Brave New World Quotes
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The words awoke a plaintive echo in Bernard's mind. Alone, alone… "So am I," he said, on a gush of confidingness. "Terribly alone."
"Are you?" John looked surprised. "I thought that in the Other Place.…I mean, Linda always said that nobody was ever alone there."
Bernard blushed uncomfortably. "You see," he said, mumbling and with averted eyes, "I'm rather different from most people, I suppose. If one happens to be decanted different…"
"Yes, that's just it." The young man nodded. "If one's different, one's bound to be lonely."
Context
This line was spoken by John the Savage in the novel Brave New World (1932), written by Aldous Huxley.
Bernard Marx might be from the "civilized" world, but he and John the Savage know one thing—being different isn't easy. Bernard is a little bit short for an Alpha male who's been genetically engineered in a lab, so he's not too thrilled with himself. John is a white guy who lives on a Native American reservation and just doesn't fit in either. When both men share their stories they realize the truth—it's pretty lonely when everyone else in the world seems unlike you. Wow, this is one problem mind-altering drugs from a dystopian world just won't fix.
Where you've heard it
Aww, anyone who breaks out this quote must be feeling pretty different and pretty lonely. Better give 'em a big ol' hug.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
You might seem a bit emo and just a little bit pretentious if you drop this quote at your next shindig.