"'O brave new world,' he repeated. 'O brave new world that has such people in it" (139). This quote is said by John after Bernard invites him to go with him to the Other Place. It is a quote from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Earlier in the story, the reader learns that John began reading Shakespeare at the age of 12. But what I find most interesting about John is that he knows, with out being told, that literacy brings power. He know that being able to read will get him further than others, and more specifically, he knows that Shakespeare is a bit of a big deal. He shows he knows how important reading is on page 130 when the other children are making fun of his clothes. He says to himself that the other children are unimportant because they don't even know what reading is. John seems to be a very interesting character, but I think he'll be more of an anti-hero than a protagonist.