Journal Log for Independent Reading Project #2: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Mia Stinemetz

11/8/16: pages 1-41

I just started to read the book and it is really weird, from what I can tell from early on is that it is
about a utopia. A utopia is a perfect world. They seem to be mass producing humans, making
them so that the babies grow really fast and perfectly so that they can work faster and much
more diligently. Im predicting that it is going to show the flaws in this Utopian society and how it
is going to crumble. I think that it almost a warning to our world, showing us what NOT to do.

11/14/16: pages 41-45

I did more reading and there is a common theme; stability. They require the people to be
perfect humans who are reliable and do everything the way they are supposed to. Also, it
seems that sexual interaction is highly encouraged. But not with only one partner, they arent
supposed to mess around with just one person for long periods of time. They are supposed to
be normal, non-emotional people, not caring about other people or their feelings.

11/21/16: pages 45-64

This book is awfully weird, it has a lot of weirdly sexual things. So far theres been this girl who
has actually been faithful to one guy for 6 months and that is frowned upon. Also this other guy
is small in the area, all the other guys and girls make fun of him for it. They also teach the
babies that it is okay to mess around with one another. They dont have parents, they dont have
religion, or anything of that sort.

11/28/16: pages 64-99

I hate this book. Why is it on the list? It makes no sense!!!!!! So far, what ive gotten from the
book is that theres girl named Lenina and shes shamed by her friend because shes been
seeing Henry for over 6 months, apparently in this Utopia, that is frowned upon. Also, there is
this boy named Bernard, and people dont like him and dont want to do anything with him, he
explains to his friend, who I am confused about, that he feels like he is missing something. He
tells him that he feels empty.

12/1/16: pages 99-105

I read part of chapter five. It was about Lenina and Bernard, they went away together and were
planning to stay on a reservation. But they cant go until they ask permission from the Warden.
The Warden told them that on the reservation there were babies that were actually BORN and
not grown in a lab, which was very surprising and odd. The reservation is similar to our present
day reservations for Indians, they dont have to abide by our rules. So the warden was warning
them that although it is nice and fancy, it is weird because things arent normal.
12/12/16: pages 105- 122
I read chapter seven completely. Lenina and Bernard go on a hike with this Indian guide to
show them the savages living place. Lenina is disgusted and revolted and angry because she
forget her soma (her drugs that make you feel happy). They finally get there and they are
normal, born children, Indians half-naked with loin cloths, and this woman named Linda. Linda
was from their world before. (I think that she got in trouble back in the old world and was
banished to the reserve). She complains about how they dont have hot water, or nice clothing,
or how the women actually have babies and it isnt normal to have more than one man. The
women are rude to her because their husbands go to see her.

12/14/16: pages 122-139

I read chapter 8, so Linda got sent to the reserve because I think she got pregnant, Im not
completely sure though. Anyways, so she lives with this boy that I think is her son, (hes noa
now young adult). The boys name is John and hes talking to Bernard and telling him about his
childhood, he was taught to read by Linda and he didnt understand the book because it was
about embryos and stuff. He gets really frustrated. This man name Pope comes and stays with
Linda and they do things. John doesnt like this, he gets very angry and stabs Pope in the arm
with the meat cutter. All of the people make fun of him and Linda, they throw rocks at him and
dont let him be included in all the activities that the other boys do. Bernard relates to this, he
tells John that he understands what it is like to be an outcast. John is happy when he hears this.
He wonders if Bernard and Lenina are married, Bernard laughs. But John laughs because hes
excited because he likes Lenina.

12/20/16: pages 139-152

I read chapter 9 and 10 and they were both very short so Im only doing one journal log. These
chapters showed how much John likes Lenina. In chapter 9, Bernard left somewhere and John
went to go see him, at first John was really sad that he had left him, but quickly realized that
someone much better was there. Lenina was sleeping peacefully and so John decided to go
into the bedroom, look through her stuff, pour her perfume all over him, and then go to her bed
and halfway undress her. It was quite weird. Then in chapter 10, the Director catches Bernard
and says that he is dismissed and is an enemy of them. Bernard brings in Linda and John.
Linda runs to the Director, apparently, they had a baby together, the Director made her do it.
The Director is the father of John, John runs to his feet and calls him father. The entire building
of workers laughs and laughs, the Director is appalled and runs out of the room. The book is
starting to make more sense.

12/30/16: pages 152-170

In these two chapters, Bernard brought John and Linda back and Linda went on a somma
holiday, which really means shes getting really high. Shes taking a lot of drugs and the doctor
said that pretty soon shes going to stop breathing and die. Bernard is pretty much famous
because of the savages that he brought with him (Linda and John). He got to have many girls,
they all wanted to see him. Him and Lenina were very famous, they got to have important meals
with people and got treated like royalty. Lenina also realizes that she likes the savage and
struggles with wondering if John likes her back.

12/31/16: pages 170-186

Chapter 12 was about Bernard mostly. Hes happy that he is so famous and starts to take
advantage of John. He schedules a dinner with the Arch-Community-Songster but the savage
bursts out in rage. He refused to go to the dinner. Bernard is incredibly angry. John starts going
to see Helmholtz whom was Bernards old friend. Helmholtz tells Bernard about he starts writing
poems, his poems are about solitude, which is against the rules. Because the society is all
about being together with each other all the time. John and Helmholtz start making new poems
and Bernard is very jealous.

1/3/17: pages 186-198

In this chapter Lenina decides shes going to go see John. She takes half of a gramme of soma
because she still isnt sure that he likes her, and shes nervous. She goes tot him and he
confesses that he loves her. She doesnt realize why he has been acting so strange. John tells
Lenina that he wants to get married to her. She doesnt understand. But she starts stripping,
John goes crazy, he starts repeating poetry madly and when she asks what is wrong, he hits
her. She runs into the bathroom naked, asks for her clothes back and only comes out after shes
sure that he is gone.

1/3/17: pages 198-207

After the whole incident in the last chapter, John receives news that Linda is going to die soon.
He rushes over there only to find her in an awful state. She is high, very worn, and near death.
John can barely stand to see her like this. He tries to remember her when she was on the
reserve, when she was happy. John is really upset about Linda he screams and threatens kids
who are in the building who make fun of her. Finally, she dies and John is very sad because he
lost his mother, and nobody understands.

1/5/17: pages 207-216

John goes crazy in this chapter. After Lindas death, he is distraught, he comes out into the
place where they are distributing soma to groups of people. He recognizes how they resemble
zombies, going on in life for no reason, with no purpose. He cries out brave new world, he tries
to get them to understand, and stop. Bernard and Helmholtz show up, then people start
swarming them because John threw the soma out the window. The police are called and they
have to calm the people down with soma. Then take the three away.

1/5/17: pages 217-229

Chapter 16. Bernard John, and Helmholtz were taken to see the Controller for Western Europe.
He was calm, he told them that they would probably go to an island somewhere. When Bernard
heard this, he flipped out and was removed. He explained that going to an island was an honor
because they would be surrounded by people who understand truth and beauty. He said that in
a world you cant have complete happiness and truth and beauty. In this world, they chose
complete happiness and so did he. Helmholtz understood and went to check on Bernard.

1/6/17: pages 229-240

The Controller for Western Europe was talking to the savage after Helmholtz left and was
talking to him about how society has to give up things to have happiness and stability. John
talked about how it was stupid to have to give up such beauty of real life only so that you can
have everyone be happy. He said that he would rather have all the beauties that come with
struggles and hardship, than have comfort all the time. The Controller said that they chose
comfort instead of hardship and beauty because the society couldnt be perfect with hardship.

1/9/17: pages 241-259

In this final chapter of this book, it shows how the savage goes to live by himself and tries to live
alone. He says his goodbyes to his friends and sets out to find a place to live. He choses a
lighthouse, and although is conflicted because it is very nice and he is trying to get rid of the life
of civilization, he eventually goes there. He uses his money that the government gave him and
buys supplies: pots, rope, matches, etc.. Eventually he is bombarded by these women who say
him whip himself because he was trying to purify himself. These women are intoxicating to him
and the book ends with John waking up. When he wakes up, he realizes that he was intoxicated
with soma, he is ashamed of himself. Then when all of the reporters come looking for him, he is
nowhere to be seen.