Reading Log 3: Brave New World

The Turning Point

As I see it there are two events in the novel that could be considered to be turning points, one for each of the protagonists, Bernard and John. The common factor between these events is that they are both life changing for the characters.

The first turning point, Bernard’s, is when John refuses to attend one of his parties. After bringing John back from the reservation Bernard has gained respect and he is no longer judged as an outsider. Obviously, this has helped his confidence and for once he feels wanted and powerful. However, the instant John refuses obey Bernard’s all that he has gained is lost and he goes back to being a “nobody”. If this would not have happened I do not believe that the novel would have developed as it did, therefore I think it is a turning point.

The second one, John’s, occurs when his mother Linda dies. At the time of her death he is absolutely devastated. However, as he grief the rest of society and its residents remain indifferent to her death. They act like they do not care at all, some might even have been relieved when she passed, as she was the direct opposite to how the people of the new world were supposed to be. The indifference and the lack of empathy make John blame society for her death. This eventually leads to his own, Bernard’s and Helmholtz’s arrest and consequently affects the continuation of the novel gravely. 

The Ending

In the end, as I mentioned above, John, Bernard and Helmholtz are arrested due to John’s mental breakdown after his mother passes. During which he eagerly share his opinion about society with a room full of people as he throws their soma out through the window. Consequently they are all brought to the office of Mustapha Mond. At the office Mond answers all the questions that John has about society; why it works the way it does etc.  Moreover Bernard and Helmholtz are exiled to an island because of their irrational way of thinking. At the island they will live alongside likeminded people who do not think the way the controllers want them to. This sounds very compelling to John who is sick of the world he is forced to live in and he therefore begs Mond to exile him as well, however Mond won’t let him. As desperation grows within him, John tries to escape society and its scrutinizing eyes but fleeing to the countryside. Even so, there is no escape for him and as a result he commits suicide.

In one way I really like the ending of the novel, Mustapha Mond finally answered a lot of the questions I had when I read. In addition I believe that even though the ending for John might be tragic his dead was the thing that tied everything together in the end, his dead was necessary for the novel. In spite of these facts I feel like there are a lot of characters that does not really have an ending, but simply disappears gradually throughout the end. For instance Lenina is a rather important character in the beginning and the middle of the novel, but after the incident with John she just disappeared. Although I realise that she might not be that important for the continuation of the novel after that I still feel as if it would have been nice to know what happened to her.

The Title

In my first reading log I thought that the title Brave New World might have been chosen because the author Huxley presented a view of the future, which was rather radical and different. This was, in my opinion, a brave act, hence Brave New World. I still believe that this might be the main reason for him to choose it, however I was a bit confused when I realised that the title is, in fact, a quote from a Shakespeare play. The protagonist, John, who is a huge Shakespeare enthusiast, quotes the part containing Brave New World on several occasions in the novel. Even so I believe the title is connected to the society and the world presented in the novel, since it is my belief that John, when he quotes Shakespeare, uses the quote as a way of expressing how he feels about the society and the world that he is forced to live in.

The Message

The novel was written in the 1930s and as I see it, it is possible that Huxley felt as if our society was on its way to develop into the one that is described in the novel. Therefore he could have written it as a warning to us, that this is what is going to happen if we continue living the way we are currently doing, of course he might have exaggerated a bit to make it even more powerful. Nevertheless I believe that the message is clear; we should appreciate all the things the majority of us take for granted today, such as genuine feelings and freedom of though as well as freedom of speech. 

Brave new world – reading log 3, the peripeteia

I believe there is one change, which comes gradually in the last third of the novel. However this change have two important moments. The first one is when John, the savage, refuses to come out in front of all the important people in their part of the world. When this happens Bernard looks like a fool and people, who have started to respect him now lose their respect. He is no longer someone who is important to the world. And yet, John receives greater power.

The second major part of the change is when John’s mother dies. After this death John becomes furious with the people in the new world and their view on death and how they all are away on “soma holidays”. When Bernard and his friend Heimholtz walks in on him throwing away all the workers soma they try to calm him down. Then safety personnel rushes in and arrested John, Bernard and Heimholtz.

The novel ends with people getting out to see John, the savage and his weird ways of living. After he has whipped his back, and people knowing about his beastly behaviour, they want to see this. When they get to the lighthouse where John lives, they do not find him. They search inside the house only to find John’s legs dangling and turning in certain directions as if he has taken his life.

I believe John took his life. I think this was a good way too end the novel because it makes me think. And mainly because what happiness is and means. Leading me to the message of the novel. I believe the message is that unless we feel sadness and other feelings, we will not know what true happiness is. Also what can happen if we do not feel the happiness or we cannot feel any fulfilment, like Bernard and Heimholtz.

The title is said by John quite a lot and it is a reference to what a character, Miranda, said in one of the works by Shakespeare. I believe the quote was taken as a title because it seems appropriate for the plot. When the old world meets the new world, and how it was maybe a brave way to live in the new world compared to the old.

Log 3- Brave New World

Bernard was going to be sent to Iceland, but was lastly not, whereas the director was exposed of being John´s father and therefore resigned from his job. This was a sudden change. Another sudden change occurred, on account of that the Savage highly fascinated the civilized people. That is why; Barnard was in contrary to before, not merely treated as normal, but was instead regarded as a person of outstanding importance. There was no more talk of the alcohol in his blood-surrogate, no gibs at his personal appearance. These citizens were not only currently friendly towards him, but they also wanted to associate themselves with Bernard. Additionally, he could have all the girls he desired and he thus genuinely felt as a success in contrast to previously. Now he believed there were things to criticize, which he did not think before. Even Lenina is currently an immense celebrity. For this reason Lenina was lucky (p 143), because she is invited everywhere. However, she is not utterly, since she still then was uneasy if John wanted to be with her or not.

When John one evening did not want to appear in front of the crowd these people consequently felt indignation. Hence, everything that suddenly had changed for Bernard went abruptly to as it was before. He was once again all alone and in agony (p. 153). What is more, he begins to associates himself with savage and Helmholtz, which he did not during his importance.

John, was very exited of the thought of coming to the new world. He and Lenina are in love with each other. Her eye, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice;(p.125) How beautiful she was (p.126) However after she undressed herself, he does no longer want to admit taking fancying for her, which is therefore a sudden alteration. During the book John becomes more and more interested in books such as Othello and so on.

His change reaches though its peak when his mother, Linda passes away, due to that ever since this occurrence John begins to observe this civilized world from a different perspective. ´How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world…(p.184). The Savage stood looking on. ´O brave new world, O brave new world…´In his mind the singing words seemed to change their tone (p. 184). He believes this brave new world mocked him through his misery and remorse. Another example of his altered viewpoint is : Twin after twin, twin after twin, they came- a nighmare (p.177). He also realises that Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world made beautiful (p.185) and he thought that it was his duty to do so. Additionally, he shouts in the crowd: Don´t take that horrible stuff; It´s poison, it´s poison´ (p.185). Moreover he feels Hatred of these less than human monsters. In addition, he announces in the crowd their misunderstanding of what manhood and freedom are. The savage does not simply like the civilization any more by contrast with how excited he was at the beginning to arrive in this exciting new world.

The title of the book is found in this quotation: ´O brave new world…By some malice of his memory the Savage found himself repeating Miranda´s words ´O brave new world that has such people in it´(p. 139). How many goodly creatures are there here! The singing words mocked him derisively. I reckon the books title is “Brave New World”, since according to Miranda, the people of this civilized world make it possible for loveliness to exist, as well as are making it possible of transforming even the nightmare into something fine and noble. John has somewhere heard her proclaiming this and is therefore repeating her words; in contrast he now seems to consider that it is rather a challenge, a command to do so. Moreover, he apprehends her statement as mocking, since he currently comprehends the truth with this world, but before he actually believed in her words. He has regarded this world as brave, but only owing to the facts he had heard from different people. However, he surely still considers this world as a new one.

I found the ending satisfactory, due to that Mustapha Mond answers all the savages inquires about why this hideous civilized world has its valuations. The civilized world is as it is to summarize, due to that that´s the price we have to pay for stability (p. 194) and thus for instance old books are forbidden. Consequently, people are happy and there is no misfortune. We believe in happiness and stability (p.195) and that´s why not everybody belongs to one cast and he also tells us how unstable the world was when everybody was an Alpha. Furthermore, the life of Mustapha Mond is described as well as what it is so special about Iceland; the men and women living there are the most interesting people in the world, who not only appreciate this new world, but who also have independent ideas. Our Ford himself did a great deal to shift the emphasis from truth and beauty to comfort and happiness (p. 209). However, I would prefer that the other characters´ fate were more outlined and not only John´s, who at the end settled down in a lighthouse, whereas he wants to live in solitude. Anyhow, one day he punishes himself, trough hitting himself, which unfortunately a reporter catches a glimpse of. Hence, the journalists are all over his residence and will not leave until John behaves stupidly, which he in their joy do. When he sees a woman who resembles Lenina he rushed at her like a madman. Next, when he remembers what he had done the day before, he is feeling very rotten and probably therefore among other things commits suicide. In my opinion it is awful that he committed suicide, however apart from this I believe the ending was quite good.  

Reading log 3: Brave New World

The novel goes through a sudden change when the savage John’s mother dies. This is a tragic and miserable moment for John, which entirely changes his attitude to life and to the civilization he has arrived in. Furthermore, John decides to act on an impulse to show the inhabitants of the civilization how corrupt and brainwashing the society is according to him.

   However, even after he has held a speech for a group of workers about how bad the drug soma is and that their imagined freedom really is imprisonment, they still do not believe him and rather chooses the drug that they are used to than John’s so called freedom. The incident summoned the police whom took John away, among with his friends, Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson. They came in order to save John before he did something too stupid, but apparently they came to late and the police were already on the way.

    The reason I believe this is the turning point of the novel, is because before John’s mother’s death John kept quite about his opinions about the civilization, but afterwards he feels like he cannot do that anymore and therefore tries to create a riot and make the other people see the same things he has discovered. At this turning point, I consider that the novel goes from innocence and cowardice, where you live with the society’s rules even though you perhaps do not agree with them, to that some stands up to say their opinions and tries to change the world into the better, according to them.

    The police take the three friends to the World Controller, which executes the sentence that Bernard and Helmholtz will be sent to an island in exile. However, John will stay with them in to order to go through experiments but he does not approve of it. John wants to receive his freedom. “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.” is a quotation from the novel, which clearly confirms John’s disagreement with the civilization where it is not allowed to be unhappy, or have any negative feelings at all. Moreover, I believe this is the message of the novel. Everyone has the right to be happy and satisfied but nonetheless everyone should also have the right to be unhappy and sorrowful. The message is therefore that even with a perfect society where everything runs smoothly and everyone is happy, the people really do not even know what happiness is. Without sadness you cannot know how it feels to be joyful and therefore the way to achieve happiness is not through abandoning all negative feelings. Instead by embracing all emotions you can find your path in the maze and hopefully, in the end, achieve true happiness and not some synthetic kind the people in the novel Brave New World lives on. Freedom to choose what to do and what to feel is an essential ingredient to pursue and find happiness, an ingredient that is non-existent in the civilization Huxley created, and therefore true happiness is unreachable.

    The novel ends with another death, this time it is John’s own. He escaped the World Controller and tried to live on his own, where he wants to have the freedom to be unhappy and sad, where he wants the easement to hurt himself for the greater good and the right to stay unconnected to the civilization he encountered before. Except, it does not go as planned because people find him and go on pilgrimage there to receive the chance to see the savage in real life and in action. When John understands that he have turned into another amusement for the population of the civilization, the pure thing that he despises and a position he tried to escape, he decides to take his own live in order to end the civilizations grip over him, because as dead they cannot use him for entertainment, experimentation or amusement.

    I believe even though the book became more and more confusing by every page of the latter part of the novel, the ending was still a good conclusion of the book. It showed what the civilization was all about, to use everything they could for their advantage, and the only way to escape them forever is by death. As long as you are alive they will follow you in order to use you for their intentions and make your life seem dependent on their rules, but when death comes you are granted your freedom.

    Lastly, to discuss the title again I still agree with what I wrote in my first reading log, that the author’s intention with writing the book was to write something radical and different in comparison with other views at that time, and therefore he chose the title Brave New World.  On the other hand, now afterwards when I have read the whole book I have found another reason for him to choose this title. The character the savage John is a huge enthusiast of Shakespeare. “Oh, brave new world!” is both a quote from the works of Shakespeare and also from the novel Brave New World. This is something John says numerous times in the novel and is in a way, how he describes the society, which Aldous Huxley has created, and I believe it is also partly because of this the title Brave New World was chosen.  

Isabel Vinterbladh NA11A