Summary of Plot


Plot:

The novel is set approximately seven centuries after the twentieth century. In A.F. 632 (A.F. stands for Ford's year). 

World controllers divided the world into five casts. Alphas and Betas are at the top of society as the scientists, politicians, and other top minds. Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are at the bottom and represent the world's industrial working class. A drug called soma ensures that no one ever feels pain or remains unhappy. 

The book starts with the scene from Hatchery where the Director is giving students a tour of the facilities. The students view the various techniques for producing more babies and learb the process dividing babies into various castes.Then the the World Controller of Western Europe, Musthapa Mond appears and talks about how the world used to be. 

Bernard Marx has a crush on Lenina Crowne and that is why he invites her to come with him to the Savage Reservation. Lenina currently dates someone but agrees because the promiscuity is encouraged by the society. Bernard goes to Tomakin, the Director, to get the approvement that he can enter the reservation and Tomaking tells him the story about a woman named Linda. Twenty-five years earlier he went there with other people and her and she got lost in the forest during a big storm. They were forced to leave her there.

When Bernard and Lenina get to the reservation, there is a ritual going on. Then they meet Jon, a young man, who tells them about himself. It turns out that Linda is his mother and she is eager to return to the real world. Linda tells them the rest of the story, that she fell and injured herself and was forced to stay at the Reservation. Bernard and Lenina talk to Linda and learn that she had Jon as a baby because of her misuse of contraceptives. Linda explains how when she tried to have sex with other men on the reservation, like in the Other Place, she would be attacked by other women. 

Jon goes on to try to explain what growing up on the reservation was like. How he was not excepted because his mom slept around and for wishing to be able to be in the Other Place by listening to her stories. 

Bernard then wants to try to bring both Linda and Jon to London, and as they leave Jon asks if Bernard and Lenina were married.

Bernard then meets with Mustapha Mond who says that it is okay to bring Linda and Jon to London for scientific purposes. While Bernard is gone Jon falls in love with Lenina. Bernard then travels to the Director who calls him heretical and says that Bernard will be sent to Iceland. Then Linda and Jon walk in an confront the Director. Linda says that she was impregnated by the director.

The Director then resigns and Jon and Bernard become more popular. Bernard's popularity, because he is considered Jon's guardian, makes him overconfident and eventually lose some of his good friends friendship.

Meanwhile, Lenina is beginning to like Jon but Jon tells her he does not want to have sex. 

Bernard then hosts a party for popular people saying they can meet Jon but Jon does not show up to the party and Bernard is embarrassed. Later Jon and Hemholtz meet and become good friends and Bernard becomes jealous and blames Jon for his problems.

Lenina decides she only wants Jon and takes soma to calm herself down. When she visits him Jon tells her that he is in love with her but all she wants is sex and he walks out on her.

Jon goes to the hospital to visit his mother Linda who is dying. He gets in a fight with twins who call her ugly and fat and then later that day Linda dies. Jon becomes horribly upset.

Jon then calls Helmholtz and says that soma is just a way to control the people and takes soma rations away from Deltas. This causes uproar and police come to quiet the uprising occurring. Bernard decides despite his fear to help Jon.

Jon and Bernard are let go and eventually Jon meets up with Mustapha Mond. Jon discovers that Mond also knows literature. Mond explains that literature is banned in the Other Place because the Director feels it will be bad for the group. Mond explains that society is based off of being new. That past things should be forgotten. Jon wonders why everybody can't be born as Alphas and Mond explains that they need stupid people to do things that other people won't do because they are still happy no matter what. Mond then explains that science and also thinking outside of the box has been suppressed. 

Mond then says that Bernard and Hemholtz will be exiled and Mond says he is jealous because the true intellectuals have been exiled.

Mond then discussed how religion has been relinquished from society and that soma has replaced the sadness in the world. Jon says how he would rather have freedom, God, and writing even if it meant he would not be happy all the time.

As Bernard and Helmholtz leave, Bernard apologizes and Jon asks if he can go with him. Mond says he can't and he becomes solemn. 

Jon then moves to a solitary place where he begins to purge his sins. Newspaper people see him and eventually write about him and makes him more depressed. He eventually is pushed to his limits and is found dead in his home.