CHAPTER NINE
Summary: Lenina is overwhelmed by the disgusting and horrifying sights she has seen in the Reservation. To break away from it all, she takes a large amount of soma that puts her into a short coma. (soma-holiday) While Lenina lay passed out in her drug-induced slumber, Bernard goes to make a phone call to Mustapha Mond to ask if he will be allowed to bring Linda and John back to London. He accepts, finding their coming to be of sufficient scientific interest.
While Bernard is away, John goes to the rest-house where Lenina and Bernard were staying. He yells for them to no avail, and he considers them already gone from the Reservation. He gets sad and betrayed, but assumes he should look through the window. He gets a glimpse of Lenina's briefcase and gets reassured that he has not been abandoned. He then takes a rock and flings it through the window to get inside. Once inside, he searches through her stuff and findings numerous beauty products, all of which he sniffs and rubs against his face. (Odd...) He then hears a sigh coming from Lenina and he realizes that she is deep in sleep in the next room. John studies her and recites some Shakespeare lines to her.
But then, there is a helicopter noise, and he knows that it's Bernard coming back from his hotel! John dashes out of Lenina's room, bounds out the window and runs away leaving no trace of himself behind. (Aside from the broken window, the glass shards everywhere, the rock that is laying in the middle of the room, the random clothing of Lenina's strewn about, the smell of perfume lingering in the air...)
Vocabulary:
Cygnet - (n.) a young swan.
Agaves - (n.) Tropical American plants for decoration. Known for their Sword-shaped leaves.
Literary Elements:
Irony:
Going to the Reservation, which is essentially a vacation/holiday for Lenina and Bernard, yet it was so terrible and horrific, she needed a holiday for her holiday!! :O
Shakespeare Allusions:
1 from Trolius and Cressida:
"Hey eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice;
Handlest in thy discourse O! that her hand,
In whose comparison all whites are ink
Writing their own reproach; to whose soft seizure
The cygnet's down is harsh. . ."
2 from Romeo and Juliet:
"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."
"Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that. . .No, he didn't"
Something ironic about the quotes is that they are both from tragedies of love gone wrong. John's joy along with his eagerness to explore the New World, and his attraction to Lenina will probably end up in tears and sadness.
Why Chapter is Important:
In this chapter, Bernard gets the permission from Mustapha Mond to bring John and Linda back to London. Mustapha agrees which is excellent as it doesn't interfere with Bernard's plan. (To reverse the humiliation which the Director plans for Bernard, back onto him by presenting him with the mother of his child. [Child included...John])
John's attraction to Lenina goes further in-depth in the chapter. Lenina passed out in soma-holiday gives John a very big temptation, but he strongly resists however vocalizing his feelings through Romeo and Juliet quotes. He doesn't even allow the flies to touch her, he shoos them away from her as if they are trying to steal her. (Immortal Blessings)
John's feelings and eagerness for the New World are very strong, because when he feels he's been abandoned, he begins to cry. This could also be his troubled childhood coming through again, everyone mistreating him, making him feel more and more alone. Thankfully since these people are from a different place, he rethinks about the situation and decides to look inside the house.
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