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-
Innocuous -adj- not harmful or offensive
Interesting idea about the ceremony, and yes its important. You should connect this ceremony with the ceremony in the "other world". How are they alike? How are they different? Is either really holy?
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