at the shocking scene that was being enacted round Bed 20. Should she speak to him? try to bring him back to a sense of decency? remind him of where he was? of what fatal mischief he might do to these poor innocents? Undoing all their wholesome death-conditioning with this disgusting outcry–as though death were something terrible, as though any one mattered as much as all that! It might give them the most disastrous ideas about the subject, might upset them into reacting in the entirely wrong, the utterly anti-social way" (Huxley 211). 

In Chapters 13 through 14, John begins to open up about the things that he believes in, like marrying Lenina...etc. But when his mother dies he gets offended when those around him in that society don't understand. Being that John does has not been conditioned and grew up the reservation, he feels sadness, pain, and guilt. In this instance I think its best that John does feel because if he were like the others and just used soma to subside his feelings than he would never experience life. Also with Linda, she was on soma and did not even recognize her own son and she died without knowing. I think being individual in this society is crucial in order to fully experience the world and life.

Brave New World Chapter 12- conforming?

(Individuality is/ is not harmful)
" Bernard had to shout through the locked door; the Savage would not open.

"But everybody's there, waiting for you."

"Let them wait," came back the muffled voice through the door.

"But you know quite well, John" (how difficult it is to sound persuasive at the top of one's voice!) "I asked them on purpose to meet you."

"You ought to have asked me first whether I wanted to meet them."

"But you always came before, John."

"That's precisely why I don't want to come again."

"Just to please me," Bernard bellowingly wheedled. "Won't you come to please me?"

"No."

"Do you seriously mean it?"

"Yes."

Despairingly, "But what shall I do?" Bernard wailed.

"Go to hell!" bawled the exasperated voice from within" (Huxley 175).

 

For John, in Brave New World, he has become an instant celebrity which has also created Bernard to be one as well. When Bernard asks John to come out in front of the crowd, he refuses, which then angers Bernard. I think that it was the better option for John to not just do what Bernard asked him. John did not just conform to be what everybody expects or was asking for, this shows his individuality. In this instance I do not believe that it is harming society but Bernard and the citizens may feel it was harmful or wrong. 

Brave New World Chapter 11- A lonely one

(Individuality is/ is not harmful)
"The days passed. Success went fizzily to Bernard's head, and in the process completely reconciled him (as any good intoxicant should do) to a world which, up till then, he had found very unsatisfactory. In so far as it recognized him as important, the order of things was good. But, reconciled by his success, he yet refused to forego the privilege of criticizing this order. For the act of criticizing heightened his sense of importance, made him feel larger. Moreover, he did genuinely believe that there were things to criticize. (At the same time, he genuinely liked being a success and having all the girls he wanted.) Before those who now, for the sake of the Savage, paid their court to him, Bernard would parade a carping unorthodoxy. He was politely listened to. But behind his back people shook their heads. "That young man will come to a bad end," they said, prophesying the more confidently in that they themselves would in due course personally see to it that the end was bad. "He won't find another Savage to help him out a second time," they said. Meanwhile, however, there was the first Savage; they were polite. And because they were polite, Bernard felt positively gigantic–gigantic and at the same time light with elation, lighter than air" (Huxley 159).

In Chapter 11 of Brave New World Bernard is expressing his individuality more being that he feels a sense of safety and entitlement for being the "gaurdian" of John. He shows that he is more open to talking more openly about his intimate life. He decides to boast to Helmholtz and then feels offended when he does not praise him, which makes Bernard feel bad about himself. Being an individual and being respected for that is good and beneficial, it will most likely lead to success. However like when talking to Helmholtz, being like everybody else, talking openly about ones intimate life is not all that great or beneficial. Even though many people or a society may be talking about a certain thing in a specific way, it might not be a good thing; even though its a social norm. Its not individual.

Brave New World Chapter 9-10- The dismissal

(Individuality is/ is not harmful)
"I know. But that's all the more reason for severity. His intellectual eminence carries with it corresponding moral responsibilities. The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted. Consider the matter dispassionately, Mr. Foster, and you will see that no offence is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior. Murder kills only the individual–and, after all, what is an individual?" With a sweeping gesture he indicated the rows of microscopes, the test-tubes, the incubators. "We can make a new one with the greatest ease–as many as we like. Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself. Yes, at Society itself," he repeated. "Ah, but here he comes" (Huxley 149-150).







In chapters 9-10 of Brave New World, Bernard returns from the holiday from the reservation. He goes off to meet with the director, and he is already talking to Henry about Bernard's behavior and his dismissal to Iceland. The director says to Henry that the individual behavior of Bernard is negatively going to and is affecting society. He mentions that his behavior is threatening the stability of the New World,  being that Bernard does not act child like, but he is aware and is more mature than the majority. The director also mentions that sacrificing the life of Bernard is not going to affect the society in a big way. In this situation I think that Bernard's individuality is not harmful to a society because its not a good thing for adults to act "infant like", it should be that infants act like that and adults act as adults in order for a society to grow and be prosperous.