| Term Paper Title | Wascally Wabbits And Silly Savages |
| # of Words | 698 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 2.79 |
Wascally Wabbits and Silly Savages
In order to understand the role and significance of the “Savage” in Brave New World, it is important to first understand what Huxley is comparing when he presents to his readers two future savage societies. On one end he presents a savage Indian reservation in New Mexico and on the other a savage Utopian society in London. Huxley is comparing the society from which we regress with the society to which we progress.
The New Mexican society characterizes the society from which most of us strive to regress. In Huxley’s New Mexico, he presents an ugly reality of primitive life. This life clearly lacks the “new world’s” stability, friendliness, and cleanliness. Lenina describes the Indian guide as “hostile, sullenly contemptuous” and “‘Besides,’ she lowered her voice, ‘he smells bad’”. The reservation is dirty, “the piles of rubbish, the dust, the dogs, the flies.” An old man shows what aging does to the human body when it isn’t protected by conditioning and chemicals; he is toothless, wrinkled, thin, and bent. Our society today participates in a constant pursuit to distance itself from these uncivilized characteristics.
On the other hand the London society is the extreme to which most of us strive to progress. Everyone in this Utopian society is happy, hygienic, and economically secure. There is little sickness and no old age, poverty, crime, or war. In today’s society, our idea of progression is to attain this perfection.
From Huxley’s point of view, the “savage”, John (who is really not savage at all) has monumental importance. John is the only one who can compare the two worlds, and it is through him that Huxley shows that his Utopia is a bad one.
The reason John is able to compare the two worlds is his knowledge and understanding of both. He grew up exposed to three cultures, the Indian culture, the Utopian culture through his mothers eyes, and the plays of Shakespeare.
The Indian culture rejected John. He was prohibited from marrying the Indian girl he loved and from being ini...Read entire document
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