"Yes, a little too able; they were right. A mental excess had produced in Helmholtz Watson effects very similar to those which, in Bernard Marx, were the result of a physical defect." pg. 67
I really enjoyed chapter four of Brave New World. Helmholtz Watson was introduced in part two of the chapter; he is Bernard Marx's opposite in every way. While Marx is too mentally developed, Watson is too physically developed. Although he can get any woman he wants and do any job in the least amount of time of anyone in his caste, he finds himself wanting more. He feels alone.
While Marx finds his problems with overdeveloped intelligence, the two find common ground in this lonesomeness. Though in different ways, they both feel exponentially different from their peers, and this is enough to bring them together. In this world where so many people are exactly the same, it's hard for someone who is different to find a person in whom to confide. But these two, in the fact that they are different, become the same. They are two of only a few different people in this modern society, and that gives them a special bond.
Their friendship provides a sort of comfort for the reader, knowing that even in a harsh world like this, friendship and understanding can exist.
you titled this entry situational irony...what exactly are you identifying as situationally ironic? Their friendship? Helmholtz's unhappiness in his seemingly perfect life?
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