Final Study Questions

STUDY GUIDE:


1) Be able to outline the Plot

Exposition:

The director is explaining to the students how the hatchery works.

Meeting Bernard, Lenina, Henry Foster,

Nursery

Inciting Event:

Depends on who you think the main character is...

Bernard~ Going to the Reservation

John~ Leaving the Reservation

Rising Action:

Meeting John & Linda

John's life story

Bernard confronting D.H.C.

Bernard is put in charge of John making him popular (Bernard changes here)

John is taken to see the society (John changes here)

John & Helmholtz meet (instantly like each other)

John goes to feely with Lenina and hates it

John refuses to go to Bernard's party making everyone hate Bernard again

Lenina throws herself at John

John pushes her away

John gets phone call from Hospital for the Dying

Linda dies right in front of John

Climax:

The riot over soma

Falling Action:

John, Helmholtz & Bernard are arrested

They talk with Mustapha Mond & learn what society had to give up to be stable

Bernard & Helmholtz are sent to an island

John is sent to live in a lighthouse

John beats himself and a reporter films it

Everyone flocks to see John

John whips Lenina

Resolution:

John hangs himself

2) Know the importance of the following people:
Bernard Marx~Outsider, Dynamic character, finds & brings back John. At first he is disgusted with society but changes with his acceptance. Bernard isn' accepted into society & rejects it.

John~Outsider, Son of Thomas and Linda. He is the product if two societies, but has been given the morals of Shakespeare. He is at first fascinated w/society but later comes to be disgusted by it. Only character in the whole book that actually tries to change people, but he fails quickly. 
Helmholtz Watson~Outsider. The writer. He is superior physically & mentally, but rejects society. He is the exact opposite of Bernard.

Linda~ John's mother. Linda shows people what happens when you leave the society. She becomes a symbol of mothers. She never forgets the society. Her conditionings are so engrained on her, that even when she is put into a different society she doesn't change.  
Lenina~ The image of what society wants their citizens to be like. There should some sort of Love interest between Lenina & John but there's not. 
D.H.C. (Tomakin)~ He runs the Hatchery. He is John's father. Bernard sees a moment of sadness in the Director & this causes the Director to want to punish him. It also shows that there is humanity and possible hope in these people. There is something underneath all the teachings that is still human, the people just need to find a way to break free.
Mustapha Mond~ One of the 10 world controllers. He gave up his happiness to make sure everyone else is happy; which insures social stability. (World State's Motto: Community, Identity, Stability) 
Henry Foster~Represents a perfect citizen of the Society.
Fanny Crowne~Represents a perfect citizen of the Society
Popè~ He is supposed to show you that life on the Savage Reservation is not that different than life in Brave New World

3) Discuss BRAVE NEW WORLD as a 3-part structure
1.) Intro to society & Bernard, Lenina, DHC, Mustapha

2.) Reservation, Meeting John
      Comparison & Contrast w/Society & Savage Reservation


3.) Conflicts in Society
     John/Bernard

4) Give examples of the following themes:

The Meaning of Freedom~ They are trained from birth to think they are free / People are encouraged not to have relationships. Relationships are about creating bonds between people. If people have alliances then they can band together & overthrow the government. 

Individual vs. Society~ John is not exiled because he is not part of society. He is viewed as an animal at the end on the book

The Meaning of Power ~ The citizens are controlled by World Controllers. Even though the World Controllers are in a position of power, they have no true happiness.

5) Discuss five ways people are controlled in this society

Keep People Happy & Content

1.) Embryos- decanted, or conditioned for caste & job

2.) Hypnopædia

3.) Soma

4.) Ban of literature, science, religion

5.) No families / everyone either sterile or on birth control

6.) Consumerism

7.) No relationships (as in romantic relationship ~ everybody belongs to everybody)

8.) People don't age & everyone is kept in a juvenile self-centered POV.

6) Discuss the title and how its meaning changes throughout the course of the novel.

Title is an allusions to The Tempest. John quotes Miranda several times. The first time he uses it he is about to go to the New World. He is excited to see new people. 

The second time is when John is at the Decanting place & sees all the deformed Epsilons and see what they lower caste members are conditioned. He uses the quote out of disgust right before he vomits. 

The third time is right after Linda's death, John sees all the Deltas going in for their soma rations. John stands up are quotes Shakespeare & preaches the dangers of soma. He is still disgusted but he is also angry that no one is caring about Linda's death. 

7) Does this novel contain any elements of hope? Why or why not?
For a quick instance the reader thinks there is hope for John. He is sent to live in a lighthouse, alone. All he ever wanted was to be alone.

8) Why is Shakespeare used so often?

The only book that John has every read and enjoyed is The Complete Works of Shakespeare. John has learned all his morals from Shakespeare. John has based his life and views on life on Shakespeare.

Is it ironic that in one world you have the idea of Ford (sort of like God), but in the other world you have the idea of shakespeare.

9) For a world that lacks history and literature there are many, many allusions to both (perhaps Huxley means something by this): list at least three literary and three historical and discuss their meanings.

History:

Joanna Diesel- Rudolf Diesel: a German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine

Fifi Bradlaugh- Charles Bradlaugh- a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists 

Bernard Marx- Karl Marx, George Bernard Shaw

Literary:

Othello ~ "Impudent strumpet!" 
In Othello, Othello is convinced that his wife is cheating on him and calls her and 'Impudent strumpet' or disrespectful whore. John calls Lenina this when she is throwing her naked self at him.
Antony and Cleopatra ~ "Eternity was in our lips and eyes." 
Cleopatra speaks this line when Antony tells her he is going back to Rome. John say this line when the doctor claims soma is a little piece of eternity. He also says it when he can't stop thinking of Lenina.

Romeo and Juliet ~ When John quotes lines from Juliet he imagines himself as Romeo & Lenina as Juliet. 


10) Who is FORD? Why is he an important Symbol of this society?

Ford refers to Henry Ford, the creator of the Ford Motor Vehicles and more importantly, the assembly line. The assembly line is a good way to mass produce something, it also takes the humanity out of the product. Before people had to make everything

11) Discuss the why everyone is similar.

Everyone is similar because most embryos go through the 'Bokanovsky Process'. Everyone is conditioned to like what they do and like what the society has to offer them.

12) List two symbols other than FORD.

Linda ~

John whipping himself ~

Soma ~

13) List three ironies.

Situational:

Children are engaging in sexual play at a very young age and it isn't considering strange or wrong.

People are disgusted at the fact  that humans used to give birth to one another.

People should date more than one person at a time because it is considered wrong if one is not promiscuous

14) Discuss death in this novel and the deaths of the following:

John~ John hangs himself because he just wants to be left alone.

Linda ~ When Linda is taking her last breathes, there is a look of absolute terror in her eyes. She was clawing the air, like she was checking to make sure it was there. When he had finally died, her face was distorted and her lips were blue. Nurses are supposed to help patients but the nurses at the Hospital for the Dying don't care. When someone dies, the children get ice cream.

The average person in this society~It's very peaceful. Nobody cares because when they are young conditioned that death is not a terrible thing. 

15) Discuss the “Bokanovsky Process”.

Embryos that are destined to be anything below a Beta are put throw the 'Bokanovsky Process'. The ‘Bokanovsky's Process’ continuously divides one egg until there are 96 identical eggs. This process uses radiation, which cause some of the eggs to die.

16) Is Mustapha Mond really powerful or is he controlled by society as much as anyone else? 
Even though Mustapha Mond is in a position of authority, he isn't truely happy. There are so many things he had to give up in order to become a World Controller. He used to be a very good physicist. 

Book Review

     Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a novel in which the government controls its civilians. In this society people’s futures are decided for them. While they are still embryos in a bottle, they are conditioned to like what they are going to do. Some embryos are put through the ‘Bokanovsky's Process’, which continuously divides one egg until there are 96 identical eggs. This process uses radiation, which cause some of the eggs to die. Some eggs are also poisoned with alcohol until near death. Once the embryos are a little older, and have been predestined, they are conditioned according to their future job. For instance, if they are going to be working in a tropical mine, they will be conditioned to hate the cold.
     From the time they are newborns, until they are adults, they are conditioned to be successful in society according to their caste. Everyone is put into a category. The people in the highest cultural level are Alphas, and then Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are the bottom. Alphas are strong, tall, smart, and extremely attractive. Epsilons are short, stupid, and most of them are deformed.
     As they get older, another way the citizens are controlled is with soma. Soma is a pill that makes people happy. People are supposed to take the drug whenever something goes wrong and they start to feel depressed.
     As the story progresses we meet two characters that are very different. The first is Bernard, an Alpha, who is abnormally short and hates soma. He refuses to take it. He would rather be unhappy than have a false bliss.
     Another character that is encountered is Lenina. Lenina loves soma. She takes soma all the time. In our society she would be considered an addict, but in their society, it is completely normal. 

      There is one similarity between these characters; they like each other. They go on an awkward date, which ends in them having sex, which is also normal for the society. They move past the gawkiness and decide to go to the Savage Reservation together.
      Once they are there, they meet a man named John. John's mother is from the outside world, but he was born in the reservation. Bernard and Lenina meet his mother, Linda. Linda came to the reservation 20 years ago and was accidentally left at the Reservation. Since Linda has been in the reservation she has gotten old, fat and ugly. Bernard finds this all every interesting and calls the World Controller. Bernard and Lenina bring John and Linda back to the New World with them.
     Once they are brought to the New World, Bernard takes Linda and John to see the Director, John’s father.  Linda throws herself at him but he doesn’t remember or doesn’t allow himself to remember who she is. John comes in, drops to his knees, and yells, “My Father!” The Director ends up quitting his job.
     Bernard is put in charge of John, and shows him around the city. John was very excited to see the new world because his mother had told him wonderful things. He begins to hate the New World very quickly.
     So, ever since John laid eyes on Lenina, he has liked her. Lenina also starts to develop feelings for John. In one part of the novel, Lenina goes to see John to confess her feeling for him. She takes off all her clothes and throws herself at him. He pushes her away and threatens to kill her if she doesn’t go away. Lenina runs and hides in the bathroom and John receives a phone call and rushes out of the apartment.
      The call is from the Hospital for the Dying. Linda was taken there to die. She was so old, fat and ugly that the society wanted nothing to do with her. So, when Linda was brought back to the New World she was put on a twenty-four hour soma intake. The soma was slowly taking away her lung capacity until she could no longer breathe and ended up dying right in front of John.
      John is so upset that when he sees a group of Deltas getting their soma rations, he flips out. He starts quoting Shakespeare and lecturing them about how soma is not only poisoning their bodies, but their souls as well. When the Deltas look at him puzzled, he begins throwing their soma pills out the window.
     Then, John, Bernard and their friend, Helmholtz, get in trouble with the law and are going to be exiled to an island. John has to go to a different island than Bernard and Helmholtz. So, John chooses to live in a lighthouse.
      John needs to feel like he is worthy of something. This is because of his upbringing and having the only book he has ever read be The Complete Works of Shakespeare. He was raised in the Savage reservation, where when a man wanted to marry a woman he had to prove himself commendable.
     To prove that he is worthy; the first night John is in the lighthouse he stretches out his arms in a mock crucifixion style.  After doing that all night, he is still unsatisfied, but he tries to get over it and goes to start a garden. He also decides that he needs bows and arrows. He falls down a tree and starts carving out a six-foot bow and some arrows. He realizes that he is actually having a good time and immediately starts thinking about his dead mother.
      John continues the masochistic routine of brutalizing himself on a daily basis. One afternoon, John starts to think about a naked LeninaLenina and starts whipping himself. A reporter catches this on film and makes a movie out of it. People from all over London, flock to see John whip himself like an animal. John grabs his whip and starts advancing at people as if he were going to beat them. Lenina shows up and sends John over the edge. He runs at her and whips her. The crowd loves the ‘show’, and starts imitating John’s actions and chanting ‘Orgy-Porgy’.
      After he regains consciousness from the soma-induced orgy, John remembers everything. Some reporters go to see him that afternoon and find him hanging from the rafters of the lighthouse.
      Brave New World is not the traditional book you would read in high school. While most books depict a world where the protagonist lives happily ever after; Brave New World does just the opposite. Although the identity of the protagonist is debatable, neither John nor Bernard has a happy ending.
      Bernard’s character is fairly wishy-washy. He has a ‘woe-is-me’ attitude. He feels that because he is shorter than all the other Alphas, people don’t respect him. There is an instance in the book, when he has to yell at the Gammas three times to bring his helicopter out of the garage. Bernard is a whiny, self-absorbed person. He is definitely not my favorite character. 
      I would recommend this book to a friend. It is a very interesting book. It is well written and makes you wonder if Huxley was making a prediction of what our society will be like in another 100 or so years.