Brave New World was Huxley's way of tackling the subject of governmental control and collectivism. He was worried that people would lose their own identity, because without it, we become like the epsilons in the novel--mindless and slaves to a select few. John the Savage is one of the more important characters in the novel because he is an individual who remains so despite seeing both ways of existing. John refuses to lose his own identity and chooses death as his ultimate choice and his ultimate freedom. See, John realized that most of the people in the BNW were still slaves and controlled by soma or by their conditioning. They had no tangible identities because their identities were provided for them. the few people in the novel who have unique identities include John, Mustapha Mond, Bernard, etc.