This cover shows John at the bottom, Lenina Crowne in the
middle, and Mustapha Mond at the top as a looming background figure. I drew
John’s skin darker than Lenina’s because I imagined that he would be tan from
being outside more often than her. There’s also more sun in North America than
in London, where Lenina and the other “civilized people” live. I have John in a
crouching position. It is a bit primal, but that wasn’t the main point of
having him in that pose. It puts him lower. Society sees him as odd and
backwards. Although he is famous and receives many luxuries, he is still not
part of the society that worships him. Had he remained undiscovered, the
“civilized” would see him and his people as beneath them. The crouch is also
feral, in a sense. To me, it seems like a potential attack position. John’s
humanity and ability to feel unhappy is a focal point in the book. He is
different because he does not want to be in a constant state of delirium. He is
poised to strike. Out of the ordinary to the World State and yet entirely
natural. The very purpose John’s character is made to serve.
Above him is Lenina. Of course, the hierarchy does dictate
that she would be above him, but there’s more than that. John loves her. Is the
love superficial? Absolutely, but that doesn’t matter to John. His conservative
upbringing and romantic nature make him see Lenina as a higher being. He has
romanticized her. Anyone who knows Lenina’s character knows that she isn’t
particularly kind or caring. She’s quite stupid. John doesn’t see any of that.
He just sees a beautiful woman that he wants to marry. Lenina has her arms
outstretched toward the reader with her palms out. This position is supposed to
show her offering herself. Not only does she do this multiple times throughout
the book but, in my mind, she also represents this society attempting to sell
itself to John and the reader. She is elegant, happy, and sexual, the ideals of
this society, and sets her sights on John. She pursues him sexually and he
repeatedly rebuffs her, much to her confusion. Still, the pleasures of this
society attempt to seduce him through Lenina and he turns them both down.
Behind them both is a
large, intimidating Mustapha Mond. Mond, as he is in the book, is behind
everything. His position is literally titled “World Controller”. Though he is
one of ten, it’s easy to say that he is behind most of what happens in the
civilized world, which is why he behind Lenina more than John. His voice is
also the voice they use to indoctrinate children and subdue them as adults. He
controls the entire London system with his voice. This man is the puppet
master, and hopefully his position makes that obvious.
I wanted the background to be white. It took a lot of work to
make it pure white. If this is in the high-tech future, surely things would be
minimalist. White, clean lines, and a lack of clutter are the first things that
come to mind when thinking about the future. So I decided to make the
background as clean as possible.
Most book covers I’ve seen focus on the story rather than the
characters. The characters are so interesting to me, though. I felt like I had
to make the cover about them. The characters, to me, are the most important part
of the book. It’s not a good book without good characters, and the main
characters of this book are captivating.
