Sample Test!
Multiple Choice
1. What game do the inhabitants of Brave New World enjoy in their spare time?
a. Escalator Squash
b. Electro-magnetic Badminton
c. Astro-Cricket
d. Bingo
2. Where is the Savage Reservation that Bernard and Lenina visit located?
a. Indonesia
b. England
c. Arizona
d. Pacifica
3. Where does the Savage go live (unsuccessfully) to have solitude?
a. A decommissioned lighthouse
b. The streets
c. An elegant condo in south-central London
d. Back to his home on the reservation
4. What color do Epsilons wear?
a. Blue
b. Black
c. Beige
d. They don’t wear clothes
5. Why does Mustapha Mond say the people no longer need books like the Bible?
a. There are too many big words.
b. They’ve made too many advancements in science to believe in a deity.
c. It allows self-denial and limits the pursuit of instantly gratifying vices.
d. They’re all Buddhists
6. What does John savagely beat himself with?
a. a tire iron
b. a leather belt
c. a homemade whip
d. a herring
7. What drug do the people of Brave New World get high on?
a. Weed
b. Soma
c. Coca
d. Acid
8. What book does the Savage treasure most of all?
a. Paradise Lost
b. the Bible
c. Journey to the West
d. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
9. What do rumors say was put into Bernard’s test tube before he was “born.”
a. sugar
b. sperm
c. nothing, that’s why he’s so strange
d. alcohol
10. Why doesn’t John have sex with Lenina when she’s so willing?
a. He thinks she is ugly.
b. He places too much value in love and human relationships.
c. He is nervous about his performance.
d. He is gay.
11. Whose name do the Brave New Worlders swear by?
a. Ford
b. Chevy
c. Mercedes
d. Honda
12. What word do the people of Brave New World find especially smutty and hilarious?
a. Penis
b. Family
c. Condom
d. Mother
13. Why does John kill himself?
a. He overdoses on drugs.
b. He can’t have the woman he loves.
c. He commits a heinous sin and decides to end it all.
d. He is executed for being a threat to civilized society.
14. What revolutionary form of education do the Brave New Worlders teach their
children with?
a. Books
b. Brain injection of concentrated knowledge serum
c. Genetic engineering of intelligence genes into their eggs.
d. Hypnotic sleep conditioning
Essay Questions (choose two)
1. Comment critically on the use of positive reinforcement as a means of controlling
people in the book. What role do things such as drugs, sex, and other forms of instant
gratification play in the world that Huxley has warned us of? Are people better
controlled by promise of reward or reprimand? Why?
2. To what extent has Huxley’s dystopian prophecy come to pass? What elements, if
any, of Brave New World are present in today’s society? Use examples from history and
current events in your analysis.
3. Why is John called “the Savage?” Comment on Huxley’s use of irony and satire in the
book, especially regarding the cultural and moral dichotomy between “civilization” and
“savagery.”
4. Is there danger in having no deep human connections with others, i.e. sleeping with
whomever you want, having no families, etc? Would a mind-altering drug with no
negative side effects and people who are all exactly the same really create a perfect
world? Could Huxley’s dystopia be a truly ideal society? Why or why not?
Answers to Multiple Choice
1) A
2) C
3) A
4) B
5) C
6) C
7) B
8) D
9) D
10) B
11) A
12) D
13) C
14) D