BNW ideas and themes to watch for: Ethics and morality of gene-editing and eugenics Social Hierarchies, meritocracies, and totalitarianism ‘Opiates of the masses’ and drugs Called “Soma” Science Fiction and dystopia Consumerism and anti-intellectualism Efficiency and optimization

Brave New World Need to Know Written very quickly in 1931 by British author Aldous Huxley. A self-identified British “highbrow” with a distaste for popular culture, in all its crowd-pleasing forms. Brave New World alludes to Shakespeare at least 50 times. Huxley was born into a family of renowned scientists At the age of 14 Aldous’s mother died. In 1911 he got a disease that would leave him virtually blind. Because of his reduced vision, he would not be able to do scientific research. Huxley turned to literature. Graduated from Oxford University. Huxley made over $3,000 a week during the early 1930’s writing for Hollywood. He used a lot of this money to evacuate Jewish people and leftist thinkers from Nazi Germany.

Brave New World Need to Know Brave New World is a Science Fiction dystopia. Science Fiction: Genre of fiction often set in the future, in space, on a different world, or in a different universe or dimension. Stories focus on science and technology of the future interacting with people. Has to have a relationship with the true* principles of science Stories involve partially true, partially fictitious laws or theories of science. Science and technology has to be key to the narrative. This is why Star Wars is technically a Fantasy series. Authors imagine what the future could be like if the science of their time keeps progressing without moral or ethical guidelines. It should not be completely unbelievable, because it then ventures into the genre fantasy Science fiction texts also include a human element, explaining what effect new discoveries, happenings and scientific developments will have on people in the future.

BNW chapter 1 [1-14 in PDF] Read chapter 1 and, with a group, represent the World State Baby Makin’ with an annotated flowchart. “The principle of mass production at last applied to biology.” “Bokanovsky’s Process” enables a single egg to spawn up to 96 children and one ovary to produce thousands of children. To further increase the birthrate of Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons, “Podsnap’s Technique” causes all the eggs in the ovary to mature simultaneously, allowing the hatchery to get full use of the ovary in two years' time. The delineation of the social hierarchy

Social Hierarchy of World State

BNW chapter 2 [15-21 in PDF] What psychological/learning principal is being applied to the Delta babies in chapter 2? What is the attitude people have about family in Brave New World? Why does this benefit World State? What is the attitude about sex in chapter 2? (27-28). What is the attitude about class in chapter 2? What details from the Hypnopæda stand out? What kind of economy exists in 632 A.F.?

BNW chapter 4.1 [39-42 in PDF] What do you think life would be like for the Epsilon-Minus Semi- Moron? What does Huxley’s tone make us feel? How does Huxley continue to develop the sexual culture of World State? “Pneumatic”? Benito Hoover “put away the soma bottle, and taking out a packet of sex-hormone chewing gum, stuffed a plug into his cheek and walked slowly away” (Huxley 60). How powerful is the Hypnopæda? What does Lenina say that she was conditioned to say? What is Lenina’s relationship like with the men around her? With Bernard?

The Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron: He flung open the gates. The warm glory of afternoon sunlight made him start and blink his eyes. “Oh, roof!” he repeated in a voice of rapture. He was as though suddenly and joyfully awakened from a dark annihilating stupor. “Roof!” He smiled up with a kind of doggily expectant adoration into the faces of his passengers. Talking and laughing together, they stepped out into the light. The liftman looked after them. “Roof?” he said once more, questioningly. Then a bell rang, and from the ceiling of the lift a loud speaker began, very softly and yet very imperiously, to issue its commands. “Go down,” it said, “go down. Floor Eighteen. Go down, go down. Floor Eighteen. Go down, go.” The liftman slammed the gates, touched a button and instantly dropped back into the droning twilight of the well, the twilight of his own habitual stupor. (Huxley 40).

BNW chapter 4.2 & 4.3 [43-47 in PDF] How different is Bernard from other Alpha-Plus men? Like Henry Foster, the D.H.C., or Helmholtz Watson? Describe Helmholtz Watson. How is he both slightly-unorthodox, yet still the antithesis of Bernard?

BNW chapter 5 [49-57 in PDF] What do Lenina and Henry talk about on their way home? What happens at the crematorium? Is being “socially useful” in all aspects of life and death important? Should we strive to make people “socially useful” at all times? Why are stars “depressing”? What are the solidarity services like? What role do they play? “orgy-porgy”? Henry Ford?

BNW chapter 6 [59-71 in PDF] What is Bernard and Lenina’s date like? What does Bernard say about Freedom? How does the D.H.C. treat Bernard? What backstory does he reveal? How does this foreshadow the events of chapter 7? What does it mean to be infantile in this society? Describe the humor of the Warden, Lenina, and Bernard from 6.3. How is Soma involved?