The final chapters of Brave New World, seem to me as if they wrap up the story perfectly. The author could have easily left John to be on his own and live out his life in peace, but that would have not been true to the underlying view of how society is. This book was never a fairy tale with a happy ending.

“Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east..” (BNW 231)

I think this is the only way the book could have ended. The way the society was structured in the book, there was no hope for change. John attempted multiple times to change things, and even when not in the midst of the society, he was still badgered and harassed. The people in the book, due to their conditioning would never have been able to let down what John was doing, even if he hadn’t chosen to commit suicide. The persistence due to their conditioning would have continued to lead on-lookers to where John was and with that he would never have found his peace.

I think this is also a prime example off how society can push someone to the point of breaking. There are always situations to be heard of, how someone is bullied or misunderstood, and unfortunately some believe that the only way out is through taking ones life. People tend to be ruthless, especially when motivated by mob  mentality, and with their conditioning as in the book, there would have been no shot at change and understanding of how John wanted to live out the rest of his days.

I actually have read this book in highschool, but barely remember any of it. At the time it seemed unappealing and I can say I was without a doubt unappreciative of it. Now, a few years later, I can say I definitely enjoyed the book and was able to understand it more. I believe it was a fitting ending.

In the end of the book we see that although John is the hero of the novel and the man who craves real human connection, he is not immune from the indoctrination. When the Linda, his mother, was not recognizing him,- “Anger suddenly boiled up in him. Balked for the second time, the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage”(Huxley, page185), he shacked his mother. The author shows that John is the one, who has a real emotion in this World State and don’t lose  family  connection.

The dialog between John and Mustapha Mond shows contrast t two world visions as civilization society  and old fashion society. The art reference are used in a way to show who is really socially conditional and who is not. The characters who understand and can relate to the human complexity in the characters are ones who are resisting the system.”You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We’ve sacrificed the high art.We have the fee lies and the scent organ instead” (Huxley, page 199). Also, the reader learns that is no” God” in civilization world. The Controller is a new God, who has complete control over everyone, manipulate its people psychology and erasure individuality. “You must make your choice (Huxley, page 210). John is a danger, he is rebel again civilization society.  The Controller understand  that Johns’ individuality can make people questions and it can be dangerous in the future. “But chastity means passion, chastity means neurasthenia. And passion and neurasthenia mean instability. And instability means the end of civilization” (Huxley, page 212). Unfortunately, there is no place for John in civilization society.

John is becoming the savage that society has ridiculed him for being. I think that he is showing that there are two choices, compliance or animalistic savagery. Both lifestyles are lies but John can’t help but to pick one side. I think that Huxley does this as a way to show that no one is immune from the cultural ideas that have been reinforced throughout one’s life.

In the end of the book  John made his choice  to “be alone”.  John is the protagonist. He is individual in the way that has different values about family unit and religion.  ” But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin” (Huxley, page 215).  He killed himself in the end of the book, society make him to kill himself. It can be read as society inhumanity. John made the choice to be individual in his own way and society punished him who dissent.  He is the hero of the New Brave World.  Huxley shows cruelty of this World State and warning the reader that can happened in the future.

This week we reach the end of Brave New World.The last chapter in particular left me feeling that I usually get when I leave my chemistry class, what just happened? A lot of confusion in the last chapter.The two chapters proceeding the last one ties everything up very neatly and a lot, if not all, the answers about the civilized society were answered. Then that’s it, those are all the answers you get.

We don’t get answers as to what happen to the characters we have been following for so long. Sure they tell us that Bernard and Hemholtz are basically exiled to different islands but what happens to them once they get there? Are they coping with it? Are they better off on their perspective islands than they were in civilized society?

There’s one question that burns inside me about these islands full of exiled people. The controller says “If he had the smallest sense he’d understand that this punishment is really a reward. He’s being sent to an island. That’s to say, he’s being sent to a place where he’ll meet the most interesting set of men and women to be found anywhere in the world. All of the people who, for one reason or another, have got too self consciously individual to fit into community life. All the people who aren’t satisfied with orthodoxy. who’ve got independent ideas of their own. Every one, in a word who’s anyone” (Huxley page 204).

If these people are so against the grain why don’t they rebel against the world state? Since they are so unorthodox and they see the cracks in the system of the world state why don’t they expose these cracks and make a better society? Or is because they are so content with their current environment and they are surrounded by people of their own stature they that feel at home, at peace? That they finally feel accepted and are happy with the way their lives turned out? I wish we could have got more answers on the residents of these islands.

I’m more curious than anything as to what happened to Lennina? Was she the girl that John beat with the whip? ” “Strumpet!” The savage had rushed at her like a madman. “Fitchew!” Like a madman, he was slashing at her with the whip of small cords” ( Huxley page 229). Was this Lenina? I feel like she is the only female that would enrage John so bad that he would want cause physical harm to her. And Lennia was always around Henry Foster, so I think it would be safe to assume that this was Lennina who John beat with the whip. Did she die? After the beating did Lennina die? Another question that was left unanswered.

Finally, John’s suicide. I understand why he had to die but why would the controller set him up like that? The Controller is a very intelligent person, he knew John couldn’t last in civilized society, so instead of granting him permission to be exiled like Bernard and Hemholtz he condemned him to this life of misery in this civilized world. The controller knew John was like a square peg trying to fit in a circular spot. He knew it wouldn’t last long or end pretty so that’s why I feel as if John was set up.

Very disappointing end to a very strange story.

What a turn to the story!  The last couple of chapters of Brave New World lead us to a plot twist.  I believed that the story would end in the change of civilization.  When John, Bernard, Helmholtz, and Mustapha Mond were conversing after John’s outburst about how Mond believed in what John believed, I thought there was going to be a happy ending.  But, in all reality, the ending of this story was pretty sad.  The story of Brave New World ends in John’s downfall, which baffles me because I believed that out of all of the characters in this story, John was the strongest.  After seeing Bernard’s change, I thought that John would be the one to change society and get through to The Controllers.  When John escaped to the lighthouse, I though he would be a happier person, maybe find the woman he wanted and go against civilization and conceive a child.  I even had hope of him running into Lenina and them living happily ever after.  But I was wrong, John ended up taking his own life, not being able to bear the chaotic scene that occurred at the light house with the whipping of Lenina, and the crowd of people, and the helicopters.

In chapters 14-18 we learn a lot about the characters of Brave New World.  We find out that Bernard is a coward, especially in the chapter where John, Helmholtz and himself were taken to Mustapha Mond after John went completely insane at the Park lane Hospital for the Dying.  To me, John was never fully sane, maybe this is because of his upbringing at the reservation.  Once his mother died, he became even crazier.  His anger elevated.  The simplest things would tick him off.  For example, when John was at the Park lane Hospital of the dying, before his mother passed away, he attacked the nurse.  He also pushed toddlers around and while explaining to the people of London that they are not truly free, he threw a fit and ended up starting a riot between the classes.

John hit the fan when he escaped to the lighthouse.  He used mustard and hot water to turn his insides and make himself sick.  He also whipped himself.  Chapter 18 states “Three Delta-Minus workers from one of the Puttenham Bokanovsky Groups happened to be driving to El-stead and, at the top of the hill, were astonished to see a young man standing outside the abandoned lighthouse stripped to the waist and hitting himself with a whip of knotted cords.”  After this event, John began to receive visits from reporters.  He also threw himself into a bush of thorns to get the image of Lenina out of his head.  Chapter 18 states “At the edge of the heath stood a clump of hoary juniper bushes.  He flung himself against them, he embraced, not the smooth body of his desires, but an armful of green spikes.”  John must have had a high tolerance of pain.  You would think one would pass out from all of this self torture or at least stop hurting themselves.  This also proves the insanity of John.

The whipping incident was the beginning to John’s downfall.  And in the end John ended up hanging himself from all the terrorization he was receiving from “the outsiders.”  If he continued living the way he was, he most likely would have been brought back to the London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre and be put under the eyes of everyone like an animal in a cage.