Chapter 9 again - Another Allusion to Shakespeare

"On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, may seize

And steal immortal blessing from her lips,
Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,
Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin."  (pg. 144)

Surprise, surprise... There's another allusion to Shakespeare!  This time John quotes Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" while talking to Lenina, who's asleep from taking so much soma.  He professed how beautiful he thought Lenina was and how he wanted to touch her hand but couldn't.  I think the references to Shakespeare show that John didn't have much to read as a kid and just reread the same Shakespeare book over and over again until it was memorized.  Shakespeare puts so much beauty in his work that just saying what he wrote makes one sound special.  John sounds so intelligent and passionate by quoting the fantastic work of Shakespeare.  Sometime later in the book, I think that John might start to show his affection toward Lenina when she's awake.  I don't know how she will take it, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

Chapter 9 - Alliteration and Approval

"There, on a low bed, the sheet flung back, dressed in a pair of pink one-piece zippyjamas, lay Lenina, fast asleep..." (pg. 143)

As the author describes how Lenina looks in the hotel bed, he uses an example of alliteration.  Alliteration is mostly used to writing to grab the reader's attention and focus it on the topic.  This example turns one's attention to the details and adjectives of the clothes Lenina is wearing.  I think alliteration is always fun to read.  Why wouldn't someone want to read "She sells seashells by the seashore"?  It makes reading interesting...

This chapter had some major events happen that could affect the setting of the rest of the book.  While Lenina had been sleeping all day in her bed, Bernard crept away to Santa Fe to get the necessary work done to be able to bring back John and Linda.  If everything works out, Bernard, John, Lenina, and Linda should be going back to New Mexico where three of them are from.  Also, I wonder what the big wigs in Santa Fe thought when Bernard was explaining to them the situation back at the Reserve.  If I was one of them, I probably would not have believed him.

Chapter 8 - "O Brave New World"

"'O brave new world,' he repeated.  'O brave new world that has such people in it.  Let's start at once.'"  (pg.139)

The term "brave new word" finally reveals itself in the book to describe the place where John has been dying to go his whole life.  This "brave new world" is the place where Bernard, Lenina, and Linda had come from: "the Other Place."  He believes that if he goes there, he will finally not be alone or be exiled anymore.  Bernard in his mind knew that this theory was wrong, but he didn't say anything.  Bernard asked him if he would like to go to "the Other Place" and bring Linda along, but he didn't think it through all of the way.  I think that they will have much trouble trying to get them back, but maybe the D.H.C. will help them and everything will be O.K.

The above quote also has an allusion in it.  The line "O brave new world that has such people in it" is from Shakespeare's "The Tempest."  I thought that it was clever that the author did this, and it shows how much the author admired Shakespeare and his literature.

I also like to see the development of the relationship between Bernard and John.  They seem to have similar personalities, and I wonder where the book will take it.

Chapter 7 - Finding the Lost One

"'Hullo.  Good-morrow,' said the stranger, in faultless but peculiar English."  (pg. 116)

This is an example of dialect that one of the Indians had as he was talking to Bernard and Lenina.  The dialect helps the reader determine how that civilization spoke and how different it sounds compared to everyday English that we use.  This is the first case in the novel that I've seen where words are spelled differently on purpose to make the reader understand what the person sounds like.  Just reading this one line brings my mind back to last summer when we had to read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" for AP Lang.  Dey talked lik dis, and it wuz confuzin.  My mind adjusted though, and I really enjoyed that novel.

In this chapter, I found it ironic that, on Bernard and Lenina's first day there, they found who they think is the D.H.C.'s girlfriend, whom he lost many years ago, and her son.  I probably should have seen that coming.  Now, I wonder what Bernard and Lenina will do: will they try to help Linda and her son, or leave them there?

Chapter 6 - Roadtrip!

"'I had the same idea as you,' the Director was saying.  'Wanted to have a look at the savages. Got a permit for New Mexico and went there for my summer holiday.  With the girl I was having at the moment.... I actually dream about it sometimes,' the Director went on in a low voice.  'Dream of being woken up by the peal of thunder and finding her gone; dream of searching and searching for her under the trees.'"  (pg. 96-97)

This long, personal anecdote, made by the Director, explains his reasoning why Bernard should not do what he was planning to do.  He lost his girlfriend because she wondered off why he was taking a nap, and he never found her.  He doesn't want the same thing to happen to Bernard.  The Director also mentioned that he did not approve of Bernard's behavior outside the working hours and threatened him by saying he'll transfer him to Iceland.  Bernard takes it as a compliment of being a rebel, but I think the Director is serious.  Bernard and Lenina decide to leave anyway and go to New Mexico reservation.  Why would anyone want to do that?  I feel like Bernard is trying to get away from civilization, but I don't know why.  He's taking Lenina with him, and she keeps persuading him to take soma.

Chapter 5 - Bernard and His Loneliness... again

"He was as miserably isolated now as he had been when the service began - more isolated by reason of his unreplenished emptiness, his dead satiety.  Separate and unatoned, while the others were being fused into the Greater Being; alone even in Morgana's embrace - much more alone, indeed, more hopelessly himself than he had ever been in his life before.... He was utterly miserable, and perhaps (her shining eyes accused him), perhaps it was his own fault." (pg. 86)

Bernard's stream of consciousness is very dreary and melancholy.  He seems to get more depressed as the book goes on.  This stream of consciousness makes Bernard seem like he has no self-confidence and that he is on the edge of suicide.  His isolation is strange to me because he is not alone in the room of twelve people.  Bernard had just celebrated something religious (I think?) that should have made him feel closer to the spirit (or whatever), but it is doing the exact opposite.

I also want to point out the similarities that this religious service has to the Catholic Mass.  There is a leader who leads the worship, like a priest in a Catholic Mass.  They kept saying "Ford" which I think is like us saying "Lord."  They make the T sign like a cross in the Catholic faith, and they sing hymns like Catholics.  Even though Bernard only goes every other week, I believe that this might be his religious aspect in his life.

Chapter 4 - Bernard Marx

"The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects."  (pg. 65)

The above quote is talking about Bernard Marx.  No one talked to him, except to make fun of him, but Lenina Crowne.  She asked him on a date which Bernard never thought would happen.  He went to talk to his friend, Helmholtz Watson to ask of his advice.  Helmholtz had been the opposite of Bernard in that he had all the girls.

The character of being an outsider reminds me of a movie I recently watched that I really enjoyed.  The movie is called "That's What I Am."  It's about a character named Big Red who is bullied for being so tall and having red hair.  Throughout the whole movie, Big Red must overcome the fact that everywhere he goes he is bullied until Andy comes along.  They are paired as buddies for a project and must communicate and be with each other.  Andy starts defending Big Red, and the movie continues.  I don't want to spoil the ending so you can watch it so that's all I'm going to say.

Maybe, Bernard will end up like Big Red and be defended.  Bernard might actually fall in love with someone. Who knows?

Chapter 3 - Adolescents

"Whisk. Whisk - and where was Odysseus, where was Job, where was Jupiter and Gotama and Jesus? Whisk - and those specks of antique dirt called Athens and Rome, Jerusalem, and the Middle Kingdom - all were gone.  Whisk - the place where Italy had been was empty.  Whisk, the cathedrals; whisk, whisk, King Lear and the Thoughts of Pascal.  Whisk, Passion; whisk, Requiem; whisk, Symphony; whisk..." (pg. 35)


This anaphora emphasizes the word Whisk.  What does the word Whisk mean?  Normally, the purpose of an anaphora is to emphasize an effect or reinforce an idea.  Truly, I have no idea what this quotation means nor what most of this chapter was about.  I know at the beginning of the chapter the students saw how the adolescents played together, and they were fascinated.  But, it got more confusing.  There were at least three different conversations towards the end of the chapter that were smashed together, and I could only truly keep one scene straight.  The conversation between Lenina and Fanny talked about whether or not Lenina should be more promiscuous.  It also described Fanny as feeling different and possibly pregnant.  Another scene was the Director with the students where they talked about history.  The students were fascinated by meeting Mond, the Controller.  Hopefully, the book explains itself more clearly in the next chapter...

Chapter 2 - Teaching

"The Nile is the longest river in Africa and the second in the length of all the rivers in the globe.  Although falling short of the length of the Mississippi-Missouri, the Nile is at the head of all rivers as it regards the length of its basin, which extends through 35 degrees of latitude..." (pg. 25)

Chapter Two included some examples of how the lab teaches children through associating objects with sounds and through sleep.  The above quote is what the lab was trying to teach a child in his sleep to see if he could wake up knowing this fact.  Someone asked him when he woke up what the longest river in Africa was, and he didn't know.  He could recite the quote but could not answer the question.  I thought this was very interesting and neat.  I would think that if I had something memorized, I could put two and two together and say that the Nile is the longest river in Africa, but this example says otherwise.  I think this would be a cool experiment to try on someone.  The other method of teaching in the lab involves babies designating certain objects to be good or bad.  The scientists brought the babies into the room and put them next to flowers and books.  As the babies touched the objects, the scientists sounded a shrieking alarm that made the babies cry and be frightened.  They took the babies away and brought them back to the flowers and books later.  At the sight of the two objects, the babies started screaming, and the lesson was over.  I thought this was really cool too to see how smart  babies are and how their minds work.  Just by the sight of the two objects, the babies were filled with horror and will now associate the sight of flowers and books with a shrieking alarm for the rest of their lives.

Chapter 1... again

"Whizz and then, click!" (pg. 9)

This onomatopoeia is used to explain the sound that was made when the lift-hatches were opened in the Bottling Room.  An onomatopoeia is effectively used in writing to express sound just by reading the word.  While I was reading, I could hear the sound of the hatches being opened and felt as if I was walking into the room myself.  The Director and this lab are still very confusing to me.  I don't know what is really going on still.  This group of students seem to be considerably smart to me as they hardly ask any questions where I would be the one asking a million questions.  Mr. Foster seems to have some knowledge about the lab too, but the novel did not explain his connection to the group.  I feel like the Director and Mr. Foster sometimes try to outdo each other and try to show the kids that one is better than the other, but I could be wrong on that one.

It has begun...

"And in effect the sultry darkness into which the students now followed him was visible and crimson, like the darkness of closed eyes on a summer's afternoon." (pg. 11)


This simile is really effective because almost every human being has been outside on a summer's day with their eyes closed at some point in their life.  It occurs frequently in the summer as many people want to sun tan while falling asleep under the sun.  The simile explains the color of the darkness that everyone was walking through in a way relatable to almost everyone.

Starting this new book, I am very confused about what's going on.  I think that there are several labs in which humans are being made up to eighty-four "twins" at a time, but I'm not understanding what happens to all of the humans after they are developed.  I believe that the students mentioned in the first chapter of the book are taking a field trip through one of the human development labs and learning how the scientists are making humans.  The anxious-to-learn students must be teenagers, I believe, but it hasn't been told what age they are.

So far, I find the book somewhat interesting.  I think that what the scientists in the lab are doing is intriguing, and they seem to have everything all worked out.  My biggest question, which I hope will be answered in the coming chapters, is what is the point of scientifically making humans and what is going to happen to them?