John

• major character, grew up outside of the World State
• the son of the Director and Linda
• unable to fit into the New Mexico Savage Reservation society as well as the World State society
• his worldview is based on his knowledge of Shakespeare‘s plays
• his understanding of Shakespeare enables him to express his own complex emotions and reactions, it provides him with a framework from which to criticize World State values, and it provides him with language that allows him to take part in a profound conversation with the World Controller Mustapha Mond
• because he is rejected both by the Indian culture and the civilized World State culture, he is the ultimate outsider

Bernard Marx

• central figure in the novel until he visits the Reservation
• Alpha male, does not fit in due to his physical stature as well as his attitude towards sexual relationships, sports or community events
• he is insecure because he does not fit in and therefore, he criticizes the World State
• actually, he is frustrated because he does not fit into his own society, not because he systematically or philosophically criticizes it
• in a world where people are similar to one another, he is a character showing lovesickness, jealousy and anger directed to sexual rivals - which makes him human
• his character changes after he becomes popular due to his discovery of John the Savage
• Bernard is a critic whose deepest desire is to become what he criticizes

Helmholtz Watson

• Alpha lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering
• well liked and respected, comfortable in his caste
• prime example of his caste but feels that his life and work are meaningless
• friends with Bernard because they are both outsiders and discontent with the World State
• while Bernard merely complains about a system in which he does not really fit in, Helmholtz criticizes the World State on a more philosophical and intellectual level
• the conversations between Helmholtz and John illustrate that even the most reflective and intelligent World State member is defined by the culture in which he has been raised

Lenina Crowne

• normal and happy citizen of the World State, vaccination worker at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre
• object of desire for several major and minor characters (John, Bernard, Henry Foster, Benito Hoover)
• sometimes behaves abnormally (dates one man exclusively over several months, is attracted to Bernard, develops a passion for John)
• when she meets John, it is the first time in her life that she desires someone she can’t have
• she responds with making mistakes at work
• when Lenina tries to seduce John, he slaps her and calls her a whore
• her unstable and unpredictable emotions (stemming from sexual desire) and love threaten the stability of the World State

Mustapha Mond

• most powerful and intelligent supporter of the World State; Resident World Controller of Western Europe
• used to be an ambitious young scientist doing illegal research
• had to choose between exile and becoming a World Controller when his work was discovered
• chose to give up science
• has a secret collection of banned literature (Shakespeare and religious texts)
• thus, Mond is able to lay out the fundamental difference in values between World State society and the kind of society represented in Shakespeare’s plays
• paradoxical character

The Director

• administrates the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre
• powerful, can send people into exile when they misbehave
• also vulnerable because he is the father of John (scandalous in the World State)

Linda

• Beta World State citizen, John‘s mother
• got pregnant with the Director‘s baby when they visited the New Mexico Savage Reservation
• was lost in a storm, suffered a head injury and was then left behind
• Indian people found her and brought her to their village where she continued to live
• because she could not get an abortion at the Reservation, she felt shame in returning to the World State with a baby and thus decided to stay with the Indians
• in the Reservation, she lives as an outsider because of her promiscuity which the Indian people cannot tolerate
• when offered the chance to return, she takes it - back at the World State, she becomes addicted to soma

Henry Foster

• perfectly conventional Alpha male
• one of Lenina‘s lovers
• talks derogatory of Lenina‘s body

Fanny Crowne

• Lenina‘s best friend
• Fanny as the voice of the conventional values of her caste and the society in general