Brave New World: 20

"Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet."
"Slowly, very slowly like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused and after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east...." (259)

The above quote is an example of an explication. I had to read the last six paragraphs of the book multiple times before I actually understood what the author was implying. When I first read through it, I ended the book wondering how it mattered that he was sitting on the balcony moving his feet in circles and giving everybody the silent treatment. That did not seem anything like John, nor did it seem like a fitting way to end the book. Upon slow and careful reading of the passage, I finally understood what happened. John had finally had enough; he hung himself and died. This is not really a pleasant ending of the book unless you see it as a way for John to finally escape the contamination of civilized life. John believed that after he died he would be with God and finally be happy. I think that Huxley included this explication at the end of the novel to keep readers in deep thought all the way to the end. It is effective because it really does make readers stop and think about the book, rather than just reading through it quickly. Also, for me it makes me wonder if their are more of these explications throughout the book that I missed. I am sure I didn't because I read the book very carefully, but everybody makes mistakes.