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The characters you’ll spend the most time with in Brave New World have one thing in common: They’re all rebels. Jenny has more on Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, Lenina Crowne, and John, the Savage, in this Recap.

Video Transcription:

Here’s a key point about Brave New World. This is a book about conformity and control. And yet the characters we spend the most time with are the ones who aren’t conforming at all.

Like I said, the cast of Brave New World is mainly a bunch of rebels.

Bernard Marx looks and feels different. He was genetically engineered to be an Alpha male (a member of the intellectual and physical upper class) but he’s a shrimp. This gives him an inferiority complex—and leads him to think about what it means to be an individual.

Helmholtz Watson looks ordinary, but he’s intellectually too advanced. He feels that his work as an Alpha lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering is meaningless, and he longs to produce real art instead.

Lenina Crowne is the most sought-after female in this book. She’s a complicated character because she’s a pretty well-programmed member of the World State. Still, even though she can only relate to others through sex, she also expresses some unorthodox views.

John, the Savage, is the only character who grows up entirely outside of the World State. At first, his experiences with religion and with the works of Shakespeare, seem promising because his background prompts him to question the society of Brave New World. Ultimately, though, his individuality turns out to be more of a prison than a freedom.