Brave New World: Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

1.       How is the title different in Chapter 15?

·         He is sarcastic, and uses mockery to express “O Brave New World”

2.       Why does John interfere with the distribution of Soma?

·         John believes it is poison and meant to enslave them

3.       How does John view slavery and freedom?

·         John would rather see truth and real human relationships-even painful ones-than the near slavery of soma, so he is against it

4.       What does he think of the Delta citizens?

·         The looks on the Delta’s faces make him mad & infuriate him. He thinks they are naïve and uneducated

5.       What do Bernard and Helmholtz do in this chapter?

·         They defend John in the riot. Bernard believes this will forever mark him as a dangerous subversive. They defend what they know is right

6.       How does the riot end?

·         They gas everybody out by soma vapor. They begin crying, kissing and apologizing. Then soma rations are restored

7.       What does it mean to them to be happy/good vs what it means to us?

·         Their view of being good is being promiscuous and not settling with one person, as most of our society today would prefer settling down.

Brave New World: Chapter 17

1)      Why does Mond want John alone?  So he can show him copies of The Holy Bible, The Imitation of Christ, and The Varieties of Religious Experience.

2)      The discuss religion, why is this significant?  Mond considers religion to be the most destabilizing force in society.

3)      What are their different positions of religion?  Mond says religion is irreverent and John says it is natural to man.

4)      Mond says God has a specific role, what is it? Mond says that God is a reality, an absolute and everlasting truth that we embrace once we’ve neared death.

5)      John argues civilized man is degraded.  What was he before, what is he now?  John says man was once a happy, hardworking, goods-consuming citizen, now they are patient and courageous.

6)      How do you describe self-denial, chastity, and heroism?  Self-denial: Not being self-indulgent and not taking care of yourself Chastity: instability which is the end of civilization  Heroism:  symptoms of political insufficiency

7)      Mond says soma plays a role, what is it?  It gives you a holiday from the facts, calms your anger, to reconcile you from you enemies to make you patient and long suffering.   Christianity without tears.

8)      What does ‘it’s an opiate of the masses’ mean?  Marx sees religion as the opiate, whereas soma is the Brave New World hope.  It is something for the public to rely on for hope. 

9)      John says no to civilization and what does he say yes to?  He says yes to being unhappy.  No we do not agree, unhappiness is not something you must feel. 

Brave New World: Chapters 13 & 14

1.      What is happening in Lenina and John, what does she feel towards him and what does she do to get what she wants?

She is infatuated with him to the point of looking sick. She tells her friend Fanny that John is the only man that she wants to be with. In order to get what she wants she tries to seduce him in his bedroom.

2.      Conversely what does John feel for her and does she try to prove that?

He likes her but he does not want lust for her to overcome his feelings. When she strips and throws herself at him, he panics because of the actions of his mother throughout his childhood. His mother had sex with a lot of men and he did not approve of that behavior.

3.      How does John react to what Lenina does in the chapter?

After she stripes off her clothes and tries to kiss him, he is shocked at first then is furious with her. He calls her a whore, pushes her away, and tries to smack her. She escapes to the bathroom and begs him to return her clothes but he is distracted by a phone call.

4.      What is the hospital like for those that are dying?

It is a cheerful place filled with happy people. They play music and play games to eliminate the natural fear of death

5.      What are the people that are dying like?

They are happy because they are drugged up

Why do you think that something from television is included in the chapter and why is it important in the chapter (before television existed)

            The television is always left on

Why is Linda dying?

            She took too much Soma and didn’t take care of herself

What is John thinking about as he stands by Linda?

            At first he was thinking about all of the happy memories that he had with his mother growing up, but after she mistakes him for the Pope, he recalls all of the bad memories from when he tried to kill the Pope. He becomes angry because the people around him are playing games.

Why are there delta level children at the hospital?

The nurses are conditioning the delta children see death and a joyful process that benefits society. They are taking the natural fear of death away.

Why isn’t death terrible for those in the “civilized” world?

            They are conditioned to believe that death is a fun and happy process 

Brave New World: Chapter 18

Chapter 18

1.       How does John purify himself? Where does he go and what does he do to do that? Is that a reasonable alternative or healthy alternative that the society that the world has?

a.       He goes to an abandoned lighthouse in the wilderness and whips himself. He performs rituals of self punishment.

2.       What is self flagellation?

a.       Self harm, the act of hitting oneself.

3.       Describe the relationship that John and Lenina have and how it comes to an end? What is the end result of their relationship?

a.       The beginning of their relationship starts out with John liking her and she wants to be with him. She tries to seduce him several times, but he sees this negatively. He believes in a different type of relationship and she doesn’t understand it. In the end he is alone and becomes a spectacle to the newspapers because he is whipping himself. Lenina tries to come towards him and he ends up whipping her.

4.       What happens overall to everyone? How does it end?

a.       In the end, John becomes a participant of everything he has ever disagreed with and he ends up killing himself due to self-loathing.

5.       Could John have done anything differently at the end?

a.       Yes, he could have continued with his self-flagellation and not participated in the events of the night before that contributed to his self-loathing.

Brave New World: Chapter 16

1. Why doesn't John like civilization? He doesn't like the constant sound of music. 2. Why does Mond say old and beautiful things are forbidden? Because things that are old and beautiful tend to last and the new world is based on consumerism. They only like things that are new and must often be replaced. 3. Why can’t people write tragedies? There are no tragedies because they are based on things that don’t exist in the New World such as passion and deep emotions. 4. What’s the role/purpose of art in this new world? Art has no meaning because it may destabilize society. 5. What does Mond say about the role of liberty/truth/beauty? Liberty is the life they live. Truth and beauty are not needed. 6. How does Mond describe the different classes, do you agree with them? Everyone has their own role and it is the only way from them to be happy and avoid tension. Yes we agree, there is a need for all deferent levels of people for society to function efficiently. We have this kind of thing going on today but naturally rather than by the government. 7. What would happen if everyone was Alpha Level? War would break out because Alphas wouldn’t be happy doing the jobs of lesser people. 8. Why does science need to be constrained? It is not taught in the new world because it will cause a break in the peoples happiness. 9. Why does Helmholtz make the decision he does in the end of chapter? He decides to move to an island with bad climate to help with his writing.

Brave New World: Chapter 9 & 10

1. What does Mustafa agree to Bernard’s plan? Mustafa agrees with Bernard’s plan. It intrigues him due to it is a good scientific research experiment. 2. What happens when john watches Lenina sleep? What does john think and feel while he watches her sleep? He admires Lenina while she sleeps and has dirty thoughts about her. He wants to touch her 1. How and why is DHC making an example out of Bernard? The DHC wanted to look powerful. Therefore, they sent Bernard to Iceland to make an example out of him. By sending him to Iceland, DHC wanted to show that if you are punished you’ll be sent to Iceland. 2. Why is being different from society worse than serious crimes? Sacrificing one individual for the greater good of the society is no great loss. 3. How does the planned punishment from Bernard back fire by bringing John and Linda into the picture? Henry and DHC planned to formally humiliate Bernard and plans to transfer him to the sub-center to the lowest order. They claim that they “grossly betrayed the trust imposed in him” and that his unorthodox attitudes and behavior threaten society. Bernards response was to bring in Linda & John. Linda’s appearance is appalling to the crowed. Linda recognizes the director & calls him by name Tomikin. Tomikin freaks out & Linda yells at him for leaving her on the reservation while pregnant w/ John. She also blames him for impregnating her and leaving her. The D.H.C. is flustered and runs off so their original plan for humiliating Bernard backfires because it is Tomikin & Henry who become humiliated.

Brave New World: Chapter: Chapter 6

WHAT DOES BERNARD SAY ABOUT FREEDOM? There is more freedom than what Lenina perceives. Bernard says he rather be himself and nasty then someone else than be like everyone else. He prides himself in his individualism and how he feels like a rebel. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INFINTILE? He means that she is too immature and that she was not ready for sex. She is going off with feelings instead of mental desire like he is. He asks her to forgive him because he shouldn’t have had sex with him. WHAT ARE THE DIRECTORS FEELINGS TOWARDS BERNARD? He feels disgusted towards him, and warns him that he is being too open about his sexuality and that he will exile him to Iceland. WHAT IS THE STORY RELATE ABOUT THE DIRECTOR? That he was once dumb, that he can relate to the director and that the director is not that great. That the director can be compared to someone as simple as Bernard, the story of what happened upsets the director more than he wants to admit because the accident could have happened to anyone even though they are all classified and grouped differently. He also said that there was nothing emotional, it was just healthy normal. WHY DOES BERNARD TELL THE STORY TO HIS FRIEND THE WAY HE DOES? Because he wants to act tough to his friend, and sound like a hard butt. WHAT DOES THE WARDEN SAY ABOUT THE RESERVATION? He tells his bad experience of when he went out with his girlfriend and that she disappeared after they went to sleep and has not been found since. He say it is dangerous to go out and stay out.