"He was like a man pursued, but pursued by enemies he does not with to see, lest they should seem more hostile even than he had supposed, and he himself be made to feel guiltier and even more helplessly alone." - pg 63
Again, I am focusing on this increasingly suspicious Bernard Marx character. For one, I am curious about the reason for his name. The societal system in Huxley's novel is severely socialist and obviously communist. Since Karl Marx is a founding father of radical socialism, giving a character with a strong distaste his world's communist systems the same name as Marx was an odd move. From the start, his name set Bernard apart. Now, Bernard is even further separated from the flock by the simile above and the following passage.
Reading the simile above I immediately wondered whether it was very pointed foreshadowing. Although, if it was meant to suggest the future, Bernard may not be the rebel I was hoping for. Bernard seems more shy and lonely than resistant. He is compared to a frightened and scared man. He is running from his pursuers, not facing them. Later, another character, similar yet opposite of Bernard, is introduced. Helmholtz and Bernard were written to share "the knowledge that they were individuals". In a book where up ninety six twins can produced identically by the same mother, using the word 'individual' to apply to a character, or even two, is a huge surprise. The title of 'individual' given to Bernard can perhaps redeem him from his comparative cowardice in the simile.
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