Brave New World – Study Guide – Chapter 11 to 13
Chapter 11
1. Why does John refuse going into Bernard’s party?
2. Look at the following extract: ‘You’re more like what you were at Malpais,’ John said when
Bernard had told him all his sorrows. ‘Do you remember when we first talked together? Outside the
litle house. You’re like what you were then.’ ‘Because I am unhappy again. That’s why.’ ‘Well, I’d
rather be unhappy than have the false, lying happiness that you were having here.’
Why does John say that to Bernard?
3. What is the problem Helmholtz had at the College of Emotional Engineering, where he is a
professor?
4. John is said to be visibly excited about the verses Helmholtz wrote. But what is Helmholtz’s
reaction when John reads out Romeo and Juliet? Why do you think that happens?
Chapter 12
5. Why does Lenina feel unwell? What advice does Fanny give her?
6. What was the reaction John got when he saw it was Lenina (and not Helmholtz) at his door?
7. What is the main difference in their reactions after they kiss? (You can make reference to the “I
want you” vs “I love you” we discussed in class)
8. What happens after Lenina walks to John saying “Darling, darling…”?
9. Why do you think he reacts the way he reacts and calls Lenina “disgusting whore”?
10. The scene gets interrupted by a phone call? What/who was it about?
Chapter 13
11. Write a short description of the Park Lane Hospital for the Dying. Use your own words. Try to
be as descriptive as possible.
12. Based on your description of the place and the atmosphere, what is the conception of death and
the process of dying they had in the New Society? How can you compare it to ours?
13. How does John react when a dying Linda mistakes him for Popé, at her bedside?
14. What is the last thing Linda says? What is her attitude right before dying?
15. John’s immediate reaction caused discomfort in the nurses and other visitors at the Hospital for
the Dying (the little kids). How does the nurse switches the kids’ focus from John’s “strange
attitudes”? Why are those attitudes seen as negative for the kids?
16. Why do you think the chapter ends with John pushing a small child away? Can you mention
previous situations in the recent chapters where John was portrayed as angry or even violent?