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1. Introduction to Literature Final Midterm - Teacher: Virginia Frade - October 24​th​
, 2019
A MATTER OF SEX
A formal analytical essay about the role of sex in a perfect society.
Name and surname: Camilo Machado Vignoles
School: Instituto de Profesores Artigas
Group: 1°B
Date: July 25th, de 2019
Option 8: Analyze the role of sexuality in Brave New World.

2. Introduction to Literature - The Perfect Creature - 1°B - Camilo Machado Vignoles
As Anne Frank wrote on The Diary of a Young Girl: “But feelings can't be ignored,
no matter how unjust or ungrateful they seem.” By standing on this idea that feelings cannot
be ignored, it is difficult to think of a perfect society in which human emotions are hidden by
drugs and the permanent act of having sex with different people, generating a temporary
happiness feeling in a deeply controlled society. ​In ​Brave New World​, by Aldous Huxley, it is
shown that sex is an act of release, a form of entertainment that affects different characters
such as Lenina, John, and Linda in varied ways, resulting in diverse consequences for the
three of them.
There are many facts that show the reader how Lenina Crowie, one of the main
characters on this novel, who grew up in the World State, is a sexy, shallow proud Beta
woman wanted by many guys in her society, described by Huxley as a “pneumatic” person.
This word is used multiple times by the author, probably meaning that Lenina is busty, curvy
and all around sexy. However, this word could also mean that she has nothing in her brain,
having a vapid and dull life. In this way, it could be said that Lenina is the archetype woman
of this perfect society. But, when she offers sex to John the Savage and receives a negative
answer for the first time from him, her reaction portraits how much it affected her:
“Drying her eyes, Lenina walked across the roof to the lift. On her
way down to the twenty-seventh floor, she pulled out her soma bottle.
One gramme, she decided, would not be enough; hers had been more
than a one-gramme affliction. But if she took two grammes, she ran
the risk of not waking up in time tomorrow morning. She
compromised and, into her cupped left palm, shook out three
half-gramme tablets.” (page 114)
It can be seen by reading this extract that she feels utterly distressed and frustrated by John
leaving her without the act of having sex. Furthermore, it is shown how drugs play a very
important role in the sexuality of this character, as she is going to take soma whether having
sex or not, but in this specific case she takes three grammes of it. This shows her inability to
comprehend John’s alternate system of values, and, after his negative response, Lenina
retreats in fear. In spite of this, and conditioned to think of sex as recreational and
relationships as fluid and changing, Lenina does not recognize that her curiosity, attraction,
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3. Introduction to Literature - The Perfect Creature - 1°B - Camilo Machado Vignoles
and regard for John is, in fact, a serious infatuation that may become love, something that is
not accepted in this brave new society.
John the Savage is the only major character who grows up outside of the World State
and has spent his life alienated from his village on the Savage Reservation. Therefore, he
develops a very conservative way of dealing with sex. Also, Partly because he learned values
and standards by a Shakespeare’s book -so his main goal is to be loved, not to have sex like
everyone else in the State- and this is a disaster in this society, this is shown between Lenina
and him. Lenina is used to celebrate promiscuity in different ways such as religious
ceremonies, where they use sex to make people happy. As a result, a change in John’s
behaviour can be seen in chapter thirteen, as a consequence of many situations he has been
facing with Lenina through the story: “The Savage caught her by the wrists, tore her hands
from his shoulders, thrust her roughly away at arm’s length.”(page 130) And some lines after,
they have an argument where he insults her by calling her a whore. This and other issues
experienced by John in the World State result in a mental instability created by the conflict
between his values and the reality of the world around him. Conflict that ends with his
participation in the final orgy and his suicide at the end of the novel.
According to the novel, Linda is a thoroughly conventional World State woman
dropped unexpectedly in a very different society, the Savage Reservation. There, Linda faces
the challenge of understanding traditional morality, where having sex in the way she was
used to is not well-seen. As a result, filled with shame for having a baby and longing for her
home, she remains isolated, condemning her son John to a marginal existence as well: “ The
squalor of that little house on the outskirts of the pueblo! A space of dust and rubbish
separated it from the village.” (page 80) However, thanks to Bernard, she subsequently, after
years of struggle and shame on the Savage Reservation, Linda returns to the World State and
after having a dispute with the Director she throws herself into soma “holidays”, shortening
her life by her addiction, as seen in chapter fourteen: “She tried to raise herself in bed, but fell
back on to the pillows. Her face was horribly distorted, her lips blue.” (page 139). By
analyzing these two examples and its contexts, it can be seen how the early conditioning of a
promiscuous life depending on sex and drugs ends up making the life of this character lonely,
full of pain and reproaches. Hereafter, for the confused, angry woman, death comes as a
release, despite her terror.
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4. Introduction to Literature - The Perfect Creature - 1°B - Camilo Machado Vignoles
For this essay, the central topic is the role of sex affecting different characters such us
Lenina, John the Savage and Linda in varied ways, resulting in diverse consequences which
affect their lives, being soma and society values a related important issue. In Lenina’s case,
her life change after a negative response from John to have sex, who has a very different view
of sex and love, because of his upbringing. In consequence, she is terribly affected, taking
three half-gramme tablets of somma, and retreating in fear. On the contrary, John’s main goal
is to be loved, not to have sex like everyone else in the State. This two facts result in a
breakdown in their relationship which marks a change in John’s behaviour, ending with his
participation in the final orgy and his suicide at the end of the novel. Finally, Linda lives a
life of isolation, finishing her days lonely, confused and angry at the hospital because of a big
soma dose, which in the end is going to kill her. In Brave New World, people have sex purely
for physical pleasure rather than as an expression of emotional intimacy with another human
being, creating a strong narcotized pro-sex world that does not rely on human emotions.
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