Key events

[After Ford] The story begins

The year is a.f. 632 (632 years “after Ford”). The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning is giving a group of students a tour of a factory that mass-produces and then socially-conditions test-tube babies.

Reservation

Bernard and Lenina go on a trip to the reservation.

They meet John, The Savage. He appears to be the illegitimate son of the Director and Linda, a woman who disappeared twenty-five years ago.

Moments of grace

Bernard asks John if he would like to go to London with him. He has an ulterior motive that he keeps to himself: he wants to embarrass the Director by exposing him as John’s father.

Bernard triumphantly presents Linda and John, the Director's lost woman and illegitimate son. The Director is laughed out of office. Bernard is the big man on campus.

Payoff

The Savage flees, planning to become independent.

a photographer makes a popular film about The Savage., The Savage becomes a celebrity. There is a huge riot which turns into an orgy. The next morning, reporters find that the Savage has hung himself.

Mond's office

The police leave Bernard, Helmholtz, and John in Mond’s office.

Mond tells Helmholtz and Bernard that they will be exiled.

Mustapha Mond and the Savage speak of religion and the former traditional societies.

Collision

Bernard invites important guests to meet the Savage, but John refuses to leave his room.

the guests immediately start to feel contempt for Bernard, whom they had pretended to like only to meet John

Conflict between John and Lenina

Linda dies, and John collapses in tears.

John attempts to stir the Delta workers into rebellion by throwing away their soma