Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

Pre-Reading Guide
“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
Aldous Huxley
•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”
Novel Structure
Setting: 2540 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
 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
oRussian physician & psychologist
o“Classical conditioning” using dogs
oRESULT: Trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell,
even without giving food.
 More People, Terms, and Concepts:
• Sigmund Freud
oPsychiatrist
oPsychoanalysis
oMental 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
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.”
 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
 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”
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
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
 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).
 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.
 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?
Relevance of Novel Today
This novel is more applicable today than it was in
1932. 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.
Interesting Irony
“Reading Brave New World
elicits the same disturbing
feelings in the reader which the
society it depicts has
vanquished.”
Community

Identity
Stability

Brave New World

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?
 Works Cited
Edmondson, Elizabeth. “Brave New World
Powerpoint.” Gilmour Academy. 8 May 2007.
PDF file. Web. 19 Apr 2010.
A Guide to Brave New World. Austin, Texas: Holt,
Reinhart, and Winston, 2003. Print.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York:
Harper Collins, 1998.
Wood, Lisha. “Brave New World Intro.”
Sprayberry High School. Typepad. 6 Sept 2006.
Web. 19 Apr 2010.