BNW Chapter 11
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF ACT III:
JOHN’S LIFE IN LONDON AND HOW THE
WORLD STATE GETS ROCKED…
The Shakespeare Connection
 John wanted to come to London and quoted
Miranda (the daughter from Shakespeare’s play The
Tempest):

O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How
beauteous mankind is! O brave new world! That has such
people in't!
 It was ironic: John wanted to be in the BNW
because he thought it would be ideal and perfect.
Now, we’ll start to see the downfall of what it means
to have “such people in it”.
Who is Caliban?
 Another reference from The Tempest
The play tells the story of Miranda and her father,
Prospero. The father protected his daughter from
ever being able to socially interact with people.
The father casts a spell on a boy to fall in love with
Miranda, who is of the appropriate age to get
married. The problem is simple: Miranda is afraid
of love. The only “life experience” she has is with
the male slave in her house: Caliban. He is mean
to her, and has attempted to rape her.
 Caliban is referenced for a reason.
Caliban = John
 While Caliban is mean, and has
attempted to rape Miranda… we
cannot forget that he is a slave to
Prospero and Miranda.
Think about to what we learned
throughout Night: if you treat
someone like an animal long
enough, they will start to act
like it.
The Essential Question of the Year
 All year, we’ve explored various systems of bullying
within each novel we’ve read. This is the final
culmination to the lesson we want you to take away
with this novel.
Caliban IS John Savage
 John was treated differently on the Reservation. He
was ostracized and made to be a pariah. It will be no
different here (his beliefs will actually be made fun of
to his face in this world).
 Much like Caliban, John will lash out and act like an
animal because they treat him like an animal. He is
from the Reservation – a place they consider to be
like a zoo. Why would they consider him different
from an animal? He is one of the animals.
Aftermath of Chapter 10
 The DHC has resigned and has not been seen since
 PROVING: You cannot “come back” from the ultimate
humiliation in this world.
Aftermath of Chapter 10
 John is the newest “star” of London. Everyone wants
to meet him.
 His name goes from John THE Savage to just John
Savage.

Bernard is his caretaker and tour guide. Bernard does not
have to leave to Iceland, after all.
Aftermath of Chapter 10
 Linda is deemed a “monster” and is “ugly”. She is
locked away and put continuously on soma.

Mustapha Mond let her come back to run tests:
Can they reverse aging? Is the conditioning still effective 25 years
later?
 Once they find the answers they want, the W.S. will allow Linda to
abuse soma willingly. Soma will kill her faster – the faster she
dies, the less they have to deal with that hideous creature.

The TRUTH about SOMA Explored
 The Doctor explains to John that soma does, in fact,
kill.


It allows people to feel “eternity”, to feel peaceful; the doctor
argues that even though people would only live maybe half of
their life awake and without the substance; it’s still for the best.
The risk of emotions is too great and not worth the risk.
Linda’s Final Curtain Call
 Linda will die. The soma will make it happen very
soon.

They know it will kill her faster, so they are allowing it. It is a
form of euthanasia/assisted suicide.

Linda cannot work, she is not young and beautiful – therefore,
she serves no purpose in this life.

She takes soma, so she is quiet and peaceful. It will kill her.
It’s a win-win for all involved to avoid drama.
John’s Reaction
 He hates drugs.
 Mescal and alcohol made it impossible for his mother to truly
care for him. He had to take care of her, always and often from
a very young age.
 In response, John hates soma. John hates that the
World State is allowing his mother to kill herself.

John cannot prevent this or stop this from happening. John
has to slowly come to terms that his mother is going to die, and
that it will happen very soon.
Character Focus: Bernard
 As John’s caretaker, Bernard is now entitled to
several new benefits.



People will suddenly respect him.
Women will fawn over him.
He will be wildly popular.
 Bernard does not realize that this is not due to his
own self – it’s only due to people wanting to meet
John.

They are going to use Bernard to get to John.
Character Focus: Bernard
 Bernard dynamically shifts, does a complete change.



He takes soma.
He sleeps with as many women as possible. Lenina who?
He seems to have no differing emotions.
When the fifteen minutes of fame of John are
up, so is Bernard’s sudden rise to power. He
still means nothing, he just doesn’t quite
realize it.
Mustapha Mond Checks in on John
 Bernard is to report to Mond as often as possible.
 Bernard acts “superior” to Mond, criticizes the World
State when he finds a place to agree with John.



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John is not impressed (his religious upbringing has it where he
hates most of the culture)
John says scientific progress means nothing (his god did the
same but without hurting anyone)
John is worried about his mother
John worries for his own soul (similar to Macbeth when he
worried about murdering Duncan)
Bernard’s “Newest” Problem
 In agreeing with John, Bernard does not just criticize
the World State… he indirectly criticizes the World
Controller.
 Mond is not pleased. He is angry with Bernard. He
is one of then in power – he should not have to deal
with a little man who thinks he can say whatever he
wants.
A little more in-depth on Mond
 Mond is conditioned, but not as much as the others.
Remember, he was originally conditioned and then was
offered a choice.
 Once he made that choice to become a World Controller,
he was given books. Books taught him. Books ruined
conditioning.
Huxley makes a hint: if people in the World State
were given a book, and a chance at an education,
the world could be saved. Education is
important. Look at what Mond was able to
accomplish: he saved himself.
John’s Adventures in London
 John dislikes seeing any Bokanovskified groups.
 Gamma’s, Delta’s, and Epsilon’s terrifying them
 John talks about his home on the Savage Reservation
to Alpha students. They laugh at him, and it hurts
and upsets him.

Even if the Savages were cruel to him, he still respects what
they think or feel.
John is Caliban
 If we revisit the idea of a human being on a leash,
John is starting to realize that Bernard is using him.
 Bernard escorts John around as if he was a dog on a
leash. John hates this idea. Further, it reinforces
the idea that John is truly alone.

Bernard does not care for him. Linda never cared for him. In
the end, it proves that John is much like Caliban. Alone and
treated like an animal.
Linda is slowly dying…
 We discover that the youth of the world are “death
conditioned”.


The society wants the youth to not fear death.
By being around death often allows them to not fear death by
encouraging them to play and to laugh and to eat food around
those that are dying.
Soma Rations
 John notices that soma is stored in a casket.

This is meant to symbolize the fact that soma does, in fact, kill
you. Think about the advertisements that show you driving
and drinking can kill… the strongest incentives to be wary of
dangerous behavior is to show the end result: a casket.

In this world though, this does not worry or shock anyone. It’s
the everyday norm. Further, they do not bury anyone in a
casket. Everyone is cremated. They don’t realize what a casket
would be used for in the first place.
Soma Rations
 Each citizen is even 18 tablets of soma per week.
The soma is able to be cut and split, so most of the
time the citizen take half-tablets.
 Linda is currently taking 20 tablets a day.
Remember, the goal is to ensure that she dies quickly
and painlessly.
Bernard’s Unexpected Date
 On one of the tour’s Bernard takes John on, he asks
out the Headmistress of one of the schools. She
agrees. Bernard did not think twice about what to do
with John – so now he has to find someone who can
watch him.
Lenina the Star
 Lenina steps in as the new tour guide. We discover
that Lenina has also become popular due to the
whole “bringing home a Savage” and “being at the
Savage Reservation”.
 She gives lectures on what it was like on the
Reservation, and has also been offered roles in
movies. She’s enjoying the attention and hasn’t seen
John much since returning.

However, it is safe to say she’s happy to see him.
Lenina’s Conditioning
 Lenina’s conditioning has started to wear thin. She
seems to be interested in John… much like she
wanted to only really be with Henry Foster, she
seems to have the same feeling towards John.
She has the capacity to be different, but now
that we have a true conflict and know that
she has some serious feelings in regards to
John – it will be easier to see Lenina being
really different.
The “Feely” Film
 A “feely” is a 3D film in which causes you to feel
everything.


If someone is being stabbed, you feel like you are being
stabbed.
If someone is kissing the main character, you feel like you are
being kissed.
 It’s like being the main character in the movie – it’s
an extension of voyeurism that changes and shifts
what reality might be.
The Date: John and Lenina
 John does not know what the feely film is, and
Lenina will instruct John on how to enjoy the film.
 Lenina sees this as second knowledge, and so to her
this is nothing new. For John, this is a terrifying new
experience.


He’s never been kissed. No one ever smiled at him on the
Reservation, why on earth would they kiss him?
This will shock, disgust, and make him unsure about Lenina’s
thoughts.
The Feely: The Tragedy of Othello
 It’s a famous Shakespeare play. The story takes
place in Italy, and involves a few main characters:



Othello
Desdemona
Iago
The Tragedy of Othello
 Othello: the only black man in Italy, a military
general despite a time where racial tension would be
high
 Desdemona: The wife of Othello, she is white. She is
dutiful and faithful to her husband.
 Iago: The man who wants Othello’s job. Hates
Othello for having everything he should have.
The Tragedy of Othello
 Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with
one of their friends. While it is completely untrue, Iago
sets up Othello to believe that his wife is not faithful.
 He drives Othello mad, and then causes Othello to
murder his wife.
 Othello learns the truth, kills himself AFTER his wife is
already dead.
 Iago’s lies cause several other people to die.
The Feely: The Tragedy of Othello
 Only John Savage realizes that this film is just like
the Shakespearean work. He wonders why the film
is not just Shakespeare’s original work and was
modified to be childish.
 WHAT YOU SHOULD REALIZE: If the story
mimics Shakespeare that closely, it must mean that
Shakespeare’s work does exist somewhere. We just
don’t know where yet.
John vs. Lenina
John
Lenina
Hates the film.
Loves the film.
He is ignorant of their actions, he feels
he is superior for being so pure.
She is ignorant of his differences from
his culture. She will never attempt to
learn his culture because of her
conditioning.
This is proof that they are “star-crossed” like Romeo and Juliet.
They have two wildly different in how they were raised.
Oh, Romeo, Romeo…
 Much like Shakespeare’s ever popular Romeo &
Juliet, John and Lenina could never be together.
 They are star-crossed, and ultimately doomed.
 This is the third tragic character of Shakespeare
Huxley has referenced. It’s for a reference: Othello,
Macbeth, and Romeo both shared the same fate.

It could be foreshadowing that John could die… just like these
characters.
The Date: John and Lenina
 Lenina goes into this date assuming she will sleep
with John. She is trying to make him a World State
citizen.
 John goes into this date trying to be “good enough”
for Lenina. He is about being modest.
After the date…
John
Linda
Realizes he will die alone.
Rejected: This is the first time someone
rejected her.
John wants love, a family, a wife… this
is something he will never ever have.
John has to come to terms with this.
Even if Lenina were to come to love
him… she will never want to have a
child.
She does not understand that John
chose to not sleep with her because he
wants to be modest and to be good
enough for her. She thinks she is
“defected” and that he is just simply not
interested. She doesn’t understand the
fact that John made this choice because
he is an adult.