Brave New World Entry #4

Bethany #4

I agree with you about the culture being a combination of different cultures. I think the author created this culture to represent known cultures of the time that the book was written. I also think the author wrote this section so that the readers could reflect on their own religions and compare them to the society that is completely religion-free.

In response to your question about John’s phrase “Oh brave new world that has such people in it” (160), I think that because he grew up in a completely different world but saw the effect of the two different societies on his mother, he is hesitant of the society that he has just stepped in to. I think he’s astonished at how different things are and how people act. He had an idea about this new world from his mother but when he really joined society, the actual way things are surprised him. I think this really comes out when Lenina takes him to the feely and his reaction afterwards. On the way home the book states that he was “bound by strong vows that had never been pronounced, obedient to laws that had long since ceased to run” (170). I think that the vows the author is talking about are actually the moral laws. John grew up in a society that had specific morals and so John knows the moral law. The movie had so many perverted and sexualized concepts in it that he was uncomfortable and awkward, so much so that he could not even speak to Lenina without being strained. Do you think the people of this society have moral laws or do they know the difference between right and wrong?

I found it interesting that you asked me about Bernard’s character change because all that popularity blows up in his face in chapter 12. Bernard’s popularity was soley based on the fact that he brought back the “savage”. Everyone goes back to thinking that “it’s absolutely true about the alcohol” (174) almost instantly after finding out that the “savage” would not be joining them for dinner. The façade that Bernard had built up through his popularity is so thin that one small thing shatters it. This section also shows how self-centered everyone is. The author mention that, for the guests, “ the higher their position in the hierarchy, the deeper their resentment” (173). Also, Lenina thinks that “John had refused to come because he didn’t like her. He didn’t like her” (174). Everyone acts so entitled and Lenina thinks that the only reason why John didn’t come, shows a self-centered attitude.  To me, the society was designed to be perfect but in reality, all the good and honest traits of humanity were lost and replaced by traits like self-centeredness and greed. What do you think of the society and what it reflects on our own society.

Things come to a breaking point when Lenina visits John at his apartment. He quotes poetry quite a bit, especially from Shakespeare. Why do you think he does this and why do you think the author chose Shakespeare? Also, what do you think of Lenina’s relationship with John and John’s relationship with Lenina?