Brave New World - Timeline of John (2540 AD)

  • John Appears

    Lenina and Bernard meet John in the Reservation as he appears from the shadows during a ritualistic dance. He states that he wishes that he could've been the one being whipped during the ritual, because he would've been able to handle more rounds, and would have had the honor of doing something for their god.
  • Speaking with Bernard

    As John invites Lenina into his home to socialize with his mother Linda, he and Bernard go out on a walk to talk about his personal history. They both learn a lot about each other, and Bernard offers to take John and Linda back with them to England. He agrees, and the plan is set into motion.
  • Infatuation with Lenina

    As Bernard goes off to make phone calls, John breaks into Lenina's room and rummages through her things, falling in love with her even more when he sees her sleeping on her bed. Just as he is about to get closer, he hears Bernard coming back, and quickly escapes from the room.
  • Arriving in England

    Bernard, Lenina, Linda and John all travel back to England together, and as they arrive, John realizes that the Director of the World State is actually his father. He and Linda try to convince everyone of this fact, but they laugh it off, as they only see the two as uncivilized strangers who shouldn't be taken seriously.
  • Touring the Society

    John is taken on many tours throughout England to see its many sites, and he also meets a variety of important people. It is here where he begins experiencing suspicious and mixed thoughts about this new environment, and has trouble distinguishing between the reality of the World State and the myths that he had heard from Linda.
  • Visiting Eton

    John visits Eton with Bernard, and he further learns of the horrible things contained within this society. He is disgusted at a group of students laughing at a video of religious fanatics, and is horrified to hear that no one is allowed to read any sort of literature, especially the kind that he grew up with; Shakespeare.
  • Learning about the Castes

    Bernard then takes John to the Television Corporation Factory, where he learns about the upper and lower castes (in order - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon) and how they take daily doses of a drug called soma to cloud their thoughts and feelings. Once again, he is horrified by these practices.
  • Date with Lenina

    John ends up going on a date with Lenina, but throughout the whole thing, he remains embarrassed by her words and advances. As they return back to Lenina's house, she expects him to spend the night in bed with her, but he awkwardly says goodbye and leaves her in her room, confused and crying.
  • Locked Away

    Ashamed and depressed, John locks himself away in his room the next day, reading Romeo and Juliet and thinking lovingly about Lenina. Bernard wants him to be the main attraction at his dinner party, but John angrily refuses and swears at Bernard in his native language, leaving Bernard socially crippled and in debt towards the important people who are now angry at him for not bringing John to the party.
  • Becoming Friends with Helmholtz

    Bernard introduces John to Helmholtz, a man who wishes he could become a writer, and the two instantly bond over their shared passion for Shakespeare. Bernard soon becomes jealous over their deep connection, because he had never developed something similar with John.
  • John's Revolt

    Angered at the state of this new world's civilization and his mother's death being treated like nothing, John intercepts members of the Delta caste as they deliver rations of soma. He throws the rations out the window, yelling that it is only poison, but they only look at him in confusion. He is captured by authorities and taken into custody, and as Bernard and Helmholtz try to help, they are taken in to custody as well for being "friends of the savage".
  • Fight with Lenina

    Lenina shows up at John's room with many questions about his behavior, and although he confesses his love for her, he explains that he must do something to prove his worth. He says that he wants to get married, but Lenina is angered by the subject, and as she strips and tries to throw herself at him, he beats her away into the bathroom, calling her an "impudent strumpet". The scene is interrupted as John gets a phone call that his mother is dying.
  • Linda's Death

    John arrives at the hospital asking for his mother, and he rushes to her beside. She is in a drug-induced state due to doses of soma, and as she wakes, she mistakes John for her old husband. John angrily tries to make her realize that it's him, but she dies shortly after, and he leaves the hospital in tears.
  • Talking to the Controller

    While in custody, John meets Mustapha Mond, the controller of the government. Mond explains everything to John, all about their policies on social stability and use of technology and science to create the perfect world without sickness, war, age, negative emotions, or any troubles at all.
  • Going His Own Way

    Mond plans to send Helmholtz and Bernard to an island where they will not interfere with the structure, while he refuses to let John join them. As the three friends say their goodbyes, John decides to live within an abandoned lighthouse out in the wilderness, where he can purge himself of the contamination of civilization.
  • Being Discovered

    John does fine living by himself and embarking on a spiritual journey of self-inflicted pain and purging, but word soon gets out, and reporters of the civilization find him. They taunt him and impose upon his actions, while he now has to frequently chase them away.
  • Lenina Returns

    One of the people to show up at John's lighthouse is Lenina herself, and although John experiences a strong attraction towards her, he gives into the very thing that he feared the society would affect him with and begins beating Lenina with his whip. A crowd gathers, and they all cheer him on as he begins to whip himself, even following suite and whipping each other.
  • Ending His Life

    The next morning after the whipping session, John remembers everything, and, filled with so much guilt, anger, and disgust towards himself and the World State, he hangs himself in the lighthouse.