John the Savage has asked to be allowed to go with
Helmholtz to the islands, but he is denied because Mustapha Mond wishes to continue the
experiment with the Savage. So, since Mond will not grant him exile, John chooses exile
himself where he can be alone and experience what he calls "the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune," using the words from Hamlet. As his
hermitage, John selects a lighthouse, an isolated spot that affords him the view of
nature and solitude from the horrible masses of Deltas and
others.
He comes to this area to be purified, to make
amends to himself and to Linda; he wishes to "escape further contamination by the filth
of civilized life." There he focuses on the "immensities of death and deity," regaining
a sense of the spiritual. However, when the Deltas discover him and Darwin Bonaparte
films him, John's life becomes part of a feely, and he is again exploited. His efforts
at penance leave him bereft, and he still feels his sexual desire for Lenina when she
arrives. For, even though he hurls his Shakepearean epithets at her and
self-flagellates, his lust overcomes him and he falls into the orgy-porgy that the
viewers begin.
John is sickened by his weakness in giving
in to sins of the flesh. His efforts at self-penance have failed as he engages in the
orgy. There is no penance left for him but self-destruction. Like the figure in
voluntary crucifixion that he was previously, John hangs himself in his despair of
freedom and purity, making himself an example of how no one can be "unstable" and
survive for Mustapha to use for his utopian society.
No comments:
Post a Comment