Brave New World Help - John the Savage (1 Viewer)

DonnaLily

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Hey,

I am doing John the Savage for an English assignment, where I have to take on the role of John.

My problem is I have trouble finding quotes to back up what I think of the character. Can anyone suggest some good quotes that relate to the character of John, his perceptions of the natural world, and relationship to the world of the Brave New World.

Thanks for any help in advance,
Donna Lily
 

poopoohead

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Ive kind of misplaced my copy of Brave New World- but looking back at some of my notes- the conversation between John the Savage and Mustapha Mond might be of some use- chapter 17???

Final chapter may be of some significance?

sorry i can't provide direct quotes

You could also mention how John the Savage could be seen as a major symbol of humanities detachment from the natural world- John is from the true natural world and his inability to survive in this ‘new world’ is an indication of the significant damage to the natural world that has been caused by technology etc. Huxley describes how humans are created and conditioned and not born, and where ‘everyone belongs to everyone else’. You could perhaps link this to the context of the 1930's. Satirical???

Um yeah, hope this is of some use
 

passion89

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Yeah mention the satirical nature of the book itself and then you might like to say how Huxley makes John commit suicide to show the hopelessness of life in this brave new world.

What I think also you need to focus on would be the fact that both the brave new world AND the reservation are not portrayed as ideal places to live. There is gruesome imagery describing Linda and others and it positions the responder to NOT sympathise with the portrayal of 'the wild'. Here you can describe John's hesitation with each world.
 

robo-andie

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- The two times when he quotes the tempest.

First time is when Bernard tells John he will be coming back to the city with him and John replies with "oh brave new world........" (don't know the full quote, but you can easily find it in the book)

Then later on, John is being given a tour of a factory and all he sees is twins, and he vomits after saying in disgust "oh brave new world....."

- Another moment which would be useful, is when Lenina is coming onto John in Bernards apartment and he screams at her "whore!" etc.

- Then as others mentioned, when John commits suicide in the final chapter after whipping himself violently, and I think he was quoting something as he did it, or screaming at the people. Last few pages anyway, you'll find it.

- I personally, would use some of the things John says when he takes the soma from some people and causes a riot in the hospital. On the topic of hospitals, when John watches his mother dieing as the children play around him and he calls out in disgust.

Those are some critical moments in the book which will tell you about Johns character and his perspective on this new world.

Sorry about my lack of quotation. Though, if you know the parts in the book I am talking about, it shouldn't be that hard to find decent quotes. Goodluck :D
 

nat1119

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DonnaLily said:
Hey,

I am doing John the Savage for an English assignment, where I have to take on the role of John.

My problem is I have trouble finding quotes to back up what I think of the character. Can anyone suggest some good quotes that relate to the character of John, his perceptions of the natural world, and relationship to the world of the Brave New World.

Thanks for any help in advance,
Donna Lily
hey,
focus on the later chapters of the book, they provide insight into the 'torn' character of john. Take into consideration that John can be seen as an outcast, he is reject from the reservation and the world of BNW, so his perceptions are quite large and can relate to our context far more easier than any other character. His perceptions of BNW are shaped by his mother somewhat... there is so much you can talk about, but remember to relate it back to the rubric. i.e. context

ther you go...
 

MedNez

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DonnaLily said:
My problem is I have trouble finding quotes to back up what I think of the character. Can anyone suggest some good quotes that relate to the character of John, his perceptions of the natural world, and relationship to the world of the Brave New World.
The philosophical debate between Mustapha Mond and John has some absolute gems you could use. Right at the end of the chapter:

Chapter 17 said:
"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 to-morrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind." There was a long silence.

"I claim them all," said the Savage at last.
Which is easily paraphrased to something like, "You claim the right to be a,b,c,de?" There was a long silence "I claim them all".

It's a good quote to show John's connectedness with nature. He wants to feel, he wants to be in tune with the natural rhythms. There's a good contrast with someone like Lenina, who can't fathom why John would want to be all things natural. You could link this to their trip out to the storm, and John loving it but Lenina hating it and wanting to leave.

As mentioned above- it'd be important to note his words from the tempest which ironically come back to satirise him, followed by his suicide to escape the BNW.
 

DonnaLily

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Thank you all VERY much, you've helped me heaps.
I'll take everything you've all said on board for this assessment :)

Thanks again,
Donna
 

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