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Chapter 8 In
this chapter the hard life of Linda and John in the village is described.
Bernard asks John to tell him what it was like
growing up in the Indian village. John tells them about how his mother
Linda used to have sex with many men. Pope became her steady lover
because he brought her mescal (alcohol). At one point Linda was beaten
by the women of the village because they were upset that she keeps on
sleeping with their husbands. As a consequence oft the beating , Linda
slapped and blamed him for her predicament. John is taught to read by
Linda as he grows up. Also
John is insulted because of his mother and isolated by the other boys of
the village. The boys still sang one horrible song about Linda, more the
boys insulted and sang, the harder he read. Reading makes him different and mentally superior to
the other boys who use to beat and taunt him. On his twelfth birthday
John received a volume of the Complete Works of Shakespeare. He learned
to read the entire volume and was inspired by the fiery passages what
made him attempt to kill Pope . At the age of fifteen John was taught
how to make clay pots by one of the older Indians and how to construct
bows and arrows , a little bit later on. However, John was not allowed
to enter the kiva, a ritual initiation to make the young boys into men.
Instead he was driven from the village by a barrage of stones what
underlines the outsider role he has . John tells Bernard that he thought
once to have the sacred animal dreams that the Indian boys must have,
even though the tribe had not let him go with the other boys.
Bernard
invites John to return to England
with
him, having realized that John could be useful to ensure that he is not
sent to Iceland.
Bernard's
plan is to use John to blackmail the Director. John is thrilled to be
able to go to England and exclaims, "Oh brave new world" when
he hears that Linda will be allowed to come along as well.
Function of the Chapter In
Chapter 8 the reader gets to know John
who plays a big and important role in this book . Furthermore his way of life
in the reservation and his living - conditions are shown . This chapter allows us to better
understand the differences between the two worlds.
In
addition to this the reader gets informations about his past and his
relationship to his mother and the influences the different cultures
have on him come clear . I
think Huxley wants to show John is really an individual person with
emotions but shows paralells to Bernard . Both were rejected by "their"
society and to ensure Bernards position in his world he invites John and
his mother to come with him . So this chapter is kind of fundamental for
the whole story that happens later .
Characters John John
I think John is a weak character and an outsider in his world that likes
to be accepted . He really loves his mother Linda and hates everything
that "destroys" her like mescal and pope who provides her with
the drugs . He feels somehow superior to the other boys who are used to
beat him after he learnt reading . He learns to express what he thinks
by the Shakespeare book his mother gave to him . So he learns what hate
is and attempts to kill pope because he hates him so much . Linda Linda
sleeps with several man in this reservation . She consumes mescal as a
subsitute for soma (she came from the bnw but has been left as the
reader gets to know later on in this book ) . She loves John although
she slapped him after she has been beaten by the women of the town . So
I think she is a bit confused about the way of life in the reservations
and is not sure how to behave in "this world" . Moreover the
mescal has a bad influence on her so that she often gets agressive and
tired after drinking mescal . Popé He is Linda`s "main" lover in the reservation and provides her with mescal (alcohol) and brings her the Shakespeare book . Important
Quotations
"But
he was also crying because people were so beastly and unfair , and
because he was only a little boy and couldn't do anything against them"
, p.114 ll. 9-12 (said by John). In
this part emerges the impossibility of
John to act, he can’t react because of his young age. "[...]
; she seemed to be talking with someone inside herself . [...]; and in
the end she started crying louder than ever . " ,
p.114
(said
by Linda). This
underlines the inward dissatisfaction of Linda. "[...]
in lovely clean bottles - ... " , p.116
(said by Linda ). In
this part there is the melancholy memory of the other world. "But
I can read , he said to himself , and they can't" , " The more
the boys pointed and sang the harder he read " , P. 117. This
sentence puts in evidence the importance of
reading for John, he finds in this activity strength to go on and
to face difficulties. "He
paid no attention to her calling , but ran on , away , away, anywhere to
be himself ." , p. 123. It
is the desperation of John
when the woman, that he loves, marries another boy of the village. "Because
I felt I ought to . If Jesus could stand it ." , p.125 (said by
John). This
action is the symbol of the profound unhappiness of John.
Obersavitions about the style In chapter 8 , Huxley shows
differences of the characters Linda and John . John thinks somehow
emotinal , shown by lots of adjectives while Linda seems to think
rational and just raves (schwärmen?!) when thinking of the BNW . There
are tales and descriptions of the life in the
village. There
aren’t many dialogues, except in the end of the chapter when there is
the conversation between Bernard and John.
Comment I
think this Chapter is really important and it answers to many questions
I asked myself while reading BNW . It
shows what happens if a "perfect" human from the bnw has to
live in such a reservation with "normal" people . Chapter 8 is important because it highlights the different views about
freedom: in the village the people live the hard reality that includes
pains, feelings and passions
while in the “Other World” the inhabitants don’t know t pain but
only happiness. Everything is programmed since the birth. John is the most important character in the book
because he acts as a bridge between the two cultures, he is a curious
mixture of the "old" and the "new" world.
Moreover Huxley presents a character the
reader can identify with . So its quite interesting to see what would
happen if we would live in the Brave New World .
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