Chapter 18

Summary and Analysis Chapter 18 SummaryAs Bernard, now calm and resigned, prepares to leave with Helmholtz for the Falklands, John makes plans to retreat to a place of his own, far from the society he has rejected. In a lighthouse outside London, John undergoes purification for "eating civilization." Fasting, whipping himself, and vomiting, John strives to exorcise the guilt he feels for Linda's death and his horror of sexual contact with Lenina.Reporters, film crews, and then crowds intrude on his privacy. When Lenina herself approaches him, lovesick and heartbroken, John attacks her with a whip. A riot breaks out and turns into a sexual orgy.John awakens the next day, groggy from soma, and realizes what has happened. Filled with despair and self-loathing, he kills himself.AnalysisThe concluding chapter of the novel brings John the Savage into direct physical conflict with the brave new world he has decided to leave. The sudden violence, shocking as it is, has been prepared for ever s...