Upon finishing Brave New World I noticed there was a theme in the character's names. Or at least I believe there is one. Many names share uncanny resembelance to historical figures, mainly ones who played a big part in the changing of the world such as Marx and his founding of communism or Lenin who was the first to insitute a communist rule in Russia.
Brave New World first appeared in 1932 during the Interwar Years. This era of disillusionment, I believe, greatly influences the novel as Huxley confronts the realization of humanity's problems and discontent as well as the name of the characters in his novel. The name Lenina bears incredible resemblance to Lenin, there was a character named Trotsky, Bernard Marx, and Mustapha Mond which all relates to men during the time period. Is there any relation between the historical men and Huxley's characters? Do they bear similar roles in history as they do in the book?
Vectorbeam Doom
1 hour ago
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Wow Elizabeth, you make a good point. The name that caught my attention first, was Bernard Marx, and the first thought that crossed my mind was "Marx. Karl Marx, the father of communism."
You actually bring up a good point. It makes me wonder whether or not the characters' name has any relation to what the historical men did...
I will have to remember to keep that in mind.
I think there’s a theme in the character’s names as well. When I began reading BNW I first noticed that the characters Trotsky, Bernard Marx and Lenina were all very familiar and related to actually leaders in history Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, and Karl Marx. They were all a part of communism and its establishment in the Soviet Union. The Russian revolution occurred very close to the time Huxley wrote this book; therefore, I assume Huxley chose these characters names for a reason, or perhaps to symbolize something. All these people contributed to communism and their dreamed utopian society.
Another character that might resemble someone in history might be the character John, the protagonist. I believe that he might be similar to the biblical John, John the Baptist, because they both prepared the world for change. John the Baptist prepared the world for the coming of Jesus and the changes Jesus would bring. John, the protagonist prepared the world for pain, and a change in the status quo as shown towards the end of the book when the crowd was fascinated by the horror of pain.
I have finished the book, done some research, and found that Huxley’s characters in Brave New World do, in fact, relate to many great figures in history. I believe that many of the characters in the novel possess a similarity to the people from which their names are derived as Huxley wanted to demonstrate his ideas through their situations.
As stated previously, the novel first appeared during the interwar years, a time when socialism and dictatorship were key concepts. These types of governments believed that having complete power would help them create a perfect utopian society, such as the one pursued in the novel. Karl Marx (Bernard Marx) and Nikolai Lenin (Lenina) are two men who decided to pursue this concept. I believe that Huxley gave the characters similar names to demonstrate the failures of a totalitarian government. Many of the ideas which were thought by the government to be the key to success - technological advances, sexual promiscuity, and conformity - were actually the cause of their failure.
Throughout the novel, Huxley uses Bernard Marx, a young man who is “deformed by the government” (Huxley, ) to underline the idea that a Utopian Society cannot exist. This demonstrates Karl Marx’s failure in his attempt to create a perfect society. Despite the advanced technology allows the creation of human life, the entire society remains to be supervised by humans. No matter how “advanced” this technology may be, with humans at the helm, mistakes will certainly be made leading to the failure to create a Utopian Society. Bernard Marx is an example of human imperfection, not because he was referred to as deformed, but because the person who created him messed up during his creation. These technological developments weren’t advanced enough to create such a perfect society. Bernard was an example of this undesired reality. He was deemed an outcast due to his imperfection.
Lenina’s first name derives from Vladimir Lenin, who led the Russian Revolution of 1917 and became the first Soviet dictator. Huxley demonstrated, from what he saw in the 1930s, the convergence between capitalist and communist societies through the juxtaposition of the British tycoon’s name, “Crowne”, from which derived Lenina’s last name, and Lenin’s. The common link was consumerism, which would slowly lead capitalist and communist societies to become more and more alike. This materialism also played a large part in crushing traditional sexual morality and traditional families in its wake. The name “Lenina” is symbolic of all these developments.
Huxley also included, among his characters’ names, at least one name from each of the variety of different modernizing leaders: Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini (Benito Hoover); Turkish nationalist leader Mustapha Kemal (Mustapha Mond); and American president Herbert Hoover (Benito Hoover).
The following characters’ names are assumed to derive from those of historical figures (These names and additional ones can be found on Wikipedia under the subtitle “sources of names and references".).
•Polly Trotsky, a minor character. From Leon Trotsky, deputy under Lenin during the Russian Revolution.
•Darwin Bonaparte, from Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of the First French Empire, and Charles Darwin, author of Origin of the Species.
•Herbert Bakunin, from Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian philosopher and anarchist.
•Primo Mellon, a reporter. From Miguel Primo de Rivera, prime minister and dictator of Spain from 1923 until 1930. And from Thomas Mellon, banker.
•Sarojini Engels, reference to Friedrich Engels, co-author of The Communist Manifesto along with Karl Marx.
Caroline, I love this -- absolutely love it, but I must ask you to take an additional step. After you say, "I have finished the book, done some research..." and then go on to discuss the significance of the character names, please cite your research sources. It need not be formal in this setting. A simple "according to blahblahblah..." would do. And if there are any direct quotations in the body of your text -- it sounded as if there could be, but I don't know, I don't know your writing style well enough yet to know for sure -- those, of course, must be properly cited.
Wonderful work on taking the initiative and running this information down.
Or was your only source Wikipedia?
Thank you, Ms. Fletcher.
Actually, I acquired some of the information through an informal discussion with some peers in an SAT prep class. Should I cite this discussion as a research source?
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