"Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north- east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east…"
Interpret this final paragraph of the book--not just as John Savage's end, but also in light of the simile that Huxley uses. What was John seeking, and how did he fare in his quest? Does he represent anyone besides himself?
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In analyzing this simile, I think it is important to notice first that the feet never make a complete revolution. Furthermore, John's feet are moving very slowly and Huxley has a purpose behind using a compass.
John Savage's goal towards the end of his life was fulfillment,
understanding, and an elite level of being. Unfortunately the lascivious behavior that he engaged in prior to his death revealed that he too, an intellectual and symbol of humanity, is vulnerable to the temptations and passions that justify the status quo in Brave New World. Because his feet never make a complete circle, Huxley is trying to suggest that John is being attracted (like a compass) to the world that he was introduced to and is still weak because of internal emotions that he tries to resist.
I do not believe he is representing anyone but himself. The rest of BNW's inhabitants would simply hang limply because they lived the lives of economic consumption tools and at the end of their life they no longer serve a purpose. Particularly, since they have achieved a degree of satisfaction and have been artificially happy their entire life they no longer yearn for the same fulfillment that John craved.
To answer the question of what John was seeking, I still argue that John is a philosophical vehicle that Huxley uses to analyze the relationship between the Self and the Other.
Writing a comment after Nima is like going up to bat with a Wiffleball Bat after Mark McGwire has hit a grand slam. I am going to do my best to at least make contact with the ball in a literary sense…
Nature is a cyclical process such as in birth and death, the seasons, moon phases, etc. As Nima so cleverly points out, John never physically completes the whole circle as he hangs from the rope! In BNW all of natures natural cycles are absent. Circles are in essence perfect, and John’s inability to complete one symbolizes the non-functionality of “utopian” societies. If you look at John’s life like a circle, he spends his time racing around the perimeter in attempt to eventually get back to the beginning to learn why he was born in the first place. He can never obtain this knowledge in such a society as BNW and concludes that death is his only option. After his death John was still moving, symbolizing his belief that death is not the end all, and that there exists something bigger than humankind and our obsession with happiness and comfort.
I personally am spiritual but not religious. I wish that I could buy into religion and believe it, as it would simplify my life greatly but I simply don’t believe in it. This may be because I was not raised with it (Not conditioned to believe in it? Is religion intrinsic or taught?). I see most religious texts and claims as metaphorical or symbolic. For example I interpret reincarnation as the transformation and rebirth of our learned wisdom through our children. I see reincarnation as the evolution of consciousness through an enlightened understanding of the physical condition that is developed and sculpted by our physical experiences, and reborn in our offspring, repackaged for the next generation to inherit. I see the “soul” as this learned consciousness that is intertwined with our DNA, “updated” every time we reproduce sperm or eggs in our bodies. What I’m essentially saying is that I believe that the sperm or eggs one has in their body at age 15 are significantly metaphysically different than when one is 30 because they are made as copies of who we are, and we are an ever changing entity. I view heaven and hell as metaphorical emotional states of being that you can experience in this life if you follow a certain path of righteousness.
Compass needles always point towards magnetic north. John is like a compass needle in the sense that he constantly feels the undercurrent of something bigger than physical life pulling him towards it, and he recognizes that the distractions of modern society can confuse the needle’s true direction.
Apologies for the way in which i jumped from random topic to random topic and strayed away from the prompt!
I think the movements of the feet symbolize the progress of John the Savage as an individual, starting from when he is introduced to the society of BNW and through his quest to find himself as an individual. The incomplete circle conveys the message that even a unique individual like John cannot resist the temptations offered in the society of the BNW and achieve fulfillment. The movement of the feet back towards the start symbolizes that john, in the midst of his efforts to separate himself from the society of the brave new world fails, and falls for the temptations of the society from which he tries to distance himself. I think that Huxley is trying to convey to readers that anyone can succumb to temptations no matter how strongly one believes in his or her values.
John represents himself and maybe Helmholtz. The reason being that the people of the society do not have the capability to strive for fulfillment. Like Nima points out they are already content with their lives, and they never serve a meaningful purpose in life. I also think that through conditioning they have become immune to all stimulus that can lead to yearning for fulfillment. Therefore, they can not be represented by John's lifeless feet.
Before I begin to understand this last paragraph I had to figure out why did Huxley choose to describe the feet using a compass. In real life a compass will always have a direction; it is used to guide the lost. But in this ending the compass spins unhurriedly showing that the compass it self is also lost in direction. I believe that the compass represents John as in John’s form of humanity. In this society that Huxley created everyone was living a preconditioned life, which leads the readers to question if they are really human. And since John acts as a complete contrast of such world I, at first, thought that maybe he was the representation of the humanity that Huxley wanted to show. But the ending gave me the impression that John was also not what humanity really is. He is lost in his own believes and lost a hold of who he is. I believe that by having the feet spin but not complete a circle also supports the idea that John was imperfect. In the book John seeks freedom and full self-control. He held so strongly in his belief that in the end when he took the soma and committed the mass orgy he realizes that a part of him was just like everyone else, desiring the happiness that humans naturally desire. The last paragraph shows that John became uncertain about what he has always believed in. This reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean. The compass that Jack Sparrow has requires him to believe in himself and be certain about what he is searching for. If the holder of the compass is unclear about his purpose then the compass it self will not guide him anywhere. I don’t think John represents anyone else but himself. He is a unique and complex character in this book serves to contrast the inhuman society.
Like so many of the other characters in the book, I think John was merely trying to grab hold of his purpose. Purpose is a theme that runs wild throughout the book and is that which everyone within it is seeking.
So often John came close to figuring out what his purpose was. He came so very close to making sense of everything he believed in. He most definitely made an impression on Brave New World's society. However, I am not sure how long lasting it will be in light of the governement's "clean-up" techniques.
One brief thought I help upon my intial reading of this passage was that it was John's sould trying to decide which way home was. He knew the good and evil of both world's he had lived in. However, he was unsure of which were better to rest with.
In deeper thinking, this closeness to finding his purpose is what is behind the simile. He came just a matter of inches from completing his circle in life. He was within reach. Unfortunately, society was not ready for him nor was he prepared to take it on.
Now, when it comes to the matter of John being a representative for someone else, I can come to no logical conclusion for him representing anyone else. He is so vastly different in comparison to any other character in the book. That is why I see him merely as a lone soul.
Throughout the novel, John has struggled to hold onto his own values. When he realizes that he has succumbed to his sexual attraction to Lenina, he decides to kill himself. John could not survive in this world where everyone belongs to everyone else. Instead of becoming part of a world that disgusts him, John would rather die knowing that he did not contribute to a society where there is an incompatibility of happiness and truth.
The description of him being hanged was rather ingenious. The part where Aldous Huxley described the feet of two unhurried compass needles, going north, north-east, east, south east, south- south-west and then repeating the pattern again was like a continuous cycle. Huxley may have been insinuating that the people in the World State were in no hurry to change their lifestyle and they will continue this “cycle” for a long time.
John’s suicide was also because of an overwhelming amount of pressure to “give in” to Brave New World’s society. What would happen if there was no more soma in the World State? No one would know how to deal with any inconveniences that occurred in their lives and would eventually have the same outcome as John. Perhaps this society is not as stable as it is portrayed. One incident could destruct their whole civilization.
Obviously, the image is that of John hanging himself.
But why the compass as a symbol? Compasses are often used to help someone find their way in the world; perhaps this symbolizes John's struggle to find himself in an increasingly lifeless and stale society.
Or maybe this is a metaphorical compass that John used to guide him in his journey from the reservation to The World State. And after finally being so fed up with this world that John had found, he decided to break his compass, so to speak.
John is seeking a life with suffering. It's he's searching for a happy life with suffering to accentuate the happiness because of all the flagellation, nonstop working, and staunch refusal to stomach the World State's future food. Some might say that it wasn't John's choice to not go to the island, but he did claim the right to unhappiness. And he was pretty unhappy when he learned that he couldn't go to the island. It's not too hard to picture John the Savage with a constant grimace for all of chapter 18.
All things considered, John didn't fare too well in his quest for suffering. In the end, it's the World State that ruins his little escape by finding him. It also damns him when John decides to take his life after a night of “orgy-porgy.” Though hanging one's self isn't painless, so perhaps John got the final laugh.
As a final non sequitur , perhaps the direction of this “compass” stops at is the direction to this mysterious island.
I agree with Tony. Huxley uses John's feet to represent his progress. The rotation of John’s feet is never completed. John cannot let go of the temptations that society has to offer. In the end he does not want to be part of such a society as presented in BNW. John wants to achieve success and fulfillment in his life. Huxley tries to show in this paragraph, that even a person like John can fall and feel deprived of not living in the society in Brave New World. A compass is always pointing north, back to its start. The starting point for John is when he is introduced to the society. Huxley presents John's desire to go back to the starting point.
I agree with jonathan’s statement that John’s feet rotating in the two different directions showed the conflict he still held within him on where he belonged. Although it is apparent to readers that John was very different from most individuals in the civilization of Brave New World, John still felt that by succumbing to the temptations of society, he had become a part of it. John’s feet continued to rotate because he was fighting against becoming like everyone else.
I think Huxley wanted to show that like a compass all people are drawn towards north or towards the temptations offered in Brave New World, but like John, they should continuously try to stand firm against them.
At this point in Time, 600 years after Ford or something, compasses are surely obsolete. This mirrors the Brave New World's obsolescence of history, and squashing of morality which makes you and I feel human.
Perhaps I wander to deep into the abyss of my conscience when I see John Savage's compassing feet as a reflection of his behavior throughout the nightmare of Brave New World. Huxley makes the point, through the Savage's inability to express himself in the Brave New World (Using quotes of which he's not even quite sure of their meanings), that modern communication, and the modern essence of existence comes nowhere near Shakespeare's, Dante's, Voltaire's, or Rousseau's art of deliberation. The Savage hoped with beautiful brutality that the 'Brave New World' would be as Miranda describes it in 'The Tempest': Full of "goodly creatures" reflecting a "beauteous mankind." Sadly, all he finds is infidelity, conformity, and sensuality.
The Irony is certainly too much for me to stomach and it was obviously too much for John as the only direction in which he saw his compass pointing was towards the unknown (death).
This final conclusion, to a sample of 'what is to come,' exemplifies Huxley's despair concerning humanity's current destiny. John seeks a past that is in the present Brave New World: "Bunk."
Using the past as a compass yields a conclusion, or if you will: a destination that, in my opinion, is much more human than the complacent blobs of wax selfishly inhabiting a world once ruled by consciousness.
Is it inevitable? It seems that John gave up the fight, but I suppose it was too late to confront the monstrosity. Perhaps this book can be our compass and direct us away from a future of overdosed, consciousless fret sawyers. A conscience in the back of our heads reminding us in every waking moment of the "choice" that is ours to make.
Huxley's ending at first left me extremely confused, and in many ways it still does. After finishing the book, I wondered what two steady, confused, methodically spinning compass needles (a pair of dangling feet) had to do with the novel as a whole. How, also, does the simile relate to his life? Or other characters?
John, in particular, felt extremely lost throughout BNW. He was constantly struggling to find a comfortable place where he would be accepted; allowed to grow as a person. Caught between two contrasting worlds--the Savage lands and the New World--John was an oucast to both, never given a chance to find his way. The lack of acceptance gained by the people surrounding him also hindered his views in his search for his personal "enlightenment".
John wasn't only on a physical quest in the novel, he was on a spiritual journey, desperately trying to obtain answers pertaining to religion and higher powers. Specifically, he conversed with Mustapha Mond questioning the presence of God in the New World.
A compass seeks the truth, turning every which way to locate a destination--a desired result. This ultimate truth John had been seeking out for so long really never found him. Upon his death he was left in a state of confusion, as were the readers of Huxley's story. Where did John end up going? Were his questions answered? Did he finally see the truth he'd been searching for?
The use of the compass needles, I think, symbolizes the true, subliminal confusion felt by EVERYONE in the New World. People were repeatedly trying to locate something and in the long run fell short of their expectations. Whether they new it or not, the New World citizens, essentially pawns of the government, were all lost. They were not allowed to find a personal, inner direction to follow through life. The innate, unique, instinctual, moral compass that would usually point a person in the right direction has been eliminated. Their compass is the government.
I also agree with Jonathan and Nupur's statements. The fact that John's feet are swaying to and from one direction to another tells me that John's moral compass is still not fully working. He tries to fit in with the savages but always finds himself excluded. This is one of the reasons why he decides to go to the new world. However, the life he was expecting was not found because his morals and values were from the savage world and therefore collided with the morals and values of the new world. This is represented by John's feet swaying back and forth.
As for what John was seeking, I believe that he was just seeking for his righteous place in the divided world. Almost like a missing link in the chain, John holds the morals of the old world to be true while being rejected by them at the same time. Also, he at the same time felt himself being "pulled" and tempted by the new world.
I think one of the most important parts of this passage is the unhurried pace of the rotating feet. They are moving on a specific path, and yet they move very slowly and methodically. I believe this is a metaphor for the Brave New World. On a small scale, each person has their own path set out for them. They go about their daily lives calmly and methodically carrying out their duties without any sense of urgency. On a larger scale, the society progresses as a whole, but at a very slow rate. While there are new innovations and laws passed, again there is no sense of urgency or importance.
The ellipse at the end of the passage implies that this pattern will continue indefinitely. Millions of days will go by, and the Brave New World will remain for the most part unchanged. It leaves me feeling hopeless that idealists such as Helmholtz and John will ever have an impact on society. As a final note, Sean I really liked what you said about magnetic north and John. I imagine him always trying to point north but never achieving his goal.
I believe that as his feet are turning, it signifies his mental unrest, and adventures within both worlds. He first rotates to one side which I believe is his adventure into the new world. He has completed an near full cycle after rotating back. I think this means that he never really acheived what he desired to, and that he never became completely fulfilled-- just as the rotation was never completed. I agree with Connor when he says that the comparison to a compass signifies John attempting to find his place in the exceedingly disturbing world. I also agree with Jonathan who said that his feet pointing in different directions signifies the conflict he faced pertaining to where he belonged.
I agree with Jonathan and Nupur about John's rotating feet symbolizing his desire to discover the meaning of life and the progress he made while alive. As said, he nearly made a complete revolution, but drifts the opposite direction due to his unfulfilled ending. John seeks a clear understanding of his surroundings and, as Nima said, lets temptation get the best of him. Unsatisfied with his behavior, John commits suicide, unable to find a purpose; unable to complete a full rotation.
I think this last paragraph was one of the most ingenious last paragraphs I have ever read.
But other than that, it was very sad. The fact that his feet are dangling and they just kind of hang there, limping, never fully circling around, is like he will never be complete.
At first, the savage was amazed by this new society, but after he learned the truth and flaws about the society, he became more realistic. In the end, all he wants is to learn and just understand. But he can't. He is overcome with the sexual desires of the society and gives into the temptations.
He was so close into getting away and becoming this "survivor" in some sense, but no matter what, he gave into the temptations and it was done.
He was not content with his life before or after he met Bernard and as soon as he had a chance to truly get a grasp of this New World, he fell. He was going to be excluded, in either society. And I think that he felt that if he could just "fit in" things would be okay.
But no matter how good and bad a person is, he or she will fall, eventually.
And i think that is what Huxley is trying to point out; this disappointment and shame in himself caused him to kill himself. The fact that his feet never complete a full cycle I think Huxley is trying to say that societies will never really learn. Mistakes, errors, hardships, and burdens will always be repeated, no matter what the outcome may be.
What is a compass? Of course, as we all know, it is an instrument used to find direction. But as Johns uncertain feet are described, this compass has failed in elucidating its direction - perhaps, in a sense, an indication that john did not have a clear sense of his own direction. Maybe, when his maverick creed of individualism clashed with that brave new world, he did not know what to do. We regard John as a head-strong pioneer in a society of sheep, but he himself was confused. He was clear in his hatred of society, but confused in his responsibility. I thought he lost his direction as he degraded into those vain attempts to vindicate himself of his guilt. After being immersed in such a dissolute dystopia, John took it upon himself the burden of their debauchery. And, after finally relenting into such a society at the orgy, he was so disturbed with reproach of his actions, that he, in my opinion, finally absolved himself. But the wavering uncertainty of his feet is a sign that his act was of disconcertion, and that it was not truly borne of his convictions.
The obvious physical image Huxley creates by using the compass as representation of his body is clear. However, Huxley accomplishes much more than just concluding the novel with an eerie sense. He is able to represent many of John's struggles and his development throughout the book in this last paragraph.
In this particular passage, the compass needles, or John's feet, never make a complete rotation. It shows that John was never able to completely escape civilization and its temptations. His lust and weaknesses hinder his ability to fully detach himself from society and be a true individual. Although he detested almost everything about society, and sought a life of unhappiness, he was never able to fully overcome his own innate desires to become a complete circle of individualism.
I believe Huxley also uses a compass to represent John and his ending because the purpose of a compass is to give direction for those are lost. However, a compass like that described in this passage seems broken. The way the needles, or his feet, turn with no sense of direction show that the compass is broken. It turns to the right, then turns back to the left, which represents a faulty compass, unsure of which direction is the right one. This shows that by the end of the novel, as shown through his suicide, John had lost his direction in life. He had tried desperately to avoid society and lead a life of unhappiness, yet he had failed, and therefore, killed himself. John, as the compass, was broken.
I also agree with that his incomplete revolution was a symbol of what his life had been. Savage's body swings from one side to another, that might suggest his incapability to live a life overcoming the worlds temptations. Although Savage is intellectually smarter than most in Brave New World, he gave in, which represented that anyone in society is vulnerable to any temptation(s) the world might give.
Like the compass coming back to the north (the start), its like someone coming back down to earth.
I think it is quite interesting how Huxley expresses the death of John the savage. He describes the feet of a hanged John rotating as if they were the hands of a compass. This could be seen as a comparison between the directions of a compass, and the adventuresome quest that John embarks in throughout Brave New world. John was seeking hope that he himself had maintained his own personal values in what he believes is a world of corruption and evil. He views his way of truth and real enlightenment, which he learned at the reservation, as the only way to happiness. I believe it is evident that John feels he did not sucessfully resist the temptations of evil in the new world. This utter disgust with his own self is what, in my opinion, causes him to end this journey of his and take his own life.
It is very important to note as Nima said the full revolution. John's life has come full circle and then ended. Also it can be viewed as the end of natural things there is no longer a compass to guide John. When a compass breaks it starts randomly twirling in every direction and similarly John was the compass that the society needed to follow and now they have destroyed him. He felt like he lost his whole direction when he went after the girl in the crowd and so he has punished hinself accordingly.
This is really the end of nature for this society and we have almost seen the end of intellectualism as we know it. John was the lone hope he was only representing his own lost sense of direction but without him the society has only the direction of Mustapha Mond and who knows what direction that is.
John was seeking the type of humanity that is beautiful and romantic (much like the in the Shakespeare he read). He was seeking for something bigger than himself so his life is fulfilled, which is a characteristic that no one else in that society has. The fact that he never makes a complete circle is showing that he nearly makes it, but the society literally broke him. The way that the people game to gawk at his punishments or the maggot-y children swarming over his grief from his mom dying shows that these humans are almost parisitic with his emotions. Everything real he's felt, they come to destroy. I also saw the metaphor of a compass and the navigation of a world, but that's been said enough. I do think it points out though the differences in which he's seen the world. He starts at north, with the "O! Brave New World!" being an exclamation of excitement and wonder, and after witnessing the society is upset in his "O, Brave New World..." The spinning of his feet show his once felt optimism, and quickly experienced sadness.
He represents the society, and in a way us. All of these people work to establish no ends. And it seems like this has been going on forever; who knows how many Johns there have been? Once there is a possibility of a breakthrough (as when Helmholtz and John threw the soma out) the riot police come to quell the activity (perhaps that's why they have riot police?). BNW almost makes it to a point of a breakthrough, but the society is incapable of changing. They're genetically engineered to be too content, too happy, too aloof to actually change. I think he represents today's current people because we push ourselves to extreme, but never have a revelation or achieve what we really want. Hardly anyone becomes a millionaire or ends world hunger or any other ideological feat we try to accomplish. People are average, and this shows that we never make a full circle either.
In this simile, I think that the fact that John's feet never complete the full revolution is symbolic of how his quest was not completely fulfilled. One can argue that John is the only true human character in the book,and his destiny is to make the world a better place to live, one that is markedly different from the society of Brave New World.
John represents not only himself, but also other individuals that are dissatisfied with the current society. Although these individuals are not showcase in Huxley's work, they are undoubtedly there. One could argue that the lower castes, such as the Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, are not truly happy. Furthermore, even the Alphas and Betas are not exactly happy. The government makes the individuals in the Brave New World society feel as if they are happy, but this is not actually a true happiness. John's true value to the society is in encouraging the individuals to feel this true happiness, a quality that distinguishes him greatly from the others.
This simile has a lot more meaning behind it than I thought it did when I first read it... I thought it was just an interesting way to state the fact that he hung himself instead of just blatantly stating it. I like what Hengxin pointed out: "John was also not what humanity really is. He is lost in his own believes and lost a hold of who he is"
I think that this is a really sad and discouraging truth. It was unfortunate that John never achieved his goal of separating himself from the rest of the world... his attempt to do so never made it "full circle" like his feet at the end of the novel.. Like a broken compass, he lost his sense of direction.
I feel like John's quest to change things represented a search/fight for several things... He was one character that brought hope in the novel. Hope that they could somehow bring things from the dreaded past back into the world like families, regular child birth, and monogamy. His unconditional love for his mother and choice to restrain himself from Lenina in the beginning lead me to believe that he was a strong individual who could resist the temptations of the world. However, his inability to stay strong and continually act in a way that is concordant with his beliefs showed that he had lost his direction toward the end of the novel.
I'm really glad that we got a prompt on the last paragraph of Brave New World. When I first read it I was very swept up in what happened in the last few chapters. So I didn’t really focus on the last paragraph because in the back of my mind, my brain was still processing all the information given in the previous conversations. I actually went back to reread the just last paragraph and I was still confused about what happened. So I went to go reread the last chapter, then I understood the events that happened.
It was not a very shocking ending, but it was brilliant. A fitting ending for a character that didn’t fit in any where he went. Most people would say John didn’t belong. When John “ate civilization”, he sought purification by inflicting pain on himself and by gulping down mustard seeds (which are known to have mental and protection powers). In some civilizations this is the proper way to purify one’s soul and John grew up in an area where people did that. But when he did it near the BNW society it created a spectacle and drew in crowds. So John really never left the BNW society. His only escape from the society was death. John was a believer in God, so he could of sought shelter in death from society by going to heaven. I would say John did find what he sought after, he found a way to end the madness within himself.
By describing John’s death as “two unhurried compass needles” I saw that John was planning on dying but was unhurried because he was wanting to see the outcome of him leaving the BNW society. Also he knew that his death could of been an impact on the society when the population saw that he killed himself, unlike the deaths in the society where “People left the Brave New World as they had entered it, returning only the minerals after their crematorium, with everything they had done in their lives being of little significance to those that were left.” I’m not taking credit for this statement! I found it randomly online and found it very meaningful and wanted other people to see it too. Anyway I’m trying to say that John’s death could of created an impact on some peoples lives in the society.
For the last question, I don’t see John representing anyone besides himself. I only see John escaping the artificial reality he was introduced to.
Ending the book in directions made the ending very powerful. Not only did you first have to understand what direction the feet were going, but you had to understand the symbolism of the compass needles.
John was always seeking acceptance, but ultimately it was never given. He also wanted to feel like he had accomplished something, that he had purpose in his life, and that his existence mattered. But like so many mentioned, John never seemed to find direction in his life.
The compass can perfectly illustrate his struggle with the BNW society. Like the compass needles, John was very close to finding his purpose and make the full circle around, but he never quite made it. John was unable to stick to his morals and beliefs. Like some mentioned, temptations surrounded him and he gave into his vulnerability. The inescapable society finally got to him, and as he was close to making the circle, the society snatched him, and turned to the opposite direction (like the compass needles).
The end of the book sadly gave you a sense of hopelessness for the BNW society. At the end, John began understanding that there was no way for him or anyone else to escape from that society and that it was a lost cost. He also realized that nobody listened to him and that nobody cared about his existence. He in turn saw that he had no purpose in his life because he couldn't change anything. As the compass needles slowly made a semi-circle, John slowly came to the realization of the lost society. This realization made John shift back to the opposite direction and not completing the circle.
John had no one to turn to, nowhere to go because his mother was gone, and was engulfed in hopelessness. Sadly, he saw that his only escape was to end his life. He saw that a life with no purpose was not worth living. John was trying to go against the current and was finally swept away.
I think John represents more than himself. I totally agree with Tony Kim when he stated, “Huxley is trying to convey to readers that anyone can succumb to temptations no matter how strongly one believes in his or her values.” John represents the weakness humanity has and the difficulty we have in sticking to our morals and beliefs.
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