Old Ritual in the Modern World

"Twelve yearning stanzas. And then the loving cup was passed a second time. 'I drink to the Greater Being' was now the formula. All drank. Tirelessly the music played. The drums beat. The crying and clashing of the harmonies were an obsession in the melted bowels. The second Solidarity Hymn was sung." -pg 81

The following are my previous assumptions about Bernard Marx: People put up with Bernard Marx because he is an Alpha-Plus. He is incredibly smart and does a very important job in the Hatcheries and manages conditioning for undecanted children. Otherwise, Bernard would be considered a majorly defected member of society. Since this is not the case, Bernard is tolerated and few spend time contemplating him or his motives. Beginning with Part 2 on page 78 of Brave New World, all these assumptions went out the window, and I am still unsure of what will replace them.

Bernard took part in a ritual with eleven others that was completed by sharing of drink, ballads, dancing, drum beating, and prayers to the "Greater Being". It sounds like a scene out of a Western on Indians. Although, the part about passing the cup of soma around (a drink I can only assume is a form of mild drug or alcohol that keeps people happy, but doesn't incapacitate them) reminded me a little of the Last Supper. This ritual was so out of place with every other scene or section of the book, that I thought it was a dream sequence at first. Yet, the ritual actually happened, and Bernard was a part of it. This defies all the things I thought I knew about him except for a few. The only traits that remain the same are the misgivings Bernard has about his society, and the lack of confidence he displays in crowded areas. Otherwise, my assumptions about characters merely tolerating Bernard seem false. In some strange way, he is important, even valued enough to take part in an earthy ritual that defies the strictly structured modernism of the socialist society of Brave New World.