Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis
This chapter marks a return to London and to civilization. When it opens, the Director is praising the Bloomsbury Centre’s efficiency and referring to it as a “hive.” He’s preparing to fire Bernard, telling Henry Foster, Lenina’s ex, that Bernard sets a bad example for people of his caste. Despite the fact that Bernard does his work very well, as Henry points out, the Director still means to fire him. He has asked Bernard to meet him in the Fertilizing Room so that he can make an example of him. If Bernard hadn’t just brought back the Director’s illegitimate son, this would have worked. Unfortunately for the Director, Linda makes a grotesque scene, asking if the Director remembers her, and John enters, repeating, “My father! My father!” This is so embarrassing that the Director has to leave.
Metaphor
Beehives. The Director uses a metaphor when he refers to the Bloomsbury Centre as a “hive,” which makes its employees busy worker “bees” who perform their assigned tasks mindlessly and instinctively. This ties back into the theme of identity, because if the workers are all bees, then they don’t have individual identities, but are, rather, viewed as a single, uniform mass.
Themes
Drama. In true Shakespearean fashion, John makes a dramatic entrance to the Fertilizing Room, saying, “My father!” like a prince addressing the king. His mannerisms here are affected, stolen from the dramas he’s read, and are therefore inappropriate for the time and setting. His audience is, in fact, so unaccustomed to displays like this that they burst out laughing. In response, the Director runs away, abandoning his son, much as he might in a real Shakespearean tragedy.
Identity. For more on this, see Metaphors: Beehives.
Paternity. Like motherhood, fatherhood has been eliminated, and there is no such thing as being a “parent” in London, as in the rest of “civilized” society. Though John is excited by the prospect of finally being reunited with his father, the Director is horrified by the situation and flees in disgrace. Like Linda and all his employees, the Director has been conditioned to abhor the idea of natural birth, and he is unprepared for what it would mean to be a father, horrified by the responsibility of it.
Shame. Both Linda and the Director are ashamed of the fact that they’re parents and both feel that they’re unable to show their face in public because of it. This is why Linda stays on the reservation and why the Director will resign from his post at the beginning of the next chapter. Unfortunately for him, the years of living in squalor have reduced Linda’s aversion to shame and freed her to jump at the prospect of returning to civilization.
Expert Q&A
Explain the irony in chapter 10 of Brave New World.
The irony in chapter 10 is primarily situational. The Director plans to condemn Bernard Marx for unorthodoxy, but Linda and her son, the Savage, expose the Director's hypocrisy by revealing he fathered a child, which is a grave scandal in their society. This revelation shocks everyone and contrasts sharply with the Director's public stance, highlighting the situational irony and hypocrisy.
Why does the Director get angry after discussing his visit to the Savage Reservation with Bernard in Brave New World?
The Director becomes angry after discussing his visit to the Savage Reservation with Bernard because he inadvertently reveals a "discreditable secret." Years earlier, he left behind a woman he had an emotional attachment to, which is embarrassing in the World State's emotionally detached society. Bernard realizes the significance of this secret when he meets Linda and John on the reservation, eventually leading to the Director's public humiliation when John calls him "father."
In Chapter 10 of Brave New World, why do people laugh when John calls the director "my father"?
In Chapter 10, people laugh when John calls the Director "my father" because the concept of parenthood is considered obscene and ridiculous in the society of Brave New World. In this world, people are artificially created in "bottles," eliminating natural birth and family structures. The idea of having a father or mother is as absurd and inappropriate as a crude joke, making John's statement both shocking and humorous to the citizens.
What happens to the D.H.C. after the Fertilizing Room scene in Brave New World?
After the scene in the Fertilizing Room in Brave New World in which John calls him father, the humiliated D. H. C. immediately resigns from his position and never enters the building again. John, however, becomes a celebrity.
Why does the Director refer to the Bloomsbury Centre as in the "full buzz of work" in Chapter 10 of Brave New World?
The Director refers to the Bloomsbury Centre as in the "full buzz of work" to metaphorically compare it to a bee hive, emphasizing that society's members function like mindless automatons, each performing their designated roles without thought, due to conditioning and genetic engineering. This highlights the dehumanized nature of the society. Additionally, Chapter 10 raises questions about Bernard's potential threat to societal stability and whether one individual can destabilize an entire society.
In Brave New World, why is the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning's fatherhood ironic?
The irony of the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning's fatherhood lies in his role and the values of the society. In a world where natural birth is considered obscene, the Director's authority and arrogance are undermined by his unexpected fatherhood. His public humiliation, caused by his own actions, highlights the contradiction between his societal role and personal life, as he inadvertently commits the ultimate social taboo by fathering a child.
In Brave New World, how does Bernard react to the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning's accusations?
Bernard initially feels nervous about the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning's accusations, but he gains confidence from knowing he can expose the Director's own transgressions. During the hearing, Bernard uses the presence of Linda and John, the Director's naturally born son, as evidence to publicly embarrass the Director. This revelation causes the Director to flee, humiliated, which turns the situation in Bernard's favor and gives him strength against what seemed like hopeless charges.
In chapter 10 of Brave New World, what is Bernard's punishment?
In Chapter 10, Bernard's punishment in Brave New World is exile to Iceland. This occurs after he disrupts the societal order by introducing John Savage as an oddity, only for John to refuse further participation. Bernard's actions threaten the stability of the highly controlled society, and his exile serves as a significant punishment, emphasizing his failure to achieve acceptance and inclusion within the community.
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