Brave New World Chapters 7-10

Malpais: The Savage Reservation Uncivilized Gauge the imagined progress of the “civilized” world Age changes people Unchecked by chemicals and hormones Women give birth and nurse their young Natural process of decay produces sights and smells Appall Lenina Pains of birth and death exist Essential facts of human life “Civilization is Sterilization” Fordian London clean Birth and old age swept away entirely

Lenina and Linda Linda the woman Lenina might have been under different circumstances Linda’s unspeakable fate To become a mother and grow old A horror, and obscenity to a Fordian mind An object of blasphemy and revulsion Linda represents enormous power A power that Bernard will use later to regain his position

Theme Huxley’s careful description of the flagellation ritual Lenina finds the incessant drumming very familiar Like a lower caste community sing Her recognition draws attention to the underlying similarities between civilized and uncivilized worlds Music can suspend inhibition and drive people to unity and action People are still people Open and vulnerable to powerful suggestion Communities of all sorts use similar methods to enforce conformity and so promote stability

john Outsider born on the reservation Emerges as contrast to Bernard in rebellious thought Conflict will develop between John and the expectations of the “Other Place” From this chapter forward, John and his struggle become the focus of the novel

Chapter 8

John Genetic Fordian Raised in Malpais Represents potential combination of civilization and tradition Life has been lonely and heartbreaking John is the true individual Bernard sometimes longs to be Huxley makes it clear: Being truly individual means living in pain Suffers rejection and humiliation European appearance Mother’s promiscuity Banned from initiation into manhood An old volume of Shakespeare’s plays becomes his guide to life

Shakespeare vs. hypnopaedia John absorbs Shakespeare’s poetry through repetition Just as young sleepers in the dystopia absorb hypnopaedic wisdom In both cases Words form perception Shape behavior Inspire direct action John’s violent attack on Popé

Irony “O brave new world/That has such people in it.” The difference between John’s awe of the “Other Place” and the reader’s knowledge of the dystopia Hints at the disappointment that awaits John Gives coherent focus to Huxley’s satire The reality behind the fairy-tale “Other Place” his mother once described to him

John’s Own Experience with Conditioning Associates the reality of sex with: Absence of his mother Fear Humiliation Intense physical pain John displays strong, persistent aversion to sex Despite his longing for Lenina All people are vulnerable to powerful suggestion Civilized and uncivilized

Chapter 9

Bernard and John Presented in unexpected positions of power Allows reader to compare the two in similar circumstances Bernard is a shameless opportunist John reveals the complex, mixed feelings of his idealism

Bernard Beams with triumph Bringing John and Linda to London Revenging himself on the D.H.C. Making arrangements with masterly briskness and efficiency Patronizing tone and expectation of deference contrast sharply with his usual hesitancy Power already gone to his head Becomes an unbearable phony Destined ultimately for a great fall

John Visit to the soma induced sleep of Lenina Child-like wonder Explores her clothes and cosmetics Bathed in her scent Approach to the bed where Lenina lies contines mood of wonder and enchantment Speaking in Shakespeare’s poetry Looking on her with awe and longing A character in a fairy tale

John is not an ideal knight Chivalry or Repression? Expression of respect and poetic delicacy Early conditioning against sex A young man raised as an outsider in the harsh conditions of Malpais Haphazardly educated Linda, elders, Shakespeare Nothing in London or Malpais will ever be simple to such a complex, conflicted character

Chapter 10

The Fall of the D.H.C. D.H.C. plans to chastise Bernard publicly for his unorthodox behavior A necessity for social stability Hypocritical Really worried about Bernard revealing his unconventional feelings for Linda Dramatic introduction of middle-aged Linda and her son Brilliant counter-attack A public humiliation that undermines the D.H.C.’s moral authority Vision of pompous, hypocritical D.H.C. shocked into silent terror and revulsion Bernard will avoid punishment Improve social status

Linda and john Return home Does not meet high expectations Linda Appearance seems to be ultimate punishment for motherhood Aging, bloated, coarse Workers shrink from her in horror Never be accepted back into society of Fordian London John “My Father!” Met with laughter Young and handsome Conforms to Fordian expectations May be accepted as an exotic curiosity