How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Part.Paragraph)
Quote #19
"But they're… they're told by an idiot."
[…]
"…he's right," said Helmholtz gloomily. "Because it is idiotic. Writing when there's nothing to say…" (16.32-4)
Helmholtz is still focused on the content of his writing. His maxims, the feelies—all his work is essentially "told by an idiot" because it doesn't address anything real. At the same time, Helmholtz still is not capable of understanding real passion. How, then, does he expect to write anything different?
Quote #20
Helmholtz rose from his pneumatic chair. "I should like a thoroughly bad climate," he answered. "I believe one would write better if the climate were bad. If there were a lot of wind and storms, for example…" (16.68)
Notice that Helmholtz rises from his "pneumatic chair." We've seen the word "pneumatic" used over and over in Brave New World (fifteen times, actually, and you can read our in-depth discussion of it in Lenina's "Character Analysis"), but regardless of your interpretation we can all agree that it has much to do with the World State. When Helmholtz rises from his pneumatic chair, he's also rising away from Mustapha's world. Nifty, isn't it?
Quote #21
"He was a philosopher, if you know what that was."
"A man who dreams of fewer things than there are in heaven and earth," said the Savage promptly. (17.18-9)
This is an odd line for John, and a lot of scholars use it to establish the fact that John doesn't actually understand the Shakespeare he reads—he just quotes it.