Curiosity Killed the Cat

“That’s to say, he’s being sent to a place where he’ll meet the most interesting set of men and women to be found anywhere in the world.  All the people who, for one reason or another, have got too self-consciously individual to fit into community-life.” Brave New World (p. 227)

A typical phrase in our society today is “curiosity killed the cat.”  Usually, this is said jokingly, but in the New World, curiosity will land you on a far away island.

So watch out.

Curiosity and a yearning for clear morals is the tragic flaw or hubris that John suffers in the novel.  His want to cure the people of soma and their slave-like life ultimately leads to his fall.  Granted, his punishment for his flaw will probably lead to a happier life, however, he is still banished from the New World, a place where he held high expectations for greatness. 

Huxley gives John a tragic flaw in order for him to discover more about himself and the world.  He learns that the world will never be a perfect place, and that happiness is only discovered through the individual. 

If the all the curious and independently thinking people are sent to islands, what happens when only a few people are left in the New World?  Eventually, everyone is going to figure out the secret of mass production of happiness leaving no room for self discovery, relationships, or high art.  What happens to England then?  I feel like John, Bernard, and Helmholtz may have started a type of revolution in the hearts and minds of the clones.  Each person is an individual, and when this is discovered, mass chaos may break out in this “perfect euphoria.”