"Degrade him from what position? As a happy, hardworking, goods-consuming citizen he's perfect." (pg. 236)
The second sentence of the quote is an example of an anastrophe. Writers use an anastrophe to show emphasis. In this example, Huxley wanted us to see the descriptions of making one "perfect" before saying that one was "perfect."
In this chapter, John and Mustapha Mond get into the topic of religion. Mustapha shows John several books including the Bible explaining God and who He is. John asks Mustapha Mond why he doesn't tell the others about God, and Mustapha tells him that God is old and they don't like old. God has not changed, but people have. I feel like this can kind of relate to our society now. Some people have given up on God for drugs, alcohol, sex, and personal pleasure. It upsets me that people do this, but I can't do anything about it; it's their life. John is mad that Mustapha Mond hides God from the society.
John even says, "'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.... Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind. I claim them all.'"
I also noticed that Mustapha knew about God and religion, but did not share it with society. He did not even give them an opportunity to accept or reject it. I think it was somewhere around here when Mustapha said that he made the rules so he could break them. If that is true and he is breaking the rules it must be for a good reason. There must be a reason for him wanting to break the rules. If he needs something to believe in, wouldn't it be safe to assume that other citizens are feeling the same way? I don't know, call me crazy but I would feel the same way as John. I would want emotions and feelings and choices.
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