Utopian Literature
MSMG Telgte
LK Englisch Q2 Ros
September 2013
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Defining utopia and dystopia
UTOPIA
DYSTOPIA
Literature:
Literature:
Films:
Films:
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A future society according to … you
Tasks
1. Form groups of three (or four) people
2. In your group, create your own future society. Consider the following
questions:
What kind of political system should your society have?
What role should culture and religion play in your society?
In what ways, if at all, would you try to influence the reproduction of
your people? How should your children be brought up and educated?
How would you deal with progress in technology, medicine etc.?
…
...
...
...
3. Once you have finished your discussion prepare a structured presentation of
your society in class in which each group member takes part
Utopia/Dystopia/Science Fiction
Tasks
1. Read the texts Utopia and dystopia and Science fiction (GL, p. 204).
2. Copy the essential information about the terms “utopia”, “dystopia” and
“science fiction”. You may also look up the terms on the internet to get more
detailed information
a) utopia:
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b) dystopia:
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c) science fiction:
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The Setting of Brave New World
Writers describe the world they know. Sights, sounds, colors, and textures are all
vividly painted in words as an artist paints images on canvas. A writer imagines a
story to be happening in a place that is rooted in his or her mind. The location of a
story's actions, along with the time in which it occurs, is the setting.
Setting is created by language. How many or how few details we learn is up to the
author. Many authors leave a lot of these details up to the reader's imagination.
These words are used to create a certain atmosphere or mood in the story/novel. So
atmosphere is created by the detailed description of the setting and sometimes by
the description of the characters and the plot.
The setting of the first chapter of BNW are several departments/rooms in the Central
London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre.
Read the descriptions of the rooms in the LHCC again. Draw a picture of the scene
described and be prepared to present it to your classmates. Try to find some
adjectives to describe the atmosphere which is created here.
Useful Adjectives for Story Settings
amazing
lovely
weird
breezy
windy
terrifying
huge
tall
scary
ghostly
sunny
great
fresh
grand
frightening
fantastic
magnificent
wild
little
wet
incredible
hollow
tangled
spooky
hulking
gigantic
soft
small
sweet
quiet
picturesque
empty
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elegant
dark
noisy
dangerous
calm
messy
bright
minute
perfect
nasty
creepy
lush
massive
beautiful
moist
leafy
The atmosphere at the beginning of the novel
Task
Read the passages and explain a) the atmosphere and b) by which means it is
created. Take notes!
Text A
A heart-shaped friendly-coloured building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrance the
words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the
World State’s motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY.
The small room on the ground floor faced towards the north. Warm for all the summer beyond the
panes, for all the cosy temperature of the room itself, a gentle thin light shone through the
windows, kindly seeking some draped lay figure, some rosy shape of academic flesh, and finding
only the glass and nickel and brightly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Friendliness responded to
friendliness. The overalls of the workers were orange, their hands gloved with a pink babycoloured rubber. The light was warm, joyous, a fairy. From the yellow barrels of the microscopes
did it borrow an even richer and living substance, lying alone the polished tubes like gold, streak
after luscious streak in long recession down the work tables.
Text B
A SQUAT grey building of only thirty four-stories. Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL
LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State’s motto,
COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY.
The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north. Cold for all the summer beyond
the panes, for all the tropical heat of the room itself, a harsh thin light glared through the windows,
hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape of academic goose-flesh, but finding
only the glass and nickel and bleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Wintriness responded to
wintriness. The overalls of the workers were white, their hands gloved with a pale corpse-coloured
rubber. The light was frozen, dead, a ghost. Only from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did it
borrow a certain rich and living substance, lying along the polished tubes like butter, streak after
luscious streak in long recession down the work tables.
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Atmosphere in literary texts
How does the author of a literary text create a certain atmosphere?
As we saw at the beginning of Brave New World, adjectives as well as adverbs can
be used to describe the setting in more detail and can thus further the atmosphere
as well as build a contrast. Knowing about the effect of such attributes, the author
must choose his words carefully.
Here are just a few examples from the original text passage as well as from the
changed version to clarify this point:
original version
squat grey (building)
harsh thin (light)
pallid (shape)
pale corpse-coloured (rubber)
frozen, dead (light)
changed version
heart-shaped friendly-coloured
(building)
gentle thin (light)
rosy (shape)
pink baby-coloured (rubber)
warm, joyous (light)
Moreover, in literary texts the relationship between the setting and the main
character(s) can be of importance. Authors use the setting either to mirror the
characters’ state of mind or to build up a contrast in order to highlight the
characters’ state of mind. This interaction of setting and characters determine the
background of the atmosphere in a literary text.
The following questions can serve you as a guide when analysing the setting of a
literary text:
1. Is the story set outdoors or indoors within a very limited area?
Outdoors could signify freedom of thought, attitude and perception, whereas
a very limited area could point to isolation, limited freedom or even
oppression of characters
2. When is the story set? What season? What time of day?
Spring or summer usually convey optimism and positive future prospects,
whereas autumn as well as winter stand for bleakness and pessimism
3. What is the weather like? What about the lighting conditions?
Rain, cold, fog, storm, clouds, snow and ice rather denote a negative
atmosphere, whereas the sun symbolises warmth and comfort. Darkness and
twilight usually express fear, discomfort and uneasiness, whereas brightness
expresses clarity and comfort
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4. What about the characters’ behaviour in relation to the setting?
Here you have to focus on the interaction of characters and setting. Imagine
a situation of children playing on a sunny day in spring. This is an example of a
very uplifting atmosphere. On the other hand, a person sitting at a bus stop on
a rainy day in autumn creates a rather sad image
Fertilization, Bokanovsky’s Process and Social Predestination
Task
Read Chapter 1. The Director explains the three methods of Fertilization,
Bokanovsky’s Process and Social Predestination in detail. Concentrate on the
main ideas behind the three methods and take notes. Fill in the boxes and be
prepared to present your results in class.
Fertilization
Bokanovsky’s Process
Bokanovsky’s Process
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Social Predestination
Classical Conditioning vs. Neo-Pavlovian conditioning
Tasks
1. Read the text and study the illustration. Then fill in the grid “Classical
Conditioning”
2. Describe the conditioning of the babies demonstrated in Chapter 2 by
filling in the grid “Neo-Pavlovian conditioning”
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning – also called “pavlovian conditioning” or
“respondent conditioning” – involves learning about the association of two
or more (usually external) stimuli. Classical conditioning is generally
associated with Ivan Pavlov. When two things generally occur together,
encountering one can bring the other to mind. Thus, when Pavlov’s dog
hears the tone, salivation and other food-related responses occur
because the tone and food commonly occurred together in the dog’s
experience.
In the most famous example of classical conditioning, Pavlov exposed
dogs to repeated pairings of a tone and food. Again and again, a tone as
audible for several seconds and then the dog was given a small portion of
food. Before these pairings, the dog had innate, unconditional, foodrelated responses (most famously, salivation) to the food, but no foodrelated reactions to the tone. The food, therefore, was called an
unconditional stimulus, and salivation was called an unconditional
response. These terms were chosen to reflect that no experience or
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conditions were needed for this stimulus-response relation to occur. The
food and tone were part of an unconditional reflex.
The tone, however, initially elicited no food-related responses, and was
therefore termed a neutral stimulus. After the dog experienced the
pairings of the tone and food, however, the effects of the tone were
changed. The previously neutral tone began to elicit salivation. The newly
conditioned tone, therefore, was called a conditional stimulus because its
effects on food-related responses were conditional upon the dog’s
experiences. The salivation elicited by the tone, also conditional upon the
dog’s experience, was called a conditioned (or conditional) response.
After conditioning, the tone and salivation were part of a conditional
reflex.
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Understanding Chapter 3
When reading chapter 3 try to find out who is speaking in each of the conversations.
Mark each paragraph/conversation with a different colour or letter.
Describe the special technique, Huxley uses here, and work out the possible effect(s)
on the reader.
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frequent change from one conversation to another
the reader follows one conversation, suddenly he is in a different discussion
with different characters and at a different setting
reader might be confused/irritated
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Neo-Pavlovian conditioning and Hypnopaedia
CONDITIONING
of hating books
+
of hating nature
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SLEEP TEACHING
of the State’s suggestion
Focus on Chapters 4 and 5
Tasks
Read Chapters 4 and 5 and answer the following questions:
1. How do Lenina and Henry Foster spend their time together?
2. Bernard Marx is presented in more detail in these two chapters. How is he
characterised in this part of the book?
3. You meet another important character, Helmholtz Watson, for the first time.
How is he characterised? Compare him with Bernard Marx
Focus on Chapters 6 to 10
Tasks
Read Chapters 6 to 10 and work on the following tasks:
1. These chapters focus very much on Bernard. What do we learn about him in
this part of the book?
2. Take notes about the things we learn about the Reservation, its inhabitants
and the attitude of the “Brave New Worlders” to it.
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Chapter 3: Old world and new world
Henry Ford
Sigmund Freud
IN BRAVE NEW WORLD …
THE NEW GOD
Lord =
Christianity =
Christian Cross =
Lordship =
anno Domini =
“History is bunk!“ (Mustapha Mond)
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COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY
Which means does the World State use to achieve stability?
Think of the results of the last lessons and what we have already found out in the first
three chapters. You may even refer to events which happen later in the novel.
Try to present your answer(s) in a drawing, maybe in the form of a house with several
columns.
stability
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Chapter 5 - Religion in BNW
Compare the Solidarity Service as it is described in this chapter to the Roman
Catholic Holy Mass.
Holy Mass
Solidarity Service
vocab list:
Christian, heathen, to convert, faith, atheist, denomination, ecumenical, ritual, to
chrictian, to baptize, godfather, godmother, the Lord's Prayer, Creed, Holy
Communion, pious, to attend a service, sermon, to worship, to preach,
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Newsflash: News from Malpais
Primo Mellon and Darwin Bonaparte, two high-profile journalists from Brave New
World, have been informed by World Controller Mustapha Mond that Bernard Marx
and his entourage are on their way back from Malpais to London. They are to film a
report about the Reservation and the exciting developments that Bernard and
Lenina’s visit has initiated for Worldcast, the most important news programme in
Ford’s days.
Tasks
1. Work in groups of about 4 people. You have to prepare Worldcast’s News as
broadcasted that evening on World TV.
2. Compare your notes (Focus on Chapters 6-10) and talk about the main facts
and events of these chapters. Collect the information relevant for the task.
3. Your newscast has to contain the news itself (probably read and commented
on by the newscaster(s)), general information on the Reservation and at least
two interviews (e.g. Primo Mellon could interview the Reservation’s warden or
Bernard Marx).
4. Remember that the people from Brave New World are conditioned to act
and react in certain ways. Therefore, a news programme from there would
probably be different from what we are used to today.
Your newsflash should last for about 5 minutes. You have got 30 minutes for
preparation. After that, you will have to present your programme to your
classmates. Be creative and have fun!
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Facebook Profiles
Tasks
1. Work in groups of two/three people on one main character and agree on
distinctive character traits.
2. Create a Facebook profile for your character. This profile could (if known)
reveal information such as name, age, profession, outward appearance,
hobbies/activities, grade of conformity, achievements for the community, etc.
3. Be prepared to present your character profile next lesson.
Changes after John the Savage has been taken to BNW (chapter 11)
Work out how the savage’s arrival has changed their lives:
Bernard Marx
Lenina
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Voice Sculptures – Part I
Step 1
Read chapters 10-14 and collect information on the development of Bernard
Marx / Helmholtz Watson / John the Savage. What kind of person do you think he
is? What are his main characteristics?
Step 2
Find someone who also works on the same character. Talk briefly about your
impressions of this character. If you have something to add, take notes in the box
below.
Step 3
1. Work on your own again.
2. Read Chapter 15 of the novel and concentrate on “your” character.
3. How does he behave in this crucial scene? Does his behaviour underline the
character traits you have just mentioned? Are his actions a logical conclusion
of the developments that began to show in the last chapters? Take notes in
the box below.
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Step 4
Formulate a single personal thought of “your” character (one sentence!) which
characterises him in this crucial scene and which possibly also fits your
observations of the last lessons. Write “your” thought into the box below.
Voice Sculptures – Part II
Step 5
1. Find the people who worked on the same character. Form a group and
choose a conductor.
2. Each of you has to present “his/her” thought. Structure the thoughts
according to their relevance and power to convince in a group discussion.
3. Following your discussion, your group’s conductor has to build a voice
sculpture with all of you which represents your results. Voices/thoughts which
define the character most convincingly could e.g. be emphasised by
repeating them over and over again or by saying them louder than the
others, etc. Be creative and have fun!
4. You have to present your voice sculpture to the class and to be able to
explain your choices.
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Focus on Chapters 16-18
Task
Read chapters 16-18. Concentrate on the development of your “favourite”
character and write a characterisation. Include your findings from Chapters
10-15. Refer to the skill file “Characterisation” (S7) on p. 241 in your textbook.
Chapter 18
Fill in the missing words:
John feels _____________ in London and seeks peace and quiet in a lonely area at
the English south coast in an old ____________. He feels _____________ because of
Linda’s death and his ______________ for Lenina. That is why he tries to ____________
Himself by _______________ himself as punishment for his sins. When _____________
Find him, they ________________ him secretly and ________________ every move he
makes. When he recognizes Lenina amongst the masses, he gets into a wild __________.
When he wakes up the next morning, he _______________ suicide.
The description of the reporters
Analyse how Huxley expresses his disapproval of the reporters’ practices. Pay special
attention to the vocabulary he uses.
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Dramatic Presentation of Brave New World
You have been asked to perform an important scene from the novel on stage. In
small groups discuss which excerpt of the book to play. Transform the excerpt into a
three-minute-play. Your script should consist of dialogue and stage directions.
Distribute the roles and rehearse your play. You may use props as well. Be prepared
to present it to the rest of the course.
e.g. chapter 15, p.184
John: (shouting wildly) “I’ll teach you; I’ll make you free! (throwing the soma out of the
window)
useful words and phrases:
let us choose ..., why don’t we perform ..?, what do you think of playing the scene ...?
I want to play ..., you should take over X’s role, Y should be played by X
on stage X should cry/shout/whisper/act/...
his voice should be loud/aggressive/threatening/romantic/convincing/...
we could use some props like ...
during the performance we will have to speak loudly and clearly, do not forget to act
like ...
Brave New World – Paradise or hell?
The World Controllers have extended their sphere of influence over nearly the whole
planet. Except for the inhabitants of a few reservations everybody lives in Brave New
World. And of course, there is the little island of Oahu, once part of the US Federal
State of Hawaii, where you and your people live. For the last 500 years you have
lived independently from the World State, but the time has come to make a
decision: The Supreme Council of Oahu has gathered to decide whether finally to
join the rest of the planet and share the benefits of Brave New World or whether to
remain independent and suffer the disadvantages of a society stuck with the 1940s
versions of technology and development.
You are one of the main speakers invited to advise the Supreme Council.
Tasks
1. Make up your mind about what would be the right thing to do. You might
want to discuss with somebody in class.
2. Formulate a thesis statement. Make a list of arguments to underline your point
of view.
3. Have a look at the “Useful phrases for presentations and speeches” again
and prepare a speech to be delivered in front of the Supreme Council.
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4. Be prepared to present your speech as clearly and convincingly as possible in
order to influence the Council’s vote.
A – Z Glossary of Terms
A. F.: Annum Ford, the year of our Ford
Alpha: The highest caste within the Utopian society
Bokanovsky Group: A group of identical twins created by dividing a single egg many
times. This process is only used on Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons.
Bottling: The embryos and babies are grown in bottles for nine months rather than in a
womb.
Brave New World: The title is taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest and the phrase is
spoken by Miranda.
Caste System: The society exists as a five-tiered caste system consisting of Alphas,
Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Alpha caste members are the ruling elite, with
each respective caste getting progressively less intelligent and smaller in stature. See the
individual caste names for more information.
Centrifugal Bummble-puppy: A game in which children fling a ball onto a platform.
The ball then rolls down the interior and lands on a rotating disk which flings the ball in a
random direction, at which point the ball must be caught.
D.H.C. for Central London: The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, the man who
leads the students on a tour in the first few chapters.
Decanting Room: The room in which the babies are removed from the bottles.
ectogenesis: growing something outside of the body rather than inside; in this case
growing embryos in bottles rather than in a mother's womb.
Epsilons: The lowest caste of the Utopian society. They are malformed and quite stupid.
father: A dirty word in the Utopian society, but usually more humorous.
Ford: The man who created the ideological underpinnings of the Utopian society and who
is substituted in phrases where God is usually used.
Freud: The Utopian society believes that Ford and Freud are the same man, but that
Freud is the name Ford used when writing about psychology. In reality Freud is
considered the father of modern psychoanalysis.
Hypnopaedia: Sleep learning, which is part of the conditioning process. Huxley pretends
that it was discovered that people could learn ethics while sleeping and so this is used
extensively to help teach lessons which ensure the social stability.
Island: The islands are where social outcasts are sent; the Falkland Islands are where
Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson are sent.
mother: A dirty word in the Utopian society.
Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning: Pavlov is famous for showing that animals can be trained
to do something through a system of rewards and punishments. This is used on all
babies to condition them to like or dislike certain objects. It is one of the main
conditioning techniques which helps ensure social stability.
Nine Years' War: A war which led to almost total destruction. After a severe economic
crisis the world submitted to the World Controllers who took over and redefined the social
order.
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Obstacle Golf: One of the adult games.
Orgy-porgy: A Solidarity Service hymn and dance which is used to signify the coming
together of many people into a unified oneness. It is used during Bernard's Solidarity
Service and later when the Savage confronts the crowd.
Phosphorous Recovery: The cremation factories are able to recovery 99% of the
phosphorous contained in each body. This is used as a raw material or in fertilizer.
Pregnancy Substitute: An intravenous injection which tricks the body into thinking it is
pregnant and which is used to balance the hormones.
Red Rocket: The transatlantic jetliner.
Reimann-surface tennis: One the adult games.
Savage Reservation: One of the only places left on earth where people remain in a
state of nature. The Savages were not considered worth civilizing and were therefore
placed in fenced off area which contained some of the worst land.
Solidarity Service: A take off on a religious service but with strong sexual elements.
soma: A narcotic used to create pleasant sensations without any after-effects. The word
is actually taken from a drug that exists in India.
viviparous: Bringing forth live young rather than eggs
Mediation exercise
Your Australian classmate does not understand this German book review from
wikipedia.org. Help him by telling him what it says.
Schöne neue Welt (engl. Brave New World) ist ein 1932 erschienener dystopischer
Roman von Aldous Huxley, der eine Gesellschaft beschreibt, in der „Stabilität,
Frieden und Freiheit“ gewährleistet scheinen.
Mittels physischer Manipulationen der Embryonen und Föten sowie der
anschließenden mentalen Indoktrinierung der Kleinkinder werden die Menschen
gemäß den jeweiligen gesellschaftlichen Kasten geprägt, denen sie angehören
sollen und die von Alpha-Plus (für Führungspositionen) bis zu Epsilon-Minus (für
einfachste Tätigkeiten) reichen.
Allen Kasten gemeinsam ist die Konditionierung auf eine permanente Befriedigung
durch Konsum, Sex und die Droge Soma, die den Mitgliedern dieser Gesellschaft
das Bedürfnis zum kritischen Denken und Hinterfragen ihrer Weltordnung nimmt. Die
Regierung jener Welt bilden Kontrolleure, Alpha-Plus-Menschen, die von der
Bevölkerung wie Idole verehrt werden.
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Oral Mock Exam, BNW, LK Englisch Q2 ROS
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - review
'Brave New World is a scary depiction of what could soon be our future'
Brave New World explores the negatives of an ostensibly successful world in which
everyone appears to be content and satisfied, with excessive carnal pleasures yet
really, this stability is only achieved by sacrificing freedom in its true sense and the
idea of personal responsibility.
I think this book is really interesting as it explores the dangers of technology and what
it can do to a whole world; indeed, Huxley is trying to convey the idea that technology
does not have the power to save us successfully. This theme is what makes the
novel controversial - yet a classic that we can relate to, especially in today's world,
where technology is close enough to ruling our lives, what with high tech computers,
music players and gaming consoles fast becoming a natural part of our lives.
Additionally, Brave New World explores the idea of just how far science can go
without being immoral. Would we really want to live in a world where eugenics rule
and despite everyone being equal on the surface, deep underneath bubbles the idea
of inequality and unfairness? Not for me, thanks! The novel presents the
contradictory idea of a Utopia, a perfect world, yet the word "utopia" is derived from
two Greek words meaning "good place" and "no place"; this suggests that the perfect
world is impossible.
It is true that this book is a complex read and I must confess that some parts I did not
understand; however, the novel's meaning has left a deep impression on me. It's
certainly a book I won't forget, and I would recommend it to readers aged fourteen
and over as the ideas presented are complex, and Huxley writes in a very adult-like
manner, with exceedingly complicated sentences and very complex vocabulary.
Overall, Brave New World is a scary depiction of what could soon be our future. I
thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written and thought provoking novel.
A.Aiman, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 March 2012
Vocabulary:
ostensibly – appearing to be, carnal – characterized by the flesh of the body,
eugenics – discouraging the reproduction of ill people, exceedingly – extremely, very
Tasks:
1. Sum up in your own words what A. Aiman says about the novel.
2. How does he try to convince his readers of his ideas. Concentrate on structure
and language of the review.
3. What is your personal opinion about the novel? Compare what you liked and
what you did not like about it.
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