1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Pre-Reading Guide

2. “O wonder. How many goodly creatures are there here
“O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beautious mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in’t!” Miranda inThe Tempest (V, ii), written by William Shakespeare

3. Aldous Huxley Published Brave New World in 1932 1894-1963
Family had many notable members, including great uncle, poet Matthew Arnold and grandfather, biologist T. H. Huxley
Plagued with vision problems throughout his life; studied English since he could not be a scientist
Attended Oxford University, became a teacher
Published Brave New World in 1932
Lived in the US in later life, died while living in L.A.
His “novels of ideas” have sometimes been criticized as being “too intellectual”

4. Novel Structure
Setting: AD; referred to in the novel as 632 years AF (“After Ford”), meaning 632 years after production of the first Model T car
Genre: Dystopia
Narration: Third-person omniscient
Point-of-View: Narrated in the third person from the point of view of Bernard or John, but also from the point of view of Lenina, Helmholtz Watson, and Mustapha Mond

5. Important People, Terms, and Concepts
Utopia – perfect society
Dystopia – dreadful, dysfunctional society
Satire – writing intended to ridicule and arouse contempt – especially by using irony and exaggeration
Caste System – social structure which divides people on the basis of inherited social status
Ivan Pavlov
Russian physician & psychologist
“Classical conditioning” using dogs
RESULT: Trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell, even without giving food.

6. More People, Terms, and Concepts:
Sigmund Freud
Psychiatrist
Psychoanalysis
Mental health and illness spring from a child’s upbringing, not his heredity
Soma – an anti-depressant, semi-hallucinogenic drug introduced by the World State
Orgy Porgy – group sexual experience to unify all people (sex is not the focus, unity is)
Solidarity Service – group of men and women who gather to take Soma and have a spiritual experience

7. Motive for Creating a “Utopia”
Huxley exploits anxieties about Soviet Communism and American capitalism. The price of universal happiness will be the sacrifice of honored shibboleths of our culture: “motherhood,” “home,” “family,” “freedom,” even “love.”

8. What is the Brave New World ?
A dystopian tale about a possible future world where human faith in scientific progress, freedom, dignity, and individuality are all called into question. Set in two locations in the 26th century (2540 A.D.): London and a New Mexico Indian reservation

9. What is the Brave New World ?
Religion of the World State based on the life and philosophies of Henry Ford.
American car manufacturer, inventor of the assembly line
Invented the Model T car – designed to be affordable to everyone; only available in black
Mass production & mass consumption
Assembly line = improved efficiency
Vertical structure = self sufficient
“Our Ford”

10. What is the Brave New World ?
Caste System:
Alphas (Α)– highest, grey
Betas (Β)- mulberry
Gammas (Γ)- leaf green
Deltas (Δ)- khaki
Epsilons (Ε)– lowest, black
There are also plusses and minuses, so one can be an Alpha Plus or a Gamma Minus.
Differentiation achieved through oxygen deprivation

11. What is the Brave New World?
Some individuals are created using the
Bokanovsky Process
Fertilization process used to create Deltas & Epsilons
Divide fertilized eggs to produce identical twins
Produces up to 96 embryos, but 72 is the average
Primary instrument of social stability

12. What is the Brave New World ?
Government organization “conditions” the lower caste children using
Hypnopaedia
“The greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time” (28).
Sleep teaching
Moral education
Class conditioning
“The child’s mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child’s mind” (28-29).

13. What is the Brave New World ?
A society where all aspects of an individual's life are determined by the state, beginning with conception and conveyor-belt reproduction.
A government bureau, the Predestinators, decides all roles in the hierarchy.
Children are raised and conditioned by the state bureaucracy, not brought up by natural families.
Citizens must not fall in love, marry, or have their own children.

14. Are you living in a Brave New World?
Do you agree that…
History is worthless?
Everyone belongs to everyone else?
Throwing something away is better than fixing it?
No one really needs a mother?
The elderly are worthless members of society?
Cleanliness is next to godliness?
You should never put off until tomorrow the fun you can have today?

15. Relevance of Novel Today
This novel is more applicable today than it was in This is a time of propaganda, censorship, conformity, genetic engineering, social conditioning, and mindless entertainment. This was what Huxley saw in our future. His book is a warning.

16. Interesting Irony
“Reading Brave New World elicits the same disturbing feelings in the reader which the society it depicts has vanquished.”

17. Community
Identity
Stability
Brave New World

18. Essential Questions:
Is it better to be free than to be happy? Is freedom compatible with happiness? Is the collective more important than the individual? Can children be taught effectively to think in only one certain way? Can young people be taught so well that they never question their teachings later? Is stability more important than freedom? Can alterations made by advanced science to mankind be made permanent at the DNA-level? Can mankind be conditioned by science? Should the individual be limited/controlled for the greater good? If so, how much?

20. Works Cited
Edmondson, Elizabeth. “Brave New World Powerpoint.” Gilmour Academy. 8 May PDF file. Web. 19 Apr A Guide to Brave New World. Austin, Texas: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, Print. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Collins, Wood, Lisha. “Brave New World Intro.” Sprayberry High School. Typepad. 6 Sept Web. 19 Apr 2010.