Eatonao Essay, Research Paper

“Brave New World”-Character Study of Linda

Linda is one of the most interesting and complex characters in the novel. Can you imagine what it would be like to be removed from your home and family and placed in a totally unfamiliar environment? How would it feel to be ridiculed, abused, degraded, and tormented relentlessly? Well, that is exactly what happened to Linda in Aldous Huxley’s novel, “Brave New World.”

Linda was obese, blonde, and unkept. Due to neglect and abuse , she was missing

her two front teeth and her skin was severely wrinkled. Because of her love of alcohol she had blood shot eyes and red veins on her nose. Her ” expansive” wardrobe consisted of one filthy and ragged brown-sack shaped tunic. Linda was a victim of circumstances. She was at one time very beautiful and desirable. In fact, she was so desirable that she was asked to visit the reservation with the Director Tomakin. This was a great honor for Linda, since very few people were considered worthy or fortunate to visit the reservation. While Linda and Tomakin were on their trip they became separated. Tomakin and others searched in vain for Linda. They abandoned the search assuming Linda had met her demise and returned to the Brave New World. In reality, Linda was very much alive, well, and pregnant.

Linda gave birth to Tomakin’s love child , whom she named John. Linda was overwhelmed and devastated by this blessed event. She could not imagine something so horrible and at the same time so wonderful happening to her. It is true that Linda was not a good mother. This is understandable, given her “conditioning”. She was a citizen of the “civilized” world. She was one of the upper caste- a Beta. She worked in the Fertilizing Room with the embryos. She was a valued citizen because she faithfully did the Malthusian Drill, took her soma regularly, “well conditioned”, and fastidious. After all, “cleanliness is next to fordliness.” All that changed the day she was lost at the reservation. Nonetheless, John was one of her few “comforts.” Linda had quite a few other comforts, such as the other Indian wives’ husbands, Pope, Peyotl, and of course, Mescal.

Despite the fact that Linda was an alcoholic, she sincerely attempted to be “motherly.” She taught John how to read. She provided him with food, no matter how small the amount. Most importantly she taught him how to dream. She always talked of the Brave New World and all of its wonders. She gave him the hope that things would not always be as bad as they seemed. That there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Though Linda had many faults, it is easy to see she was an example of what could happen if one tried to adapt the “civilized” world’s values and customs in a “real-world” environment. People need freedom and the ability to make their choices. And be responsible for their actions. As they say “You can give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”