Stein 1
Megan Stein
Ms. Rosenbaum
DE ENC1102 - 1A
August 30, 2012
Brave New World Discussion Questions
Chapter 1
1. The first sentence in the novel is strange because of the derogatory diction. It explains a
building that has thirty-four stories as “squat.” It also uses the word “only” which
suggests that many of the buildings in the novel’s settings are far taller than that.
2. World State’s motto, “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY” embodies all of the
qualities they admire. The society is placed in a community that gives people each of
their own identities to make sure that they maintain stability.
3. The fertilization room looks very cold because it is so bleak. It is very sterile and does not
give off a warm appearance. The room itself is actually warm because that is a form of
conditioning that the embryos must be exposed to. In the fertilization room, the workers
create and fertilize the embryos that transform into the people in World State.
4. Particulars “make for virtue and happiness” because they demonstrate control. They are
the embodiment of minute details that help stabilize World State. Generalities are
portrayed as “intellectually necessary evils” because they allow freedom. When people
are allowed to make their own choices they tend to stray away from the path that they are
recommended to be on.
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5. People know who they are in this society because they are conditioned to know so. They
are put through training while they sleep that tells them everything they need to know as
far as status is concerned and the moral laws of their society.
6. The Bokanovsky process is another way to strip people of their identities. When people
lack personal appearance, they lack another part of their identity. It makes it easier to
keep track of people when they all look the same. It creates numerous sets of twins which
all have the same set of tasks in life. It helps keep the society stable by producing stable
and identity-free members of their community.
7. Epsilons do not need human intelligence because the only job they are required to do in
their lives are the ones that lack knowledge such as manual labor.
The Bokanovsky process truly shocked me. I found it disgusting that people are forced to
give up their right to parenthood. They must give up their functioning organs to a program
that makes people that truly lack any form of individuality.
Chapter Two
1. Conditioning prepares children for their caste level tasks later in their lives. It helps the
society remain stable because it gives them control over everyone’s interests. Toddlers
that are in their prime of development are the ones who are subject to conditioning.
Hypnopaedia is a sort of training that requires children to listen to repeated phrases about
moral decisions while they are sleeping.
2. Deltas hate nature but love outdoor sports because they are more consuming. Nature
simply consumes transportation where outdoor sports use transportation and equipment.
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This helps them give more money back to society and use more of the resources they
have available to them.
3. Time is put into respect of when “Ford” died. In our personal times, time is put into the
frame of before and after Christ. Their time works similarly to ours except ours is in
relation to Christ. History is heavily censored. They are only allowed to know what the
Director thinks is permissible. Ford says that “History is Bunk” because they do not see it
as something that adds to their society.
4. Alphas are the premier people in the society; they have all of the jobs that require
advanced knowledge. Betas are still rather intelligent; they have the jobs that require a
moderate understanding of things. Gammas are the first of the castes that can undergo
Bokanovsky treatments; they have jobs that require basic knowledge. Deltas are those
who have jobs that require repetition and very little knowledge. Epsilons are given no
knowledge and only do jobs that are strictly manual labor.
5. Students demonstrate their conditioning through their choices in life. They only do what
they are conditioned to do and know how to.
I found the hypnopaedia very shocking. I have heard about this previously and I wonder if it
actually works. The people in the society have an interesting outlook on how and through
what process memorization actually happens in.
Summary
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World shows a society that is centralized on stability and lack of
identity. Citizens are trained to fit in through extensive conditioning before birth and then
sleep training throughout their developmental years.
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Robert Heston
Ms. Rosenbaum
Dual Enrollment English – 1A
9 – 4 – 12
Chapter 5
In this chapter Lenina goes out with Henry again, and Bernard goes to Solidarity services. Something that
shocked me in this chapter was the Solidarity services. I thought the entire thing was really weird and
didn’t understand how it went from eating ice-cream to an orgy.
1. On their way home, Lenina and Henry talked about the smoke stacks of the crematorium and
why they had “balcony like” things around them. Henry explains that they are for phosphorous
recovery, and that he thinks it’s nice that even in death everyone is still useful to society, and
that everyone is chemically equal whether they are epsilon, deltas, betas, or alphas. At the
crematorium they hit a switchback over one of the switch backs and Lenina exclaims how
wonderful it was, which causes Henry to have a melancholy moment. He talks about how the
switchback was caused by someone going up in “hot gas” and that he’s curious to know who it
could have been, and what caste they were in.
2. Stars are depressing because they remind the people of the natural world, and distract from the
material world.
3. The solidarity services are a form of ceremony that starts out with the drinking of strawberry
ice-cream soma, while listening to the “Solidarity Hymn” being sung. That’s followed by
chanting, dancing, and then an orgy. The role that these play is to bring everyone together as
one. Bernard fits in as just completing the group by being there; he doesn’t have the same
reactions to these as everyone else.
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Chapter 6
This chapter is about Lenina and Bernard’s first few dates, and the start of their trip to the New Mexico
reservations. Also in this chapter the Director threatens to send Bernard to Iceland if he doesn’t get his
act together. I thought Lenina’s reaction to hovering over the ocean was funny. I found this funny
because what to me would seem like a relaxing experience absolutely terrified her.
1. Being alone is a bad thing because there is “precious little” someone can do alone, and one of
those things is thinking, which can lead to unrest in this society.
2. On their first date Lenina and Bernard go to see the “Semi-Demi-Finals of the women’s heavyweight wrestling championship” with trips to ice-cream parlors in between in which Bernard
ignores all of Lenina’s friends. The ocean and the moon are important because they make
Bernard feel like he’s an individual and more than just a social cell of the society.
3. Bernard wants to be free to be happy in his own way, not everyone else’s, and that he feels
enslaved by his conditioning. What Bernard means is that he wants to be able to make choices
not because of his conditioning, but because he has the free will to do so.
4. The date ends in Bernard’s rooms and he has taken four tablets of soma and has turned on the
radio and the television.
5. To be infantile in this society means to conform to what’s expected on everyone emotionally,
even if it is against their inclination.
6. The director doesn’t like Bernard because he doesn’t follow the normal social decorum, and he
warns him in an attempt to get Bernard to stop acting so.
7. The directors story shows that the disappearance of the beta caused him to react in a way he
shouldn’t have due to his conditioning, showing that even he could have had an a slight
emotional attachment to someone.
8. After hearing Bernard’s story of his meeting with the director, Helmholtz likes Bernard because
he is able to discuss with him topics he finds important, but he hates certain things about
Bernard, like his boasting and self pity.
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9. We learn from the Warden that the reservation is divided up into four sub reservations, each
surrounded by high tension wire fences that the savages give birth to children, have families,
religion, speak dead languages, and are never allowed to leave. If they are born there, they die
there. The reservations are very dirty, there’s no hot water or electricity.
10. Malpais is the rest house where Lenina and Bernard stay.
Chapter 7
In this chapter Bernard and Lenina travel to the mesa where the savages live and witness one of their
ceremonies where they sacrifice a boy for rain for corn to grow. They also discover a young man named
John whose mother was the beta that had gotten lost on a trip with the Director twenty years prior.
Something that humored me in this chapter was that the idol of an eagle was worshiped next to an idol
of Jesus on a cross. I don’t really know why but I found this funny.
1. The mesa was like a ship because the surrounding area was like a strait, and the mesa sat in the
middle of it.
2. Lenina doesn’t like their Indian guide because he was dirty and smelled.
3. The city is made up of clay houses, and its streets aren’t paved. Everything is dirty, there are
trash piles all over the place and flies were abundant.
4. They witness a ceremony to an eagle god and Jesus on the cross in which water in corn meal is
poured on a pile of snakes, and then a boy is wiped to death as he walks around the pile of
snakes. The ceremony is meant to bring the rain and cause the corn to grow depending on how
much blood the boy gives by walking around the circle as many times as he can before falling. To
Lenina the whole thing seems barbaric and pointless. She doesn’t understand why someone
would be want be whipped.
5. An idol of an eagle and Jesus on a cross emerges from the ground.
6. John the savage is different because he has light skin, blue eyes, straw colored hair, and can
speak English. He wanted to be the one sacrificed because he believed he could have given
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more blood. He responded to Lenina by instantly desiring her, and becoming embarrassed by
her smiling at him.
7. Linda’s story is that she came to the reservation with an Alpha and feel down while walking by
herself. She was found by the savages and soon discovered she was pregnant and that the
person she had come with had gone back to civilization, leaving her stranded. Her life on the
reservation has been very difficult. She isn’t used to the customs and the women are cruel to
her because she was with some of their men. Lenina reaction to Linda is that of disgust. She is
appalled by Linda’s appearance and behavior.
Rebekah Eshelman
Ms. Rosenbaum
Dual Enrollment English
September 4, 2012
Brave New World Review
Chapter 8
1. John’s up brining consisted of his mother Linda being not only his mother but only
companion. John is an outcast and feels rejected by the others in the village where he
lives. His relationship with his mother Linda becomes increasingly strained as she sleeps
with many men including her lover, Pope. His mother, Linda, taught him to read and
write using a book she brought with her about embryos and later he reads all the works of
Shakespeare.
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2. Linda does not want to be called a mother because in the society she was raised parents
are extinct and unheard of even the mention of the word makes people blush.
3. The social position Linda and John hold in Malpais are outcasts because of Linda’s
relationships with other married men.
4. John wants goodness and freedom in his life.
5. Linda tells John many stories about the “other place” all in which she praises it and
speaks highly of it.
6. John learns about emotions through Shakespeare and conveys all his emotions by quoting
passages from works of Shakespeare. He relates to Hamlet because he kills Pope like
Hamlet kills his step father. John relates to the tempest by quoting it in his excitement in
going to the “other place”.
7. To discover “Time and Death and God” means to fully grasp peace and understanding in
life as John does when he cuts his wrists and stands there pretending to be Jesus.
8. John and Bernard are both lonely in the society they are raised in because they are
rejected by its inhabitants.
9. Bernard wants to take John back to London to blackmail the director so he will not lose
his job.
Summary: John shares with Bernard stories about his upbringing, and he reveals his
loneliness in the village. Bernard invites John to come home to London with him, though
Bernard has ulterior motives, John is ecstatic to come.
‘“Linda,” he cried out. “Oh, mother, don’t!”
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“I’m not your mother. I won’t be your mother.”’
This quote tells of how Linda refuses to be a mother and why John calls her ‘Linda’; she
is ashamed to have given birth and refuses to take responsibility by taking on the title.
An occurrence that shocked me was Linda had refused to learn the new ways of her new
home. She continues to sleep with many men and then does not understand or want to
understand when the women of the village tell her that it is wrong and punish her for it.
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Chapter 9
1. Mustapha Mond agrees to Bernard’s plan to have John and Linda in London because
they are a scientific interest for London and the world.
2. When John watches Lenina sleep he looks through her things and quotes Romeo and
Juliet to convey his emotions. He believes that she is the most beautiful woman he
has seen and he also has the desire to touch her.
Summary: Bernard gets permission from Mustapha Mond to have Linda and John in
London. John watches Lenina sleep and is overcome with feelings and desire for her.
“Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that… No, he didn’t.”
John believes that he is too unworthy to even touch Lenina, when ironically John is
more pure and moral than Lenina. He thinks his thoughts are horrible for even
wanting to touch her when all Lenina wants to do is sleep with him.
An occurrence that amazed me was that John was ashamed of himself because he
went through Lenina’s things and wanted to touch her. This is the first impure
thought that John thinks in the book; he is suppose to be moral in the immoral world
he travels to.
Landon Willey
Chapter 10
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1. The DHC had called Bernard to the room in order to make an example of him as a danger
to society as a whole. The DHC planned on dismissing Bernard to Iceland, where he
could “have small opportunity to lead others astray”.
2. Unorthodoxy is detrimental to society as a whole, whereas murder simply concerns an
individual which can be easily replaced.
3. Linda acts as an attached mother would, desperately trying to get the DHC’s approval by
crying out for him and outstretching her arms, wanting affection. The DHC desperately
tries to play the whole thing off as a joke, unfortunately it is in vain though. The
spectators react hysterically at the whole scene, finding the terms “father” said by the
Savage to be quite laughable.
Summary: John and Linda are introduced to general society as the DHC’s dirty secret past by
Bernard, who was just about to be demoted.
Quote: “My Father! The laughter, which had shown signs of dying away, broke out again more
loudly than ever.” This quote shows society’s conditioning in Brave New World to the traditional
family setting as obsolete.
I found it very interesting that simply having a child was enough to ruin the DHC’s career, as
though it were blackmail on an affair or something similarly relatable in today’s society.
Chapter 11
1. John becomes popular, as he is seen as a phenomenon. A virtual “delicacy”; the child
of civilized life, raised with the savages. Linda is simply a lost cause, an old and
crazy woman who is dismissed into a life on soma.
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2. Bernard becomes immensely popular as a result of the savage, acting as his virtual
“agent”. He accepts the change and is thrust into a life of women and luxury, which
makes him stuck-up, much to Helmholtz’s disapproval.
3. Linda becomes bed-ridden and drugged into a soma-induced coma.
4. Bernard becomes very self-righteous and cocky in public as a result of this new found
fame, as is evident in his dialogue.
5. Mustapha Mond gets very irritated with Bernard’s reports, feeling that he has
overstepped his boundaries in how he speaks about the social order.
6. As John is introduced to the caste and clone system, he is visibly appalled. He retches
“behind a clump of laurels” after saying the quote “O brave new world that has such
people in it…”
7. Eton is only used for upper-caste boys and girls. Here, they are taught that
reservations are places of poverty that offer no real benefit to civilize due to their
climates or lack of resources. John is pained to see the children laugh at his culture
that the children are being educated about.
8. The children are indifferent to death, as they are conditioned to see it as “a matter of
course.”
9. Lenina wants John as a sexual partner, but is unsure about the way the feels towards
her.
10. John did not like the experience of the feelies. He thought that the film was “base”
and “ignoble”.
Summary: John is showed around the cloning facilities and is visibly appalled, all the while
Lenina wonders about his feelings for her.
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Quote: “’But why do they laugh?’” – John the Savage. John is inquiring about the Etonians, and
their laughter towards the tape of his culture in the reservation being shown to them. He is pained
to see them disrespecting the culture he grew up in by laughing.
When John was displeased with the feelies that he saw, I related with him in the sense of
watching the movie “Avatar”. Yeah, the experience was cool, but the actual product was very
basic and unappealing.
Chapter 16 #s 1-6
1. Bernard acts pathetically in this chapter, groveling for mercy from Mustapha Mond. He
simply wants to be spared a life of hardship, he does not want to be labeled a menace to
society.
2. John doesn’t like civilization because he feels that many things are prohibited for no good
reason. Particularly, old literature.
3. Old and beautiful things are forbidden in modern society because Mond wants the people
to enjoy the new attractions of the present day. He also states that the people of today
simply wouldn’t understand old attractions such as Romeo and Juliet.
4. Tragedies require social instability, which is a thing of the past. Therefore, modern day
tragedies cannot be written.
5. Art in the new world is very basic, as it sacrifices much of the quality in the sake of being
socially stabilizing. They have sacrificed “high art” for happiness. Helmholtz is an
emotional engineer, who creates art in the new world. He even agrees that the things that
they create are very basic.
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6. Mond believes that happiness is “never grand”, and that many things such as complete
liberty, truth, and beauty are necessary casualties for the ultimate goal of social stability
as a whole.
Summary: John, Bernard, and Helmholtz are brought to Mustapha Mond’s office in order to
discuss the repercussions of their actions; in this discussion, much is said between Mond and
John about happiness, old art, and the necessary sacrifices to have a working society.
Quote: “’The optimum population is modeled on the iceberg – eight-ninths below the water line,
one-ninth above.” – Mustapha Mond. He compares the structure of society to that of an iceberg,
comparing the alphas to the top ninth to explain the caste system to John.
One occurrence that I found interesting in this chapter was the description of the society of
Alphas, and how that experiment failed because everyone wanted to do “alpha work”. It
intrigued me because it can be related to today’s society quite well – everyone wants to be
successful and have prestigious jobs, but the drone work must be done by someone.
Chapter 18 #s 7-9
7. Lenina cries as she stretches her arms towards the Savage, which I interpret as her caring
for him and wanting to comfort him in his state of distress. John freaks out when she
advances towards him, likely interpreting her advance as sexual and aggressive.
8. The crowd begins to imitate John and they begin to whip themselves. Eventually,
someone begins to play the song “orgy porgy” and an orgy ensues overnight. It is likely
that during this orgy, John has sex with Lenina.
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9. As John awakes and realizes that he has succumb to the pressures of society in the
previous night, he decides to commit suicide via hanging. He sees no other alternatives to
escape the pressures of society.
Amanda DeRenzis
Ms. Rosenbaum
Dual Enrollment English-1A
September 4, 2012
Brave New World
Chapter 15:
1. The title reoccurs here and it is used in a negative way, instead of a positive way. The
savage is cursing how the new world is so consumed with technology, which has
lessened their freedom.
2. John decides to interfere with the soma distribution because he feels it takes away their
freedom by poisoning their minds to act a certain way. Without soma, people are able to
think and act beyond the acceptable way. John feels they are acting like slaves and the
soma is taking away their independence.
3. John thinks that slave hood is the life they live and freedom is to be broken free from the
life they life. He believes that manhood is gained by hard work and independence. There
is no liberty in a life full of slavery with no freedom.
4. John thinks the Deltas are disgusting like maggots. The multiples swarm all at once to get
their soma distribution.
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5. Helmholtz helps John because he sees the savage as the same as everyone else, which
Bernard stands behind the scene to try and not obstruct his social image. This displays
that Bernard is more worried about being popular, while Helmholtz is more worried
about people getting treated the same no matter who they are.
6. The soma riot ends when the police storm in and spray soma gas in the room. Being
happy and calm means to be stable and calm. People must be normal and act the certain
standard they are given.
Summary: John is disgusted of how soma is taking control of people’s lives and thus tries to
stop the distribution by starting a riot. Bernard refuses to help, but Helmholtz does help John
and the riot ended with the police spraying soma gas in the air.
Quote: “Twins, twins….Like maggots they had swarmed defilingly over the mystery of
Linda’s death”. This quote is important because it shows how much John disliked the Deltas.
Occurrence: An occurrence that was shocking to me was how John started a riot to stop the
soma distribution. This riot displayed how strongly he felt about the soma and how it
deprived people of their freedom and independence.
Chapter 17:
6. Self-denial is not something you can help yourself with; you need a stronger power to
help you deal with it. Chastity is your personal choice and nobility and heroism coms
from people’s perceptions of you. Mond would not agree with me because he believes in
sexual activity is a part of everyday life with different people and John would partially
agree because he believes that we should follow what the Bible says.
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7. Mond says that soma keeps people happy and in order. People rely on soma as it is their
God and they need it to survive in their everyday life.
8. This means to have fortune, but not happiness or privacy or live the life you want to live
and have all the freedom you want.
9. John means that no matter how much people spend to help civilization, they can never
buy it; just as you can never buy happiness.
10. John says yes to be “unhappy” because the civilized world of being unhappy is exactly
how life should be. He wants to live life with freedom, poetry, real danger, and goodness.
I would do the same because I would rather be free than be controlled and have no
independence.
Summary: Mond and John talk about the banned religious books in the civilized world and how
people do not need religion since they do not experience losses in a youthful society.
Quote: “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom,
I want goodness. I want sin”. This quote is important because it shows how John wants to live a
real life and not be in a life full of slavery and control.
Occurrence: I was surprised on how Mond had religious books locked away that were banned in
the civilized society. I could not believe that he has read and knew about God, even though it is
not how the people in the society were taught.
Chapter 18:
Summary: John has seclude himself in an abandoned lighthouse and preforms hurtful rituals for
the contamination of the civilized world. Later on reporters see John whipping himself and
everyone becomes fascinated with this act. Unable to take all the problems John hangs himself.
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Quote: “Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet….like two unhurried compass
needles the feet turned towards the right...” This quote is important because it states that John has
hanged himself, but without telling you straightforward.
Occurrence: I was surprised when John killed himself because I thought he would be stronger to
pull through all the commotion. He was whipping himself as punishment and I feel that you have
to be extremely strong in order to do that to yourself, so I thought he was strong enough to
survive.
Wyatt Johnson
Ms. Rosenbaum
English 1102-1A
9/3/12
Brave New World Questions
Chapter 12
1. John is tired of being used as a sideshow attraction and refuses to be Bernard’s pet
anymore. This is bad news for Bernard because now all his guests think lowly of him and
are angry they got dragged to his party for no reason.
2. Lenina feels sad and alone at the party because she wants to be with John and doesn’t
understand why he doesn’t want to be with her.
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3. John feels alone and confused because of the way society behaves so much differently
than what he is used to. He is reading Romeo and Juliet because he is able to connect
with the way those characters feel in the book.
4. Lenina is beginning to think for herself and appreciate the beauty of nature, beginning to
break the mold of how she always lived.
5. Mustapha Mond has control of all the old pieces of culture, religion, and art from past
society and he keeps them from the public so that there will be balance in the world.
Those pieces would cause panic and people would begin to think for themselves instead
of following the guidelines incased in their DNA.
6. Bernard begins to become very arrogant and boastful thanks to his new fame and John
and Helmholtz begin to ignore and cold shoulder him. They think much less of him when
he acts this way.
7. Helmholtz wrote some literature that defies the rules of modern society, writing that
expresses freedom of thought and the want for solitude. He is dangerous because he
could upset the balance of perfection if his writings got out and people understood them.
He felt the need to express himself and the feed his urge to write more important things
than propaganda.
8. Helmholtz thinks that Romeo and Juliet are outrageous and absurd, that there is no such
thing as love and tragedy, this it is madness. He believes Shakespeare to be a fool for
writing such unbelievable literature.
9. Helmholtz says that one needs crazy, mad situations to allow creativity to flow and to
write well. He says violence and madness makes good writing conditions.
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Summary of Chapter 12
This chapter opens with Bernard having a party so that his guests can see and interact
with the Savage, but John refuses to come out and it is a disaster for Bernard. Lenina is
faced with some difficult feelings for John, while John and Helmholtz share writings and
readings that dive deeper into thought and creativity.
Chapter 12 Quote
1. Helmholtz, “As though I were beginning to be able to use that power I feel I’ve got inside
me- that extra, latent power. Something seems to be coming to me.”
This quote is significant because it expresses how Helmholtz feels about his writing and
the power he feels inside when he writes it, which is uncommon in their society.
Chapter 12 Occurrence
1. When John refused to come out and meet Bernard’s guests. This occurrence humored me
because I found it funny that Bernard went through all the trouble of throwing a party and
John stood him up.
Chapter 13
1. She has fallen into a depressed state because she can’t get over him and she doesn’t know
if he even likes her. All she thinks about is him even when she is on her soma.
2. She feels very strongly for John and is madly love in with him. She just goes to his
apartment and forces her way into so she can see him. Then she tries to get him to make
love with her, forcing her body onto him and not letting up.
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3. John feels very strongly for Lenina and is so in love that he doesn’t know how to
approach her. He wants to do something that has meaning and show her that he is
deserving of her, he wants to show his value and worthiness.
4. John becomes very angry at Lenina’s actions, scrambling away from her and avoiding
any contact. He grabs her by the wrist and calls her bad names and slapped her as she
tried to get into the bathroom for safety.
Chapter 13 Summary
Lenina is trying to face her feelings for John and decides that she must go see him and show him
how he feels. He is surprised by her appearance, and tries to confess his love but she only wants
sex from him and he becomes angry and releases his anger upon her.
Chapter 13 Quote
John, “No, of course it isn’t necessary. But some kinds of baseness are nobly undergone. I’d like
to undergo something nobly. Don’t you see?”
This quote is significant because it show what John is willing to do to prove to Lenina how he
feels, that he doesn’t want it to be easy.
Chapter 13 Occurrence
I was surprised when John reacted to Lenina in such a violent way, grabbing her wrists, calling
her names and then slapping her when she tried to escape. His actions seemed a very out of place
because he was so in love with her.
Chapter 16
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7. Mond explains that each caste has a specific purpose and they know nothing more than they
are conditioned to do. There can’t be Alphas doing Beta work because they would go nuts. I
agree partly with him that they are certain jobs for certain classes of people, but diversity is
healthy in a workforce.
8. A society of Alphas would fail because of the sheer fact that there is no way they could get
along and be successful They all would want high class positions with no one willing to do the
dirty work, no agreement on anything and finally civil war.
9. Science must be constrained so that people don’t begin researching ways into why society is
the way it is. There is no need for intuition and discovery because it would upset balance, and
there is no need for progression because everything is already perfect. I don’t agree because the
only way to be better is to learn and push forward to ideas and concepts.
10. Mond chose to become a World Controller over being sent to an island to get on with his
scientific research. He chose controller because he knew he could do a greater good there then if
he was sent away to play with science and crack the social order, he would serve the happiness
of others rather than his own.
11. Helmholtz wants to explore his talents, to write with meaning and purpose, to get away from
the hold society puts on free thinking.
Chapter 16 Quote
Mond, “All the people who aren’t satisfied with orthodoxy, who’ve got independent ideas of
their own. Every one, in a word, who’s any one. I almost envy you, Mr. Watson.”
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The significance of this quote is that the people sent to these islands are free thinkers, important
and intelligent people who want to delve deeper into truth and beauty, and it is almost a reward
to be sent there.
Chapter 16 Occurrence
I was amazed when Mustapha Mond admitted that he was almost sent to an island, that at one
time he was trying to break out of society and the balance laid upon him.
Chapter 18
1. John drank some mustard and water, an Indian ritual for cleansing themselves.
2. John goes to an old abandoned light house deep in the woods and far away from
civilization so that he would be alone and purify himself so that he could be released
from civilization.
3. Yes it does represent a healthy alternative, because he is living on his own and off the
land, which builds pride and resilience in oneself.
Chapter 18 Occurrence
I was surprised when John hung himself after he was so determined to make it on his own and to
show the world he didn’t need any of what they had to offer.
Morgan Heston
Ms. Rosenbaum
Dual Enrollment English-1A
8/28/12
Brave New World Group Activity
Chapter 14:
Stein 24
1. The hospital for the dying is a sixty-six story building made of primrose tiles. The rooms are
bright and have multiple beds in each room. Television sets were at the foot of every bed, and
synthetic music filled the air. The dying looked as if they were infants, with blank eyes.
2. The television appears to be silent, as the book says “the little figures noiselessly darted.” It also
appears to be in black and white, the tennis court being called, “illuminated glass.”
3. Linda is dying because of the incredible amount of soma she has been given, which slows down
here brain and heart.
4. John would remember his mother’s young face as a child, and he remembers how she would sing
and how pretty her voice was. He remembers her telling him stories by a fire or on the room of
their house in summertime of the world outside the reservation. He remembers her young because
at the present time he was searching her face trying to find a trace of her youth. His memories of
the Other Place came from stories from his mother. She describes it as a paradise and where
people are civilized. Memories are important to society because they help preserve important
information, such as stories that are passed down from generation to generation.
5. The Deltas are being death-conditioned. The children greatly anger John, causing him to strike at
one of them.
6. Death is not terrible because even in death the people’s bodies are used to better society as a
whole. No one individual would matter enough to be grieved over when they died.
Chapter 17:
1. Mustapha Mond wanted to talk to John to tell him that things of the past no longer matter in the
modern society anymore, and that they are dangerous. They discuss the Bible, God, Shakespeare,
solitude, and suffering.
2. Both of them discuss why it religion is being stopped in modern society. John says that God does
not change, and it is natural to believe in God. God would give people a reason for bearing
through things patiently, instead of just taking soma. Mond says that belief in God can create
divisions, and ultimately, wars. Also, he says God is not compatible with machinery and medicine
and happiness.
3. Mond believes God manifests Himself in different ways, and in modern times, he manifests
himself as an absence. He says people believe in God because that is what they have been
conditioned to believe.
4. When people are alone, it is natural to think about God and death. Solitude gives people the
chance to think and talk to God without any distractions.
5. John says that the modern mad has been degraded by pleasant vices. He says people’s values and
struggles give them dignity and courage, instead of being degraded by never suffering.
Chapter 18:
4. John decided to punish himself because he thought the lighthouse was too luxurious and civilized. He
felt as if he would deserve to live there more if he suffered first.
Stein 25
5. John finds himself finding pleasure in thinking about Lenina and her advances toward him. He decides
to punish himself because he feels guilty to Linda for feeling that way, for it is much easier for him to
remember Lenina then Linda.
6. The film was so popular back in London because feely affects were added to it. People were also
fascinated by pain and the fact that John did it to himself.
Chapter 14 Summary:
John visited his dying mother at the Park Lane Hospital for the Dying. Seeing her brought back many
memories from John’s childhood. John was barely recognizable to her, and she could not talk or move.
Some Delta children being death conditioned saw Linda and exclaimed about how awful she looked,
which angered John and caused him to strike at one of the children. After she finally said John’s name,
awakening from her soma fantasy with Pope, she chokes to death. John then walked silently out of the
room without looking back, pushing one of the children down in his wake.
Quote from Chapter 14:
“Linda’s eyes fluttered open; she saw him, knew him-“John!” (Pg. 205) This quote is significant because
it shows Linda finally recognized her son and knew he was standing over her.
Occurrence from Chapter 14:
An occurrence from chapter 14 that shocked me was when Linda choked to death. I was not expecting it
to happen and for her to die so suddenly. I assumed she would die quietly and after John had left, and I
also did not expect for John to go on a rampage after she died.
Additional Question:
The individual in the society of Brave New World is defined as being only part of a whole, instead of
being thought of as the individual themselves. The role that they play is to only improve society by
working together and conforming to such a society. The individuals themselves are meaningless, only
having meaning when they conform and do what the rest of society wants them to.