A Character Named John to a Brave New World

John is a unique character. He was the child of parents from the New World but was raised in the reservation. In many ways, the place where John was born is far different from the New World, with more natural births taking place and ritualistic dances occurring.

John meets Bernard and Lenina after they witness a blood sacrifice. “…To bring the rain and the corn to grow..,” (Huxley 115) the old man said as the boy he had whipped limped to the floor.

“As though we are living on different planets, in different centuries,” (Huxley 123) Bernard describes as he walked and talked with John to the small hut. John tells them about his mother and himself. He mentions the name “Tomakin” as the name of his father. Bernard connects this with the D.H.C.’s visit to the reservation. John then goes into more detail, telling Bernard about his life on the reservation, such as the relationships that his mother, Linda, had been in.

“He returned to the house and heard angry voices in the bedroom – they were women’s voices… suddenly, crash!” (Huxley 125). It was the women of the village beating Linda, who had no restraint when it came to performing vigorous activity with their men. John had received a present from Popé (there’s a squiggle above the ‘e’) – “It was a thick book and looked very old… the book was called The Complete Works of William Shakespeare,” (Huxley 131) (Popé is also someone that Linda had been seeing). The book had given John words to describe his hatred for Popé, which made his hatred for Popé grow even more. “Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous… the words repeated and repeated themselves in his head,” (Huxley 133). John wanted to kill Popé, which he tried and failed to do. Popé just laughed it off and told John to leave.

Years later, John and other kids were on the way to the kiva to become men, but John was held back by some older men and wasn’t allowed to go. He had been chased away with a rainfall of rocks. “The bruises, the cuts were still bleeding; but it was not for pain that he sobbed; it was because he was all alone…” (Huxley 136). John was driven out and left as an outcast to the society he was raised in. Later on, he decided to starve himself for five days then head to the mountains to dream of his sacred animal.

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