Bernard suddenly finds himself popular because all upper-caste London wants to see John the Savage. Bernard boasts to Helmholtz about his sexual conquests and lectures Mustapha Mond in a report — offending both of them. John, meanwhile, experiences a growing disillusionment with this “Brave New World” (as he quotes Shakespeare). […]
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When Bernard arrives, the D.H.C. announces in front of everyone his intention to transfer Bernard to a “Sub-Centre of the lowest order.” The D.H.C. explains that Bernard has “grossly betrayed the trust imposed in him” — and that his unorthodox attitudes and behavior threaten Society. Bernard responds by bringing in […]
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During Bernard’s trip, John breaks into the Rest House, thinking that Bernard and Lenina have left for London without him. Inside, John discovers Lenina’s suitcase and looks through her clothes — including her zippicamiknicks. When John finds Lenina fast asleep, he thinks of Shakespeare’s Juliet. He reaches out to touch […]
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John’s earliest memories involve his mother’s relationships with Indian men — especially Pope, who also introduces Linda to the powerful hallucinogenic drug mescal (which she finds similar to soma). John also remembers how the Indian women beat Linda, because she felt no sexual restraints with their men. As John grows, […]
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Lenina soon discovers that she has forgotten her soma, so she must experience the Indian village of Malpais as an unmedicated reality. In quick succession, she and Bernard witness old age in the figure of an ancient Indian, Indian mothers nursing their babies, and a hedonistic ritual dance that fuses […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 7Summary and Analysis Chapter 6
In a flashback to their first date, Lenina and Bernard quarrel when he hovers their helicopter over the English Channel so that they can observe the power of Nature. Bernard wants an adult — and emotional — relationship with Lenina, not just the mindless sex that consummates their first date. […]
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They fly to Westminster Abbey Cabaret, where they dance the evening away to the Malthusian Blues. Despite the soma they consume, Lenina remembers her contraception in preparation for a night of pneumatic sex. The second half of the chapter follows Bernard as he flies past the chiming Big Henry — […]
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As Lenina and Henry take off in their helicopter for the date, their trip offers a panoramic view of London and its suburbs. It unfolds as a miniature version of this futuristic world — from Charing-T Tower to Hounslow Feely Studios to the Obstacle Golf Course. The second half of […]
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This chapter also introduces Mustapha Mond — Resident Controller for Western Europe and one of the Ten World Controllers. Mond figures in the novel as a kind of enlightened dictator (“his Fordship”), who understands this brave new world, as well as the old world before Ford. As the chapter dissolves […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 3Summary and Analysis Chapter 2
The D.H.C. oversees a demonstration of “Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning.” Nurses expose a group of babies to books and flowers and then add a violent explosion, alarm bells, shrieking sirens, and finally an electric shock. This experience, notes the D.H.C., will “unalterably” condition the reflexes of the babies so that they will […]
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