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Fiction

Notes Analysis

Society has compromised John’s struggle to maintain his individuality and destroy society’s
“sameness.” For John, “sameness” becomes visually embodied in the bokanovskified twins.
The physical appearance of multitudes of twins, all replicated and doing the same job, represents
the total eradication of individual personality.
John logically blames soma for this elimination of individuality. Soma suppresses emotions,
which are the defining characteristics of individuals. By trying to force the Deltas to act as
individuals, John attacks society’s roots. He sees the difference between the social order and
individuality as one of freedom. Helmholtz realizes this and joins the Savage with the significant
cry, “Men at last!”
John the Savage develops more clearly as a Christ figure. Like the character of Christ in the
New Testament, Christ figures come to teach some great truth or revelation to an ignorant or
unenlightened people. The Christ figure speaks truth, but the people often do not hear the
message. The Christ figure thus becomes a sacrifice for his ideals.
Ironically, although John and Helmholtz seek to force the Deltas to act as individuals, they
obtain the opposite result. The Deltas instead act as a unified mob, a classic example of people
who have lost their ability to make personal choices. Huxley shows that not only does a mob
rob its members of their individuality, but that the society in Brave New World is in reality
a carefully orchestrated mob.
Bernard is a pathetic individual for whom the reader can only feel sympathy. Bernard so fears
acting as an individual that he still seeks societal acceptance. Thus, he does not join his friends
because he fears permanent rejection. However, he does not realizes that he already faces it,
as shown when he fails to sneak out of the hospital with the multitude. The police usher him
into the car with the Savage and Helmholtz, firmly implicating him as an individual.

19.1.3. Chapters 16–18

Chapter 16

Summary
The three men enter Mustapha Mond’s office. Helmholtz chooses the best chair in the room
while Bernard seeks out the worst, hoping that this self-inflicted punishment will make things
easier for him. Mustapha arrives and asks the Savage if he likes their civilization. John does
not, but he adds that it does have some nice things like the floating music. Mustapha quotes
Shakespeare to him: “Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about my ears
and sometimes voices.” The Savage is thrilled that someone else knows Shakespeare. Mustapha
indicates that although he forbids reading things such as Shakespeare, he can break the rules
since they are his rules.
When asked why he censors old things like Shakespeare, Mustapha replies that society no
longer needs them. People are happy now and would not even understand the old things.
When Helmholtz argues that something like Othello is what he has always wanted to write,
Mustapha says that he will never write it because tragedy and raw emotions lead to social
instability. At the same time, creating works of art is not possible without tragic elements
within society. The challenge in their civilization is to write works of art inspired by nothing
so that they inspire nothing. Mustapha admits that happiness is never quite as great as tragedy.
They then discuss the Bokanovsky groups. Mustapha points out that an entire society of Alpha
Pluses would create social chaos. No one wants to waste time doing the menial chores performed

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