Chapter Eleven shows how contrasting John's world and the utopian society, in which he finds himself, really are. John's first insight into how different these two worlds are comes from the children at Eton. John can not understand the laughter when slides of his own religious rites are shown. In a society where the primary interest is avoiding pain and unpleasantness, it is humorous to think of causing yourself pain. A breaking point for John, between the two cultures, is the medical treatment of Linda. Linda is ignored in her luxurious hospital, which allows her to go on permanent soma holiday. Not only does society want to forget about her, but they want to make her passing as quick and painless as possible. The single most offending thing to John at this point is the utopian willingness to be promiscuous; as seen at the feely. John has lived between two worlds: savage and Shakespeare. Both of these worlds promoted monogamy and discretion, which is the opposite of what we see here. The accumulation of all these contrasting elements drives John from a dislike of the utopian society to being rebellious against it.
Chapter Twelve allows us to see the effects of members of a society thinking they are above the standards of that society. Helmholtz decides that the propaganda he has been writing is beneath him. He chooses to challenge his students by writing rhymes that go contrary to their sleep-teachings. Both proving his point and dooming him, the students do the predictable and turn him in to the authorities. Bernard's euphoria comes crashing down around him when John becomes uncooperative. Bernard invites a number of important guests, including the Arch-Community Songster of Canterbury, only to have them turn against him when John becomes a recluse. It is clear that this society can be as shallow as those who abuse it can. Bernard's belief that he could control people because of his relationship with John makes him the outcast he always played at being. Up to this point Bernard could have chosen to change his quirky ways. Society now sees Bernard as a liar and a cheat. By trying to manipulate society, good or bad intentions aside, these characters have set their lives into a nosedive that they can't possibly pull out of.
Chapter Thirteen is the climax of the relationship between John and Lenina, and the ultimate clash of their cultures and ingrained beliefs. Lenina is blind to why John has been reticent with her. Lenina, distraught over John's failure to make love to her, goes to his apartment to seduce him. One-tracked in her thinking, Lenina strips all her clothes off and presses up against him. John also has irresolvable conflicts in this relationship. No woman can live up to John's highly romanticized ideals, nor live on the pedestal of his fantasy. He has become Pygmalion, breathing life into his own mental image of the perfect woman. The clash of cultures is seen here on a smaller, more personal scale. Lenina wants what she was programmed to desire, something base by John's standards. John's illusion is shattered; leaving him stripped of the only thing he valued in this society. When the goals of two cultures are nearly opposite, the combination of these cultures will inevitably be explosive.
Chapter Fourteen is where John breaks down and sees the society he is in as totally corrupt. When Linda dies John loses his last link with his past. When Linda doesn't recognize John through her soma induced daze he becomes frustrated. John grabs Linda hoping to bring her around, only to have her die in his arms. A group of Delta children invade this scene for their weekly conditioning. They crowd around the bed, laughing and playing, seeing death as natural. They are rudely curious, commenting on her physical appearance. John is furious, both with their disrespect and with the invasion of his grief. His reaction, though normal by today's standards, are considered strange and dangerous by the nurse. When the nurse tries to undo the damage she thinks John may have caused John's grief turns to anger. John's last bastion of hope for this now monstrous society is gone.
In Chapter Fifteen we see all the main characters reach their lowest point at the same time. John, pushed to his emotional limit, tries to bring the people freedom. John stumbles into a group of Delta workers and decides the root of all evil is soma. John tries to convince the Deltas that soma is a poison that is destroying their lives. John then decides the best way to free these people is to destroy the soma. John is too naive to realize that not only do the Deltas not want to be helped, but they do not have the basic intelligence to understand what he is talking about. Bernard and Helmholtz have to save him from a maddened and frustrated mob because John has thrown away their soma. Gas-masked police show up and calm the crowd down with soma spraying machines. It is surprising that is a society where everyone is so happy and content that there would be a ready riot squad. If Bernard and Helmholtz's own actions hadn't doomed them, this fiasco surely seals their fate. As the last chapter of the falling action comes to an end, so does any hope of Bernard and Helmholtz escaping unscathed.
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