BNW CHAPTER 6
It's nice to know that Bernard Marx is a psychologist and that he seems to be the only person who has a reserved nature in this story. He seems like a normal person to me but in this society he is abnormal.
Lenina is the one who heads this chapter and it was kind of surprising to me that she thinks of Brian as disgusting after noting the kind of interaction she had with Fanny and in the changing room. It seemed like she wanted to defend him, that he was a person of value. But this isn't how she sees him at all he's just weird and disgusting for her. He likes to do things in private and he wants to be alone with her just to talk, yet this is shockingly abnormal in this society. Wow these people are really well conditioned and produced. Bernard was going on about being free and being himself instead of what society pressured him into being which shocked Lenina. She was happy of being able to be a part of society and being happy. But Bernard brought up the point that this was what we were made to do and what almost everyone does to which he tried to push in the idea that we are fooled into believing we are free yet we are not we are forced to be a certain way and forced to believe we like it. Lenina didn't understand this of course and was confused when Bernard said that don't you want to be happy in your own way, not everybody else's way. Lenina and many others are made to believe that the person inside does not matter since you are supposed to be everyone's tool. You're made to be useful and in your physical selflessness you can be happy. Afterall Lenina only liked Bernard because of some of his physical attributes.
Then huxley switched off to Bernards perspective. It started off with Bernard heading with the director. The director gives Bernard his pass to go to the savage reserve and tells him a moment of his life that resulted from going there. He lost his partner. he had taken a blond women with him and he mentioned that she disappeared one stormy night and was never found again. The director quickly added that their relationship wasn't anything long lasting just the usual kind that everyone has. The director then proceeds to tell Bernard that he shouldn't act weird anymore. If he does anything unusual the director will have him sent to Iceland. This failed to scare Bernard but rather left him feeling untouchable. Bernard doubted this action and felt like the director wouldn't do it.
Later the book jumps to point where Bernard and Lenina are being introduced to the savage reserve. These people sounded like present day people since they still married, they still had religion, and they still gave birth to kids. They do have to deal with snakes mountain lions and other dangerous predators though but they still are there (kind of makes me wonder if the animals evolved at all or if they are even abundant since many are going extinct right now). Lenina of course had soma and so did Bernard so they were happy when they encountered the person who was showing them the ropes of the place. They laughed every time the host made jokes. And they were finally left with a little kid whom the host declared was tame since they already trained them well enough with gas bombs.