It's Us against the World: external conflict between Helmholtz and Society

"Not quite. I'm thinking of a queer feeling I sometimes get, a feeling that I've got something important to say and the power to say it- only I don't know what it is, and I can't make any use of the power. If there was some different way of writing. . . Or else something else to write about . . ." Helmholtz Pg 69
"He's being sent to an island. 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. All the people who aren't satisfied with orthodoxy, who've got independent ideas of their own. Every one, in a word, who's any one/ I almost envy you, Mr. Watson." Mustapha Mond Pg 227
If there is one thing that is strictly prohibited in this new world its independent thought. They take every precaution to ensure that no person thinks for themselves which includes making them not smart enough to do so when they are decanted. However, there are some cases when certain alphas do become a little too smart for their own good and become a problem. That is exactly the case for Helmholtz Watson. He is one of the head Emotional Engineering professors who is deeply conflicted by the feeling that there is something more to the world than just what they're allowed to see. He wishes to write about something important but in this society there is nothing of importance to write about. Then when John enters the picture he finally has the breakthrough he's been grasping for and acts out by throwing out the soma tablets. When he is apprehended with John Mustapha Mond informs him that he will be moved to an island where he can't create an uprising or pose a threat to the community. Mond even admits to Helmholtz that he repsects his spirit but must be against it for the sake of the law. This conflict represents the fight between control and freedom. Mustapha Mond plays the role of dictator and uniformity. Helmholtz represents freedom and independence. Huxley creates this tension to underscore the purpose of the whole novel. He wants to indicate what the cost of stability is and vice versa the cost and worth of freedom. Is it worth being completely cut off from civilization if it means personal freedom and thought? Or is it better to conform and dumb yourself down in order to maintain a normal life? Both Helmholtz and Mond made their choice. Huxley is asking his readers to do the same.