Bernard also learns the “new clue” about the woman his superior obviously loved (in a “smutty” exclusive manner) and whom he lost during his own visit to the reservation many years ago. The pinch is relatively subtle, coming in the form of a warning to Bernard that if he doesn’t rid himself of his more radical ideas, he will be fired and banished to Iceland. This isn’t a particularly dramatic plot point, but it is significant for the wishy-washy Bernard as it pushes him back into conformity with social norms, despite his growing discomfort with it.įirst Pinch Point: The turning point comes when Bernard and Lenina go to the reservation in America to observe savage man in his natural state. He takes her to the ocean, but she is overwhelmed by the rawness of nature and refuses to look at it. However, note that Huxley also here sets up Bernard’s visit to America, which is the basis for the main conflict.įirst Plot Point: On his date with Lenina, Bernard struggles against his casually profligate conditioning, desiring a more meaningful courtship with Lenina. Since Bernard and Lenina’s relationship is actually little more than a plot device, it’s their coming together within the story, more than their actual date that signals the start of the main conflict. It shows them functioning (and disfunctioning) in the world being concurrently described by the teachers. Then, in a brilliant series of intercut scenes, we reach the First Act turning point, which swivels the story around to find its first set of main characters-Bernard and Lenina. The reader is put in the shoes of the listening students, learning along with them. It’s all set-up, with an extremely minor character basically narrating important facts about the utopian world of the story. The first half of the First Act is particularly interesting. Inciting Event: The beautiful Lenina makes a date with the restlessly depressed Bernard, who has never quite fit into this perfect society.
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