"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 behaviour. Murder kills only the individual- and after all, what is an individual?" (137).
In a Brave New World, the ability to mass-produce is everything. The goal is to create as many identical humans so that they work identically...so that they become identical machines. Mass production and the creation of thousands of identical twins has pushed the definition of individuality into nonexistence. In this passage of the book, the Director is publicly humiliating Bernard Marx because of his lack of normality. He does not enjoy sports, soma, copious amounts of sex, the teachings of Ford and he spends too much time by himself. These qualities are unusual to everybody else and therefore he is different. Individuality is unheard of in this New World and Bernard, being an individual, has become useless and even a nuisance to their culture.
I believe that this New World has lost one of the most important values needed in order to have a strong community. They have lost a sense of appreciation for uniqueness and therefore do not care about the lives of others. They want to send Bernard away from everything he's used to- just so that others are more comfortable and spared from his influence.
Question: Can a future without individuality get by forever or will there be a point where too many people have "hiccups" in their births and people must come to accept them as they are, flaws and all?
Madelyn Moon
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