BNW Comparison Essay; Brave New World vs. Fahrenheit 451: Curiosity Killed the Cat

The ability to fit into a society without a hitch is not a talent that many possess. Strict moral codes and rules of conduct are often characteristics of dystopias. These restrictions can chafe and irritate people, which in turn makes them question the source of their irritation. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both feature main characters who were ostracized because of their curiosity and determination to change society. The change from an ordinary citizen to a not-so-typical person is one that influences the course of the novel by changing the main character.

John, no last name, is the well-read protagonist of Brave New World. Raised on a Native American reservation, he holds a strange mix of ideas.  Worshipping both God, in the Christian sense, and other gods, such as Pookang, from various cultures, he is able to balance many ideas without conflict. Since he was young, John has been exposed to a multicultural society. This background was strengthened when he was exposed to Shakespeare, a writer who influenced him dramatically.

His home life was never great. A drunk for a mother and no friends to speak of, you can safely say that he was alone from the beginning. Unfortunately for John, his fair skin color, blue eyes, and worthless whorish mother set him apart from the first society he was placed in. John’s curiosity guided his education. With the literature he found a friend and a teacher wrapped into one.

John, or Mr. Savage to the second dystopian civilization he ended up in, was unique in the second society he visited. The place where he was raised was considered strange, barbaric, and yet funny by the brainwashed citizens of the second society. This place believed that too much knowledge was bad, and everyone would be happier if they only knew, and were exposed to, that individuality was a bad thing. This had been engrained by their culture since they were in test-tubes as babies.

This fear of individuality led to dread at the prospect of one person causing change or going against the grain. John challenged the ideas by telling people different ways to think about a subject. For example, he chose to talk about Shakespeare’s thoughts on nobility. This contrasts directly with the society’s idea the promiscuous behavior was the best course of action. He ended up paying dearly for his opposition. The people drove him into despair because they didn’t want to fix themselves or change according to his beliefs. Harshly crushing his hope for an alteration in that culture, he hanged himself, ending the novel with no hope for possible transformation of the society.

Guy Montag is the main character and protagonist of Fahrenheit 451. He led a fairly normal life with a wife, house, and job, until meeting a girls who makes him question the life he has been leading. This story also features literature as an important aspect, a guiding and character-changing force. Inquiries about the past and statements about why life is the way it is pepper their conversations. They get on the topic of books, which she encourages him to read. This goes contrary to what Montag does for a living, which is burning any books found in his city. As he starts to question, the people around him grow more distant and hostile. Guy forces his wife, Mildred, and her friends to listen to a poem. Done in an attempt to open their eyes to literature, this backfires and none of the women even care or listen, let alone comprehend. His wife turns him into the police for possession of books and his boss investigates him. He looses everything and it makes him realize that anything worth this much trouble is extraordinary.

In the end he escapes from the controlling society to a type of literary commune. All the people live together and each has a book memorized in case the opportunity arises for them to reintroduce the idea of history, books, and education back into their original society.

The two protagonists have very different backgrounds, but are united in the fact that questions refashions their lives and novels. The strength of the characters is shown by their attempt to change their society and lives. Guy shows other characters a poem and tries to talk to them about it. John tries to throw out a pill that brings so much satisfaction that it prevents them from wanting anything else.

The protagonist is the character the book follows. If the main character alters his or her ideas or actions, this will lead to a change in the plot of the book. A very common force that creates change is curiosity, which leads to questions. Questions are a base for discomfort, if one does not know the answer.

BNW Summary/Response

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley can be classified into three broad parts: the exposition with the inciting event, rising action coupled with the climax, and the falling action with the resolution.

The first part consists of the author introducing us to a futuristic society. This dystopia’s thinking is backward compared to our society. Birth, family, and uniqueness are considered hindrances and even disgusting. People are put into castes before birth. Some are choked with alcohol to stunt their growth, all are forced to listen to messages filled with government messages. They are brainwashed in their sleep from before birth. No one is actually born anymore, they are all test tube babies. This is all over seen by World Controllers, one of which is Mustapha Mond who controls Western Europe.

We meet Lenina Crowne, a normal Alpha woman, who is promiscuous, blonde, and brainless. Another main character, Bernard Marx, is also introduced to us. He has been an outcast in their society because of his physical appearance and his anti-social tendencies. Although he is ostracized, Lenina believes him to be a good person and accepts his offer of a weekend on a mysterious savage reservation.

The second part starts off with the inciting event. The savage reservation is a Native American reservation. Lenina and Bernard meet John on the reservation after witnessing a brutal ceremony. Remarkably John and his mother Linda are both white, despite living on a savage reservation. Bernard connects two and two then sees how this middle-aged lady was the woman his egotistical boss left here many years ago. Bernard makes arrangements with Mustapha Mond and they travel back to London with Linda and John in tow.

The handsome young white-savage made a splash on the London social scene. Lenina and Bernard find themselves popular through association. She is interested in the savage, and he in her, but John subscribes to the old ways of Shakespeare and nobility. Lenina is put off by his reluctance to even touch her or look to closely. Meanwhile, Bernard is becoming an arrogant jerk with the attention showered upon him for knowing the savage. He ignores and belittles his only real friend, Helmholtz Watson. Watson is a fellow outcast because of his intelligence and extreme good looks. His personal wish is to write something meaningful; Watson feels that the stories, movies, and brainwashing phrases he composes are silly and not worth it.

The climax is a dramatic scene in which John, with his history of no brainwashing, tries to get rid of soma, a drug which causes feelings of euphoria and encourages mindlessness. He is aided by Helmholtz Watson while Bernard stands around being a coward. The riot they cause is soon subdued by the police and Mustapha assigns them their punishments.

The last third of the book entails John running away from civilization to live as a hermit. He is discovered by reporters and bugged until John can’t take it anymore and breaks down, whipping Lenina and going crazy. The resolution is that he decides he cannot live with his actions and hangs himself from the rafters of the lighthouse.

My favorite scene was the celebration right before John met Lenina and Bernard. The snakes and the ceremony are very interesting because it is a subtle mockery of both cultures ceremonies. The least enjoyable part in the book was any part featuring Lenina as a focus. I did not enjoy Lenina because she was whiny, stupid, and very thoroughly brainwashed. Both Bernard and John were obsessed with her at one point. Although physically pretty, she has no intelligence or creativity worth mentioning.

Overall this book is good for people who understand what an allusion is and how to identify it, but are not quite able to recognize indirect references. There are a ton of easy allusions to pick up on, perfect for someone not quite ready to pick up on the more difficult literary elements. The themes are also easy to identify and are strongly represented throughout the story. An example of this is the idea that a question causes disruption, as illustrated by John questioning the laws put forth by the World Controllers. Repeated ideas allow for readers to pick up on them and explore those concepts, with backing from the story. I would recommend this book to average students around the 10^th or 9^th grade level in English.

BNW Journal Ch. 18

Ch. 18

Summary:

            Helmholtz and Marx say goodbye to John and go to their island. Before they leave, Bernard apologizes to John; they make amends. and that is the last of them we see. John swears to both of them he will not be used as an experiment any longer. He planed to run away and be a hermit.

            The place he chose to live was a lighthouse, with comfortable furnishings and a marvelous view. To punish himself for choosing the best one he would voluntarily crucify himself by holding his arms out and pray for hours on his knees. The reason for all the dramatics is he feels he is not worthy to be in the sight of god and escape the filth civilization had brought upon his soul. This lighthouse was near a small village named Puttenham, some woods, and the beach.

            John planned to live off the land with only basic start-ups such as seeds, blankets, rope, and nails. He would garden and hunt to sustain himself. As he was making a bow to use in hunting, he realized that he was happily singing. This was unacceptable and not what he had become a hermit for.

            The same day three Delta Minuses saw John whipping himself for some sort of punishment. They told a reporter who was intrigued and went to interview John.

After asking John a few questions, which he did not answer, the reporter was literally kicked away from John’s new home. More reporters came, but after a couple bouts of violence, they stayed away for a while. A reporter named Bonaparte staked out the lighthouse for seventy-two hours placing cameras and microphones all around to capture a moment of the Savage’s day. He was rewarded when the Savage whipped himself.

            Hundreds of people came to view him, egging him to whip himself. “We want the whip!” they chanted.

            In the midst of this John saw Lenina stepping out off a helicopter and his fury boiled to the top. The audience wanted the whip and they got it. He whipped Lenina, himself and started chanting/throwing out words. Soon the audience mimed whipping themselves as well because they were trained to go along with everything the group did. Then someone shouted orgy-porgy and it became just that.

            The next day when John woke up he realized just what had transpired the day before and was ashamed. He hung himself because he saw it to be a fitting punishment.

Lit Elements:

            The strongest metaphor and symbol in this chapter was the very last paragraph of the book. It compares John’s hanging body to compass needles. This is a metaphor for obvious reasons, but it holds a lot of meaning symbolically. Compasses are used to locate something, John was looking for a way to exist in such a cruel world. The existence had to allow him to feel adequate in life. It reinforces the outcast idea; he was forced to wander away from his home and never found a place. Even in his original home he was considered strange and did not really have friends.

Vocabulary:

Coccyx –noun- a small, triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans (tail bone)

Panglandular - help

Turpitude -noun- depravity

BNW Journal Ch. 17

Ch. 17

Summary:

            In this chapter Mond and John argue about the need for pain and religion. Religion, Mond argues, is not necessary because there is no need to be freed.  Freedom is hate, anger, sadness, and the ability to truly feel and experience a range of emotions, instead of happiness. John wants this because he wants the difference; he believes this makes life interesting. Mond argues there is no need for interesting because comfort is worth more than interesting events. Neither of them really get anywhere in their arguing or come to a compromise about life and the best thing for people.

This chapter focuses on what is needed for stability.  John argues the self can create a stable, but interesting life. Mond says that outside influences are completely in control of wants, likes, and morals. We are able to better understand both men through their arguments and opinions.

Lit. Elements:

            On page 231 Mustapha mentions a number of philosophers and various allusions. The one that stuck out to me was Maine de Biran. He was a French philosopher of the, late, 1700s and 1800s. His opinions and theories developed over the course of his life. Ideas drawn from the French revolution and other world events influenced his works. However, for most of his life he believed that the self and our own personal thoughts were the most important. Mond mentions his name in trying to refute John. This makes sense because John’s ideas are similar to some of de Biran’s.

Vocabulary:

Adrenals –noun- a pair of ductless glands situated above the kidneys

BNW Journal Ch. 16

Ch. 16

Summary:

            This chapter focuses on what Bernard and Watson’s fates will be after consorting with John. Mustapha tells them how he was once a type of revolutionary. A scientist who wanted to continue his studies, but was apprehended by the authorities for going too far in science/being too smart. He was given the choice or either being a World Controller or being exiled to an island. Mond chose to be a Controller, but hints he is not completely satisfied because he works for others and is not fulfilling what he wants to do.

            He tells both Bernard and Watson that they will be going to an island with other great thinkers. After Bernard has a breakdown and is lead away to be sedated, Mond even gives Watson a choice as to what type of place he wishes to go. Helmholtz replies that he thinks a rough weather place would be his choice because it would inspire him. We get the feeling Mond likes Watson because he is not mean and even opens up to him to an extent.

            After this chapter, all the main/important characters, minus John and Lenina, fates are tied up. Loose ends are being woven in and the story is closing. However, I get the feeling there needs to be some sort of final act because John is so full of character, energy, and uniqueness, a quiet ending would not make sense structurally.

Lit. Elements:

            On page 222 a gyroscope is used in a metaphor as a symbol. The gyroscope is a wheel or disk mounted on something so that it can spin. The gyroscope is representing the idea that we need a base to be able to perform the impossible. SO therefore, all events and ideas are inspired or based on something else. No matter how free or unique something might appear to be, it is truly rooted or connected with another thing. This idea is repeated by Mond because he is saying how stability is needed for progress. Stability allows progress to happen, but safely.

Vocabulary:

Chary -adj- cautious; wary

Gyroscope -n- a device consisting of a wheel or disk mounted so that it can spin rapidly about an axis that is itself free to alter in direction

Abject -adj- extremely bad, degrading, unpleasant

BNW Journal Ch. 15

Ch. 15

Summary:

            The soma distribution lab is where John ends up after wandering out of the ward where Linda died. In shock and unable to process much, all he sees are two faces. The Deltas are women with orange hair and freckles or men with dark hair and eyes. He shoves through them mindlessly and there is a great grumbling. However, they quickly forget about the Savage when the soma comes out. They line up to get their daily rations when bam the Savage interrupts.

            John has been thinking about how evil soma is, using addiction to force compliance and weakness. He goes to the front of the line and announces his thoughts on soma and how he was going to save them by throwing it away. This makes the Deltas angry. Meanwhile, the distributer was phoning someone to deal with the savage.

            Bernard and Helmholtz were waiting for John, to go to dinner, when they received a call. The unknown person on the other end informed them of John’s “crazy” behavior. They arrive at the distribution center and find John ranting maniacally about manhood and freedom. He throws soma tablets out the window and that is when things turned ugly.

            Among the Deltas a large roar went up and the crowd surged angrily forward. It is now a melee, with John punching angry Deltas and throwing soma out the window. Helmholtz, before standing in the back with Bernard, laughs and joins John. Back to back they fight the furious Deltas who are now more like animals than humans.

            Bernard is still on the fringes and cannot decide whether or not to join the two on stage. He is not brave and fears the consequences, but feels like a coward for standing back. When the police arrive, he ran over to them saying, “Help, oh help!”, and generally being a nuisance.

            The men in blue spray the crowd with soma vapor and play a message of love and happiness. Pretty soon, everyone is hugging, saying sorry, and leaving peacefully. The police ask John and Helmholtz to come quietly and catch Bernard trying to weasel away from the scene.

            The fight scene in this chapter was the climax of the book. In the end we see how Helmholtz is more revolutionary than Bernard, not something I expected at the beginning.

Lit Elements:

            The biggest symbol of the chapter was, once again, based on the similarity. This time the author describes them as animal, unintelligent and vicious. All of the faces were reflecting the same idea. The reflection symbolizes the unity of opinions in this dystopia. This idea of unity is visible throughout the book, as unity often means strength, and the society is strong.

Vocabulary:

Dolychocephalic –adj- long headed

Vestibule –noun- an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building

Derision –noun- contemptuous ridicule or mockery

BNW Journal Ch. 14

Ch. 14

Summary:

            The Savage arrives at the Park Lane Hospital for the Dying and quickly locates a nurse to help him find Linda’s room. John is brisk with nurse, offending her feelings by not stopping or wanting to chat with her.

Linda is dying in company, nineteen other people are in the room, all plugged into 24/7 TVs. Her pleasant-smelling room is becoming more than a simple room in her soma holiday. It is a wondrously happy place that she enjoys. John goes to her and sits by her softly calling her name. He looks at her bloated face and remembers a younger version that stood over him in Malpais during his childhood telling stories about the beautiful other place (civilized society). Linda vaguely recognize John through her drugged haze.

This peaceful but sad moment is interrupted by a swarm of khaki-clad twins. “How ugly!”, “How fat!”, these were two of many cruel phrases uttered by the mass of twins. They had never seen an old (or even middle aged) person before and were curious in a morbid way. John is enraged and picks one up, making it yell, bringing the nurse. The nurse tells him to knock it off, they were being death conditioned, an vital part of their lives. John orders her in no uncertain terms to make them leave.

Once alone with Linda again, all he can think of are bad memories, not good ones like before. To compound his bad mood, Linda starts mumbling about Pope’ and how she thinks John is Pope’ in her haze. He shakes her angrily and says that he is JOHN, her son. She starts to reply, but chokes and suffocates, ending her life.

Kneeling by her bed, John is a bad example for the group of twins still in the ward. The nurse is frustrated and asks him to behave, else the children might be put back in their death conditioning. She distracts the group with a who wants chocolate question.

After a few minutes a few twins come back and ask John repeatedly, “Is she dead?”

He just walks out of the hospital, after pushing one down for good measure.

This chapter marks the end of Linda, major character. Although the book has not reached the climax, it is coming soon. Important characters are dying, so it will have large consequences, bringing about a climax.

Lit Elements:

            Huxley used the group of twins as a symbol. Twins represent mysticism and communication in many cultures. This is ironic because they are compared to maggots, which are distinctly not mystical. So many replicas of one person create a monster of sorts. A seething mass of destruction. It also represents how society looses the importance or interesting part of a person by replication.

Vocabulary:

None

BNW Journal Ch. 13

Ch. 13

Summary:

            Love is bittersweet for both Lenina and John. Lenina says that she likes him and John replies with complicated metaphors that the rather unintelligent Lenina doesn’t understand. She becomes frustrated by how complicated John was making everything. Her cure to this was to strip and just go for it. Instead of wholeheartedly joining her, John cowers in the corner. When Lenina tries to comfort him, he starts shouting curses and threatening violence against her. She runs into the bathroom.

A few minutes later she beings to ask for her clothes to be passed through a vent.

            Listening at the restroom door, Lenina hears the telephone ring and John have a brief, but urgent, talk with the caller. From John’s conversation, we can tell his mother was getting worse. He ran out of the apartment leaving Lenina to escape shortly after.
             We get the feeling this is the “make or break” scene of John and Linda’s relationship. It felt like the climax of their interactions with each other. It was officially a bust, so I doubt there will be another romantic scene or focus on their relationship.

Lit Elements:

            The clothing Lenina wears is a symbol of two things. The pure white is a reflection of John’s belief that purity equals virginity, which equals love. The sailor suit is a nod to how Lenina is a model citizen of the world. She is serving society by doing as she was taught and seducing John. Irony is thrown into the mixture because a soldier of any sort is not usually pure. Wars, including love, are not pure and always good. Crimes are committed and people act horrendously when fighting. All of this mixed together shows just how impossible it would be for John and Lenina to be together.

Vocabulary:

Lupus –noun- any of various ulcerous skin

Sententiously –adj – given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner

Stereoscopic –adj- two photographs of the same object taken at slightly different angles are viewed together, creating an impression of depth and solidity.

Abstemious –adj- not self-indulgent

BNW Journal Ch. 12

Ch. 12

Summary:

            Bernard invited a lot of people to a party. The highlight, and only reason people showed up, was The Savage and the Arch-Community Songster of Canterbury were going to be in attendance. Both men were very important and popular people. However, when he goes to get John, we find that John has locked himself in his room and refuses to come out and mingle. This upsets the guests and they begin to gossip about how ugly and dull Bernard is, right in front of the man! Lenina had arrived hell bent on telling John she liked him, but when he decided not to show up, she believed it was solely because of his dislike for Lenina. Meanwhile Mustapha Mond is reading a paper and comments on how regretfully brilliant it is. The paper is so masterful and intriguing it is considered dangerous, as it could lead people to questions. He decides that it will not be published and the smart author will need to be watched.

Then the guests all leave and Bernard weeps and takes four tablets of soma. Bernard is woken up by John who tells him something that he does not appreciate hearing. John would rather be unhappy than posses a false, misguided happiness. Bernard retorts that it is all John’s fault, when in reality even he knows it is not. However, Bernard needs someone to bully and John was an easy target. Storming off, Bernard decides to visit Helmholtz Watson.

Watson accepts Bernard’s presence as if nothing had ever been done to raise his ire. Bernard is grateful and jealous that Watson is so unequivocally generous. Regardless, he tells Helmholtz all of his current woes. Later, he learns of Helmholtz’s run in with Authority over his poems about being alone.

Bernard introduces Helmholtz and John who become fast friends. Reading poetry and discussing it become a happy time for both. However, there is one dark cloud on the horizon. Bernard is so unhappy that John and Helmholtz bond so quickly that he creates misery for them. By interrupting their reading or stupidly commenting on some verse, he becomes a nuisance, though both try and ignore him.

            It is Helmholtz that creates the biggest discord among them though. He laughs at the idea of the importance of a mother and father. This shows he is still a part of society and not quite ready to break off. Helmholtz says he needs something different to gain inspiration.

Lit Elements:

            In the very first sentence and paragraphs we come to the symbol that partially holds the idea behind this chapter. The locked door is a symbol for the disconnectedness both Bernard and John feel. John feels as if no one understands him or his reasoning, which is true. Bernard is a social outcast and cannot communicate with anyone because of his different ideas and the yearning to be accepted. He tries to force his way into popularity with John, but that fails because underneath he is the same person. Both characters are starting to realize the bad implications of coming to society. John’s mom has rediscovered soma and Bernard has gotten a taste of the forbidden fruit and enjoyed it.

Vocabulary:

Defunctive -adj- no longer existing or functioning

BNW Journal Ch. 11

Ch. 11

Summary:

The Savage, as John is now called by not main characters, is immensely popular. Society magazines and Upper-Caste people all gossiped about him. However, while John is young and beautiful, a romantic figure in the eyes of London, his mother is not so well accepted. Linda is a hideous introduction to old age, not even born on the savage reservation thus she is ignored by society. Linda does not mind because Soma is now her permanent companion. Larger and larger doses are given by the doctor, on her request. This will kill her, but the doctor convince John it is alright because every Soma tablet is an eternity for her. This resonates within John’s mind and convinces him it is alright for her to slowly kill herself while being happy.

Bernard is feeling the empowering effects of his charge’s popularity. He is popular, as he is the one to bring this curiosity to society. A leech living off another person, Bernard has only his interest in mind. He sleeps with many women and boasts of his sexual prowess to Helmholtz Watson. Watson, however, lacks any interest and expresses it clearly through his behavior. Bernard is angered and claims he will never speak to Watson again.

Bernard writes to Mustapha Mond, heady with self-importance. His letter is pompous, but observant, and overall angers Mond, who concocts a plan to teach the arrogant snot a lesson. In this letter Marx mentions John’s refusal of soma and how that is unnatural and only serves to show how backwards John is.

Bernard, with John in tow, venture to Eton, a school for upper-caste boys and girls. As the tour is conducted, Bernard and the Head Master make plans for a date that very night. John is bewildered by everything, but especially the reaction to video of his people whipping themselves in front of their religious idol by the students. They laugh and hoot, finding it hysterical.

In the next scene we find Lenina telling Fanny how she is going on a date/ watching John, while Bernard is away. They go to see a feely, a movie with sound, smell, and touch, Lenina finds it marvelous. John thinks the movie stupid and pointless. They  part ways at her door, despite her wanting John to come in.

Lit Elements:

             The movie that Lenina goes to with John is a foreshadow of what is to come. It is hinted that she will be hurt by John, but because she is so brainless it will not effect her in the least. John will be the one with a bunch of heavy emotions, reasons, and justifications. They are the “lovers” and main characters of this series, and as this book is essentially a tragedy, they will either die or remain apart.

Vocabulary:

Masticating –vb - chew

BNW Journal Ch. 10

Ch. 10

Summary:

            In chapter ten we are back to society. In the Center of development of embryos babies were being decanted. Henry and the DHC were talking about how good it is to be similar. Differences lead only to ruin according to them. Here enters Bernard, a perfect example of individuality. His differences caused the DHC to be angered as it could disrupt the marvelous image of his center, which reflects on him. The DHC tells Bernard why he is being terminated and asks Bernard if he can argue for any reason to keep him. Bernard comes up with a doozie.

            He beckons Linda and John come in from their hiding place right around the corner. Linda, who is middle-aged, flabby, grotesque in the extreme to poor Tomakin, or Thomas the DHC. She runs up to him hugging and sobbing; she exclaims how much she missed him and how John is his son. John himself comes and kneels before the DHC saying father, father.

            All of this action, and the remembrance of past vents, shocks the DHC. He is so embarrassed that he fled the Center, leaving a very smug Bernard.

Lit. Elements:

            “Tomakin!” Linda exclaims.

            The Director, Thomas, and Tomakin are all one being. It seems that this man simply used different names for each social position he held. This use could be seen as a representation/evidence that people in this society have no true identity with themselves. They use and don’t consider anything, let alone themselves. However I believe the name “Tomakin” is relevant to the plot line in two ways. One, it is an allusion with a symbol behind it. Tomakin and tomahawk are very close words, and it is possible the author meant to do this when he named Thomas. Tomahawk’s are a light ax, dangerous and sharp. The Director helped ruin Linda’s life, leaving her in the desert, getting her pregnant, and now slicing any hopes she had for acceptance into normal society and his love. Tomahawks are also used by Native Americans. He was played by Bernard who had knowledge from the Natives, Linda, and the Director.

Two, it is a way to show that Linda regards them as being close. She has lost her civilized ideas that no one should be especially close to each other. Her child, John, was conceived unknowingly and unexpectedly, but she still loved him. Tomakin was not present or involved with John’s life and has no connection to him, denying his connection to Linda.

Vocabulary:

Scatological – noun- an interest in or preoccupation with excrement and excretion

Peritoneum –noun- the serous membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen and m    covering the abdominal organs

Recapitulated – vb – to summarize and state again the main points

Blithe –adj- showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper

BNW Journal Ch. 9

Ch. 9

Summary:

            Lenina is so stressed out about the previous day’s adventure and events that she takes enough Soma to be out in lala land for 18+ hours. Taking advantage of her indisposed nature, Bernard goes to visit Mustapha Mond. He has realized the full implications of the DHC’s fathering of John. Bernard can and plans to use this embarrassing blast from the past as leverage in the whole job situation. Bernard gets Mustapha to agree that taking two of the savages to London is a wonderful idea, strictly for scientific purposes of course. On a high horse, Bernard phones the Warden to tell him that papers would be coming for him to sign. Not forgetting to casually mention he was on the phone with a World Director moments ago.

            The scene switches to John. He goes to see Bernard and Lenina then has a panic attack because he believed they left him, when Bernard said he would take John and Linda back to society. John calms down once he see Lenina’s suitcase is still there. He breaks in and begins to smell, touch, and generally be a creeper in Lenina’s room while she is on a Soma holiday on the bed. He looks at her beauty and believes himself in love. He exits in a hurry when he hears Bernard’s helicopter landing outside.

Lit. Elements:

            The most prominent two allusions in chapter nine is to “Romeo and Juliet” and “Troilus and Cressida” both by William Shakespeare. John takes verses from both to describe Lenina’s beauty. The first excerpt is from “Troilus and Cressida”. This is a commentary on how the society is wildly accurate and excellent in some place, like how to control people, and yet so wrong as they have lost so much art. This reflects the comedy/tragedy’s confusing mood swings. Happy then dark, it flip-flops within scenes. The second allusion is to the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” this is a foreshadow. The ending of that story is both lovers commit suicide, this is a hint of what might come.  They are fated to die, perhaps John and Lenina, or at least one of them, is going to die and/or commit suicide.

Vocabulary:

Vestal -adj- chaste/pure

Acetate  -noun- a salt or acetic acid

BNW Journal Ch. 8

Ch. 8

Summary:

            This chapter is about John’s life. Bernard is extremely curious about everything. He doesn’t even know what questions to ask John, so Bernard tells him to start from the very beginning, essentially his life story. We see how Linda, his mother, was thrust into a very unfamiliar world and had/has trouble coping with it. She was average in every way, back in the “civilized” society. This caused a lot of trouble when she cam to Malpais. Monogamy was not a way Linda was familiar with, so she slept with any man who came her way, despite John. She did not know how to mend clothes, so she and John wore rags. Attempting to cope with the loss of society was painful for her. Never before had she needed to deal with any negative emotions or situation on this scale. Linda probably had smaller problems, like what to wear, that were dealt with using soma. John had it rough once his mother discovered mescal, an alcoholic beverage. She tried to substitute is with soma, but it left a bad feeling afterwards. Linda drank it regardless.

            The other boys would laugh at John for his ripped clothing and whorish mother. Although, he did not know exactly what they were saying, as he wasn’t fluent in their language. Whenever John was made fun of, he just thought about reading. Linda had taught him how to read and he enjoyed it very much. One day, the man who showed Linda mescal and her lover, Pope’, left The Complete Works of William Shakespeare for John.

            John hates Pope’ because Linda learned about mescal form him. She drunk her days away and it shamed John. He tried to kill Pope’ with a knife, but Pope’ isn’t even angry and just disregards him as a little kid with no power.

            Mitsima, an old native man, acts as a sort of father figure to John. He shows John how to work with clay, make a bow, and generally guides him as he becomes an adult. One important event is when John is rejected by the other boys and told not to come to a ceremony where he would become a man. After running away, he sits on a beach and contemplates life. This contemplation leads him to discover time, death, and god in a sense that is applicable to his life.

John experienced his first love at sixteen and watched her get married to someone else. He tells Bernard about how lonely he is and how difference creates loneliness. They bond over this and Bernard tells John how lonely he is. Bernard reveals his plan to bring John & Linda back to society, without sharing his deeper plans. John thinks it is a good idea and can’t wait to go.

            John also reveals, though Bernard doesn’t catch it, his obsession and budding love for Lenina.

Lit. Elements:

            The very first sentence contains the symbol I picked out as interesting. There were four dogs lying dead on a heap when originally there was one. This says two things. A, the plot is thickening and the story is progressing. B, the dogs are symbolic of regular human life. The dogs represent humanity and the dead dogs represent the hardships of life. Bernard is recognizing and planning how to get back at the DHC. His faults and animosity are piling up.

Vocabulary:

None

BNW Journal Ch. 7

Ch. 7

Summary:

            Their Indian guide leads them to Malpais, a town located on a mesa. During the zig-zaging, long, steep path up the mountains, a group of Natives pass them. The Indian’s torsos were naked and painted with white lines. Face paint adorns their features, and cloaked their back. They held limp snakes and quietly passed, eyes traveling through Lenina and Bernard like no one was there.

            They arrive at the pueblo in which they would be staying and it’s appearance dismays Lenina in particular. Soon the scenes of daily life play out before them. An old man climbs down a ladder, this is surprising to both as neither have seen an old person. Mothers breastfeed babes in the open, another is looking for lice in a little girl’s hair. They continue exit the pueblo and view a celebration taking place in the town square. Music and dancing was loud and jubilant. Snakes were incorporated into the dancing and chanting, finally thrown down into a pile. A young man then circled the pile of snakes while another Native whipped him. He fell silently with the seventh lash and dancers rushed in to grab snakes from the center, people following the running dancers out of the square.

            Lenina is horrified and begs for her soma, which somehow she forgot back in the hotel. They then meet a young man who is white. He tells them, in queer but perfect English, how much better he could have held out during the whipping compared to the fallen young man. He then explains what the ceremony was for (to bring the rain by pleasing Jesus and Pookong). The kid then realizes that Lenina is white and he has never seen another white female, so she is instantly attractive because of the newness.  He is embarrassed and unsure how to act when Lenina stares at him unabashedly.

            The man then tells them how his mother, Linda, was got lost and was rescued by the Natives. She was already impregnated by the man, Tomakin, she had gone to the reservation with, although, she did not know it at the time. Both Lenina and Bernard are eagerly listening for two different reasons. Bernard has gotten an inkling that this Tomakin might be Thomas, who lost a woman at this reservation long ago. Lenina just believes this is such a sad, weird story that she cannot help but listen, despite her revulsion at the concept of birth.

            Linda is a disgusting example of middle age. Her nails are black, she is overweight, she has wrinkles, and her clothes are dirty and ragged. Neither Lenina nor John has seen a middle aged person, and life has not been kind to Linda. Sharing her story and how she has been living, no vibro-vacuum massages, no modern conveniences, frightens and disturbs Lenina. Linda pours her hear out to Lenina, blubbering all the time. She ends with a rather self-demeaning question; what is a normal Beta to do in a situation so scary?

            The inciting event is meeting John and Linda.                                                                    

Lit. Elements:

            The two symbols/allusions that I noticed were both obvious and interesting. The whole ceremony was reminiscent of an old Aztec right. The Aztecs believed the gods they worshipped required human sacrifice, same as the Malpais people. During this ceremony they used snakes. Snakes in Western literature are symbols of evil and are often portrayed as bad guys. The snakes were limp most of the time which indicates that they are subdued. Sedate snakes indicates that the people have overcome evil. Maybe that is a foreshadow for later, and the Natives will overcome their oppressors, the Ford-lovers.

Vocabulary:

Mesa -noun- an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides

Precipitous -adj- dangerously high or steep

Terrance -n-A level paved area or platform next to a building; a patio or veranda.

Innocuous -adj- not harmful or offensive

BNW Journal Ch. 6 pt. 3

Ch. 6 Pt. 3

Summary:

            Lenina and Bernard are off to the New Mexican Savage Reservation. Their flight was eventful, with a tornado delaying them, but they arrived in Santa Fe only forty seconds behind schedule. The hotel they were staying at was very progressive and fancy with sixty Escalator-Squash Courts, vibro-vacuum massage, and television amongst other amenities. As they checked in and got settled, Bernard directs a challenge towards Lenina. He tells her to stay at the hotel if she doesn’t think she can handle no modern conveniences, as the savage reservation does not posses any. Lenina is offended and tells him that she can handle it, essentially falling for the provocation.

            The permit to enter the reservation required on last signature, that of the Alpha-Minus Reservation Warden. He is a pompous man and decides that the couple need to know every detail possible about the reservation. Neither of the two pay attention to him. Bernard thinks about the scent tap he left running and how much it will cost him; Lenina takes soma and can blissfully ignore his words in a hazy happiness. Both are itching to get away from the ridiculously boring man, but cannot go until he signs their paper.

            Once the permit is initialed, Bernard dashes back to their room to call Helmholtz and ask him to turn off the tap. Helmholtz assures him that he will make all haste to turn it off, but tells him a rather nasty bit of information. The Director has made the announcement that Bernard’s job was going to be open soon. Bernard never thought the Director would make good on his threat, so he didn’t take it seriously. He is so upset by this revelation that Lenina is able to persuade him to take some soma.

            They leave the hotel and fly into the savage reservation. The pilot drops them off and tells an anxious Lenina not to worry, they had dropped enough bombs for the savages to know not to harm anyone.

Lit. Elements:
            The most potent symbol in this chapter is when Lenina, Bernard, and the pilot fly over a pile of white animal bones. They have all gotten zapped by the electric fence. The electric fence is a symbol of the society’s power to destroy mercilessly. There was a difference between the barrier and the animal and the fence destroyed the animal. It shows that anything strange or different will be shunned, annihilated, or otherwise brought down.

Vocabulary:

Brachycephalic –adj- having a relatively broad, short skull

Indefatigable –adj – persisting tirelessly