The Controller agrees that happiness is a poor substitute for passion.

John thinks the feelies are, in the words of Macbeth, 'told by an idiot.' Helmholtz agrees, even though he writes that sort of dribble.

Mustapha admits that, sure, Othello is better than the feelies, but 'high art' is the 'price you have to pay for stability' and for 'happiness.' So they have the feelies instead.

How are they ever going to understand Othello? They don't understand anger, sadness, tragedy -they're just 'blissfully ignorant.' Just look at the reaction to John's little rebellion of the day: chucking soma out of the window in the name of liberty. If writing were passionate, the people wouldn't understand it.

But Mustapha is adamant that this just isn't possible.

Helmholtz chimes in -that's exactly what he has been wanting to write.

Well, John responds, why not something new? Something with the passion and intensity of Shakespeare, but about subject matter that these people could understand.

John would rather the citizens watch Othello, come to think of it, but Mustapha reminds him that they wouldn't understand it anyway.

Actually, he uses more Othello quotes to say this, so it's a little more eloquent. And all the new things are stupid, especially the feelies.

At John's questioning, Mustapha explains that things that are old (like Shakespeare) are prohibited, especially when they're beautiful (like Shakespeare) because then they might be enticing.

Seriously - the man who controls the world is operating on playground logic.

But, since he gets to make the rules, he gets to break them. John is in awe Mustapha admits that Shakespeare is banned and that few here have read his works.When John says he at least likes the nice trinkets, like Synthetic Music Boxes, Mustapha responds by… quoting Shakespeare! In this case, a line from The Tempest about 'a thousand twangling instruments.'.John admits this is true, which terrifies Bernard (only because he's afraid of it reflecting on poorly on him as John's friend).He shakes hands with all three men and then addresses John: 'So you don't much like civilization.'

He finds a book by Our Ford- My Life and Work -but he judges it to be rather dull. John, on the other hand, wanders around the office examining Mustapha's various relics.He tries joking around with Bernard, but Bernard is having none of it. Helmholtz, amazingly, seems to be in good spirits.The three men are brought into the Controller's study and told to wait for his fordship.John's life is not influenced by the hermits of Christianity but by the demons of his own guilt,both worlds represent emptiness and purposelessness. Filled with despair and self-loathing, he kills himself. John awakens the next day, groggy from soma, and realizes what has happened. A riot breaks out and turns into a sexual orgy. When Lenina herself approaches him, lovesick and heartbroken, John attacks her with a whip. Reporters, film crews, and then crowds intrude on his privacy. 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. John makes plans to retreat to a place of his own, far from the society he has rejected. conclusion to the discussion will drive John into isolation Faced with the choice, John chooses freedom. freedom means the possibility of disease, starvation, and misery. Mond describes soma as 'Christianity without tears.' John wants freedom while Mond wants stability and comfort. The discomfort and the pain, John maintains, are an essential part of freedom, beauty, and religion. a worthwhile human life requires suffering and danger, from which will spring nobility and heroism. A life of constant amusement and pleasure, he argues, is 'degrading.' People cannot experience true happiness if they have never known any differently. John's view: Mond sees comfort as the pinnacle of human experience, John sees it as a barrier to growth and spirituality. God is irrelevant in the brave new world, because material world never loses its pleasure. Monds view: people turn to religion only when age and discomfort impel them to look beyond the physical world. Mond knows about God and religion from the forbidden books he has read, while John has actually lived a religious life in Malpais, surrounded by the rituals of worship and purifying himself in fasting and suffering.

Chapter 16 brave new world summary