More than most novels, Huxley uses historically
significant names to give the flavor of the personality of the characters in Brave New
World. Let's take a look at some of the main characters and see why they were probably
given the names that they were. Remember that none of this is for sure, since we cannot
ask Mr. Huxley, however the following explanations seem
plausible.
Lenina Crowne may be a form of the communist
leader Lenin, and we all know that communism promotes conformity of the people. John
Crowne was a dramtist who specialized in romantic love. Lenina starts as a conformist
and ends up falling in love with
John.
John may be taken from the
biblical John the Baptist, who was a prophet who fortold the coming of a new age (much
as John revealed the flaws in the Brave New World). Savage was a last name given him
because he lived among the savages.
Bernard Marx's
name may come from George Bernard Shaw who believed in socialism and women's rights (
Bernard disliked women being treated like meat). His last name may come from Karl Marx
(the founder of communism) who believed the lower classes would someday overthrow the
oppresive ruling class.
Mustafa Mond may come from many
leaders from the East who were named Mustafa, and Mond (which translates "world" from
the French). The fictional Mustafa's last name, Mond, means "world" in
French.
Helmholtz Watson may be a combination of a famous
physcist and scientist who conducted experiments similar to the baby roses and books one
in Brave New World.
See the link provided for a more
comprehensive list.
No comments:
Post a Comment