This passage is located from page 230 to 231, whose main conflict resembles to how religion losses importance as science keeps on evolving. Characters involved The participants in this passage are Mr. Mustapha Mond, the headmaster for the conditioning centre in Eastern Europe, and John, a British boy who lived overseas (New Mexico) in a reservation, where family union and religious believes were strongly encouraged. John returned with his mother Linda to England, as they produced a friendship with Bernard and Lelina during a vacation of theirs in the reservation. John struggled to fit in the technological world of Europe, as he loved to talk about God and read Shakespeare; hence, the narrator changes his name to The Savage.
Explanation of passage In this passage John and Mustapha Mond start talking about the way religion has been abolished in England, and all other places where babies are artificially produced, as science by itself can produce all answers humans wish to know (according to world controllers) . However, Mustapha Mond reveals an astonishing secret to John, regarding his passion for knowing prohibited information, in this case religious information.
In this passage Huxley intends to reflect how human nature will never change regardless of the time in history, as A CONTROLLER reflects interests on religion! Controllers are meant to base their lives on science, but Mustapha Mond shows that even scientist wish to know about their philosophical existence. Knowing about one�s existence is part of human nature, thus Huxley in this passage intends to literarily exhibit how humans will always resemble to their nature, without mattering the advances of science.
Contextualizing the passage with the rest of the novel The passage is situated at the beginning of chapter 17, just after Mustapha Mond tells Helmholtz and Bernard that they are going to be transferred to remote islands, due to their unorthodox behavior in England, and hence not doing their job properly. There exists an interesting contrast between chapter 16 and the beginning of 17, as in the first one Mustapha follows a protocol of removing individuals, while in the following episode he exposes the reader that although he lives in a techno-utopia, his human nature (evidenced from ancient times), is seen when he shows John all the biblical texts he has hidden. Therefore, Huxley is trying to exhibit that nature will never be over passed by science; nature is an independent entity from a moment in time. Also, Huxley shows that religion is part of human nature, as it makes humans think about the origin of all.
It is evident that the book provides the idea that humans are being created under certain genetic characteristics, however such inventions are intended for the wellbeing of a society (according to the novel), which is an ancient ideal of humans; it’s something natural, thus nature is not being changed. Nature is rather being allocated differently for fitting the standards of Ford�s society. That explains the interest of Mustapha Mond towards biblical texts, and thus the intention of the author for exposing his thoughts towards the world. And although the narrative doesn’t show a direct impact of what has been mentioned, the contrasts seen along the novel reflect such ideals.
Language, Narrative Use of adjectives and key words There are certain linguistic aspects that the passage exhibits, in order to create a realistic and believable scenery to the reader. Initially, the passage is a descriptive text, due to its good amount of adjectives and other key words. One first phrase for producing wide and coherent descriptions is when the narrator tells that Mustapha Mond opened a “heavy door” for taking out his biblical texts. By having applied the word “heavy”, Huxley makes emphasis on expressing that the information kept inside those walls is important, thus the exaggerated protection. Hence, with the implementation of adjectives the author minimizes the length of his sentences and maximizes the power of his descriptions.
A very evident fact for contextualizing and making the novel logical is the name given to John after his arrival to London, The Savage. With this nickname the author can openly expose John�s character and the societys perception towards him. Along the text it is seen that Huxley repetitively shows this word, in order to expose to the reader his perception of what our present behavior will be seen in some coming future. The word savage also makes emphasis for the end of the book, as John ended up hanging himself as he did not resists England without the constant presence of his friend Bernard: only savages do such act.
Repetitions and narrative, in regards to religion In order to make the narrative interesting and contextualized, there also exists the concept of repetition along the passage. It is evident that along the extract there are several repetitive words like “God”, and “Savage”, already mentioned, which not simply allows the novel to be well contextualized, but permits the reader to remind himself about the places and situations under which the novel happens.
The most controversial word seen along the text is God. One the main reasons that Huxley introduces that word throughout the whole book, is because it highlights the conflict between ancient and modern philosophies of life. It is evident that England is not interested at all in religious contents, but the reservation in New Mexico where John grew up has huge appreciation for God. Thus, the issue of religion along history is being portrayed by constantly introducing the word God.
The mentioning of religion along the book is also a direct consequence of the novel�s topic; the way in which religion has been abolished due to the advance in science. Huxley has a valid intention to introduce this topic by contextualizing it with John. He is clearly a contrast in the way humanity has evolved after Ford, as he demonstrates great interest for Shakespeare and God, while the rest of society abolishes those conceptions. John is a representation of our society in the far future, when referring to Huxley�s novel. Therefore, the author has the intention of contrasting his invented moment in time with the present we experience, in order to make the reader realize that human behavior and ideals change along time, as humans are an evolving entity. Huxley has always an intention behind his scripts, and as it can be clearly seen along this passage, the most prevalent aspect Huxley portrays is societal behavior.
