Brave New World Blog #2 (Ch. 7-13)

1. Why is John motivated to use Shakespeare quotes in daily life while speaking with other characters?

In sharp contrast to those who have lived in the World State for their entire lives, John is obviously different not only in dress and actions, but most prominently through speech. When speaking he references a multitude of Shakespeare plays for reasons that are not apparent to the other characters, but after reflection become visible. Huxley shows the contrast between our world and the World State through primarily actions, but he uses John as his obvious indicator of difference. This difference become visible when John reads some lines from Romeo and Juliet to Bernard who responds by saying, "Orgy-porgy...It's just a Solidarity Service hymn" (Huxley 183).This shocking response to the audience from a character who some may identify with shows the conditioning that the population has received , so that they will not understand the brilliant playwright who understands the human soul. Huxley emphasises the distance between the two worlds.

2. Would we in our world treat John the same way as the citizens of the World State and are there possible future conflicts in the novel?

Difference in modern society stands out as John does in the World State. He becomes an instant society hit with all the important people wanting to meet him. When one reflects on the attraction he receives, I personally think about aliens arriving on Earth and the attention they would receive. To the World State, he is an alien. He represents the world that they have destroyed, yet they are still eager to meet him, so I was not surprised at the guest' response to John's lack of presence at the party. Huxley describes their anger, "As for the women, they indignantly felt that they had been had on false pretenses" (Huxley 173). Their anger didn't surprise me because of their fascination, but the question has not really been answered for me because I feel that a conflict is building between the citizens and John because of his behavior.

3. Why does John continually refute Lenin's sexual advances?

Though deeply in love with Lenina for unknown reasons John consistently refuses her sexual propositions. This refusal of sex on the part of John reveals a theme in the novel to me that society cannot live carefree and meaningful lives at the same time. He realizes that as much as he loves Lenina he can never have her because of the incompatibilty between them. A realtionship must be based on common values and love instead of just sexual desire, which is the only factor in World State realtionships. Huxley specifically describes this difference through a conversation between Lenina and John. "'But, John... I thought you were... I mean, aren't you?...' He shut the door..."(Huxley 171). Lenina is shocked by John's lack of desire because she doesn't understand his need for a 'normal' relationship and never will because of her conditioning. John realizes that they can never be together because Lenina will never leave her carefree livestyle for a real life without soma or an active sex life.