Picture Book Report

Melt in the music of the drums!

October 15, 2010 at 12:15 pm emilycarroll 6 comments

Posted by: Emily Carroll
Book: Brave New World (purchase on Amazon)

(click to enlarge!)

Feeling that it was time for him to do something, Bernard also jumped up and shouted: ‘I hear him; he’s coming!’.  But it wasn’t true.  He heard nothing and, for him, nobody was coming.  Nobody – in spite of the music, in spite of the mounting excitement.  But he waved his arms, he shouted with the best of them; and when the others began to jig and stamp and shuffle, he also jigged and shuffled.

Such are Bernard’s woes at the Solidarity Service he attends (which is essentially a socially mandated drug orgy meant to promote unity).  While the others in the conference room become more and more euphoric after drinking/swallowing/and eating (via laced strawberry ice cream) the state drug soma, Bernard becomes increasingly agitated and forlorn, fixating — as he always does — on his own perceived inadequacies (his size), as well as those he perceives in others (the girl beside him has a unibrow; the other is just ‘too pneumatic’.).

The dancers are supposed to be in a continuous circle around the table (twelve in total), but I wanted to leave the area around Bernard blank to really leave him isolated (because, despite his troubles, his general air of superiority, plus disdain for those things he secretly desires, makes him a not exactly likable person anyway).   And while it’s not mentioned in the scene, I’ve also given all the ladies their own Malthusian “belts” (or armbands, or garters), the items that store a young lady’s supply of contraceptives.

Hope you enjoy!

Entry filed under: Brave New World. Tags: emilycarroll.