"He laughed and laughed till the tears streamed down his face--quenchlessly laughed while, pale with a sense of outrage, the Savage looked at him over the top of his book and then, as the laughter still continued, closed it indignantly, got up and, with the gesture of one who removes his pearl from before swine, locked it away in its drawer." pg. 185
John suffers even more than Bernard did in this progressive society. Born and completely accustomed to a savage world, he doesn't understand the rules and concepts of these people. He doesn't understand their faked happiness and their desire to escape any type of feeling.
John thinks he finds someone who understands his ideas when he meets Helmholtz Watson. This new friend even has an appreciation for Shakespeare as he does. Watson doesn't scoff at the different ideas, customs, and morals presented in the plays. He sympathizes with John and they share a connection.
But to a human genetically programmed to believe that monogamy and marriage are evil and wrong, the scenes in Romeo and Juliet can not be ignored or understood. He can't seem to wrap his mind around these concepts and why they are in order. When Watson begins to laugh at and criticize one particular scene, John loses hope. He loses his battle with this society. He can't teach them to feel. And even though he understands what feeling is, he can't make anyone else understand it. He is destined to be the only one. This is where we see the theme of loneliness present itself again.
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