Alienation In Brave New World Analysis

In her investigative essay entitled “Alienation in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World,” Josephine McQuail explores the recurring theme of alienation in Huxley’s dystopian classic, touching upon “psychological, sociological, sexual, biological, and even aesthetic” (McQuail 32) alienation for several major characters. She expresses her belief that Huxley’s main message in the novel, “only the alienated individual… can achieve true happiness” (McQuail 31), is flawed. While this claim has its merits, the four main characters of the novel, all iconoclasts in their society, meet some kind of unhappy end, invalidating Huxley’s message. However, all other people but the four main characters-- Bernard, Helmholtz, Mustapha, and John-- are incapable of any emotions besides those conditioned to them.
Additionally, McQuail cites Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud as inspirations for Huxley’s novel, pointing out juxtapositions of their philosophies within the novel. Instead of seeking to “[abolish] class differences… [to] abolish alienation” (McQuail 33) as Marx advocates, Huxley creates a strict caste system in which, eventually, there have to be alienated individuals to drive the story. Bernard Marx, marked by his name as the main proponent of this theory, struggles with looking like a member of an inferior caste, a severing trait that eventually leads to his exile. Bernard’s singularity attracts John to him, and John’s story follows Huxley’s second inspiration, Sigmund Freud. Freud suggests that “psychological conflicts are caused by the nuclear family and sexual repression” (McQuail 36). John, the only non-Native American in the world not decanted and conditioned, “embodies the alienation caused by Freudian complexes” (McQuail