Summary - While in the reserve, Lenina and Bernard witness an old man, who appears aged, diseased, and overall not good. Bernard explains that he is just old, that the people of the Reservation age in a different and more natural way than people in their world do. They see a lot more things unnatural to them: the starving dogs, mothers, and unwashed people. Then, they start to watch a ritual that is meant to please Jesus and Pookong. People started dancing to drums while dressed in beads, feathers, and snakes. Suddenly, a boy and whipper appear. They start to throw snakes around and sprinkle them with corn meal and water. A man on a cross is watching everything happen, the boy still being whipped. Lenina becomes horrified and wants to leave when she sees all the blood. As they start to leave, the crowd disperses as well. Older women come out of their houses, pick up the boy who was whipped and leave again. Bernard is startled and Lenina is surprised when John the Savage appears behind them saying he wanted to be the one to be whipped, but couldn't because his skin was lighter. He mentions the controller is his father, and Bernard rushes for him to tell them more. They follow John to his house, where they meet his mother Linda. Linda is really excited to see civilized people and grabs Lenina, who becomes disgusted, because Linda is rather large and smelly.
Allusions - Jesus - Christianity
Pookong - Rain god
John - John the baptist, preached the coming of the way in the wilderness, got his head cut off
Popé - Pope
This chapter made the inciting event come a lot closer. We find out the director's lady is still alive, and is pretty fat. We also find out her and the director are the parents of John the savage, and just have to wait for Bernard to introduce the father and son. John the savage is the protagonist.
Vocab - Goitre - noun - swelling of the neck due to enlargement of the thyroid gland
Innocuous - adj - not harmful or offensive
Viscose - noun - a viscous orange-brown solution obtained by treating cellulose with sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide
Linda --> Lenina
Tomakin (Thomas) --> the director
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