Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
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Brave New World
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by Aldous Huxley
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ADVANCED
S U M M A R Y
irst published in 1932, Brave New World was
instantly recognized as an important and prophetic
novel that warned the reader about the dangers of
science when it is misused.
Set far in the future, in the twenty–sixth century, it depicts
a society in which people’s lives are completely controlled
by world government. Foetuses are created by artificial
fertilization in test tubes and ‘parents’ are unknown.
Society is divided into different levels, with each level
performing different functions, and children are given
whispered messages in their sleep that teach them to be
content with their place in society. The ‘happiness’ drug,
soma, is freely distributed so that unhappiness is never
experienced. It is a society in which freedom has been
sacrificed in favour of happiness and stability. Only a few
individuals dare to question the society in which they live.
Into this society comes a ‘Savage’, a young man who has
been brought up in one of the few places in the world
where people are allowed to live under natural conditions.
What will be the fate of the Savage and the two brilliant
young men who dare to befriend him? Will the Savage
succeed in retaining the ideal of freedom that his childhood
taught him? And if he does, what price will he pay?
F
ABOUT ALDOUS HUXLEY
Born in 1894, Aldous Huxley belonged to a very
distinguished family, the most famous of whom was his
grandfather, T H Huxley, an eminent scientist and writer.
Aldous’ elder brother Julian also became a famous
biologist and writer. But family distinction could not protect
the Huxley boys from misfortune. Their mother died when
Aldous was aged fourteen and at the age of sixteen, Aldous
developed serious eye trouble which caused him to
become almost completely blind.
This did not prevent Huxley from pursuing a brilliant
career. After leaving university, he became a journalist and
by the age of twenty-five he had already published three
volumes of poetry. He wrote a number of successful novels
in his twenties and early thirties, including Antic Hay (1923),
and Point Counter Point (1928), and was regarded as a
witty commentator on contemporary society. When Brave
New World was published in 1932, the novel was instantly
recognized as an important work, one that had a vital
message for society.
During the 1930s Huxley became very involved in the
peace movement in Europe. When this failed, he left
© Pearson Education 2000
Europe in 1937 to live in California, and spent the rest of his
life there, pursuing his interest in spiritual and mystical
matters. He continued to write in many genres. He
explored the effect of mind-altering drugs and wrote two
books, The Doors of Perception (1954) and Heaven and
Hell (1956) that had a great impact on young people in the
1960s and 1970s.
Huxley died of cancer in 1963 and is today regarded as a
man who wrote brilliant and provocative ‘novels of ideas’.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
From time to time a book appears that has something vital
to say to society. Brave New World is such a novel. First
published in 1932, this prophetic book remains, in the first
years of the twenty-first century, astonishingly relevant to
our times. As a teenager, Huxley’s first love was science;
his near-blindness prevented him from pursuing science as
a career, but his interest remained, and it is Huxley’s
understanding of the directions in which science is likely to
lead the world, that forms the basis of the novel. Brave New
World is a vision of a future in which a world government is
able, through scientific methods, to totally control people’s
lives, from the moment of conception to the moment of
death.
Three principal scientific methods are used. The first is
that of ‘genetic engineering – that is to say, the genes of a
foetus are scientifically manipulated to produce a specific
kind of human being, fit to work at a certain level of society.
The second method of scientific control is that of
‘conditioning’ – young children are given powerful
messages that teach them to think and feel in certain ways.
The third method is the use of the drug ‘soma’ to induce
‘happiness’.
In the novel, the World Controller for Europe, Mustapha
Mond, tells the Savage, (one of the few people in the world
who has not been genetically engineered) that these
methods of control are used for the good of society, in
order to ensure happiness and stability. And it is true that
society in this ‘Brave New World’ is both happy and stable.
The Savage replies to Mustapha Mond with these words:
‘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.’
’In fact, (says Mustapha Mond), ‘you’re claiming the right
to be unhappy.’
’All right then.’ said the Savage, ‘I’m claiming the right to
be unhappy.’
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T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
Huxley does not make the naive mistake of idealizing a
life that is not controlled by science. The Savage, who was
brought up on an American Indian reservation, lived a life
that was in many ways uncomfortable and unpleasant. But
– and Huxley makes the point powerfully – the Ssvage has
free will, something that is mostly denied to the genetically
engineered inhabitants of the ‘Brave New World’. Thus, the
author brilliantly poses the reader with a profound question.
Is free will – the freedom to choose – worth the suffering
that must go hand in hand with it? This is the question that
his novel explores.
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections
of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, and
supplement those exercises. Supplementary exercises
covering shorter sections of the book can be found on the
photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet.
These are primarily for use with class readers but, with the
exception of discussion and pair/groupwork questions, can
also be used by students working by students working
alone in a self-access centre.
(a) describe the Savage from the point of view of a typical
Alpha.
(b) describe London society from the point of view of the
Savage.
Chapters 14–17
Put students into pairs. Ask students to imagine that the
Savage comes back to life. One student plays the Savage.
The other student plays his questioner. His questioner asks
him to explain why he killed himself and tries to get him to
see that it was not necessary.
ACTIVITIESAFTER READING THE BOOK
Organize a debate, in which the class is divided in half. Half
the class must support the following statement:
‘Happiness and stability in society are more important than
freedom.’
The other half must support this statement:
‘An individual’s freedom is more important than his/her
happiness and the stability of society as a whole.’
Divide each half into smaller groups and ask the groups to
prepare their arguments. Then have the debate. First a
student from one side speaks and then the other. At the
end of the debate, take a vote on the two positions.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Write the first paragraph of the book (see below) on the
board. Put students in pairs. Tell them that the title of the
book is Brave New World and that the first paragraph of the
story is on the board. Ask students, using this information,
to write a short paragraph about what the book could be
about, using dictionaries where necessary. Then ask pairs
to read their paragraphs aloud. As a whole, the class then
has to reach an agreement as to what the book is about,
finishing with a paragraph written up on the board.
A low grey building, of only 4 floors. Over the main entrance
the words CENTRAL LONDON HATCHING AND
CONDITIONING CENTRE, and below that the motto of the
World State, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY.
Chapters 1–3
Put students into pairs. Ask them to write down what they
think are the three defining characteristics of the future
described in Brave New World.
Then elicit these characteristics from students and write
them up on the board until there is general agreement that
the class has described the important ones.
Chapters 4–6
Put students into pairs. Write the following on the board for
students to discuss:
(a) Describe the differences between Lenina and Bernard.
(b) What is your opinion of Bernard so far?
Chapters 7–9
Put students into pairs. Ask them to discuss the following
question:
In his descriptions of Indian life on the New Mexican
Reservation, what do you think Huxley is trying to tell the
reader?
Chapters 10–13
Put students into pairs. Ask them to write one or two
paragraphs in which they:
© Pearson Education 2000
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. They
are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises at the back
of the book. (Definitions are based on the Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English.)
Chapters 1–3
embryo (n) an animal or human that has not yet been born, and is in its
first state of development in its mother’s body
fertilize (v) to make sperm join an egg so that a young baby or animal
develops
hatch (v) if an egg hatches or is hatched, it breaks, letting the young
bird, insect, etc, come out
motto (n) a short statement giving a rule on how to behave, which
expresses the aims or beliefs of a person, school or institution
Chapters 4–6
contraceptive (n) a drug, object or method used to make it possible for
a woman to have sex without having a baby
obstacle (n) something that makes it difficult to achieve your aim
passion (n) a very strong, deeply–felt emotion, especially of sexual
love, of anger, or of belief in an idea or principle
phosphorus (n) a poisonous yellowish element which starts to burn
when brought out into the air
propaganda (n) false or partly false information used by a government
or political party to make people agree with them
savage (n) an insulting word for someone from a country where the
way of living seems very simple and undeveloped
Chapters 7–9
mask (n) something that covers all or part of your face, to protect or
hide it
mescal (n) a drug made from a cactus plant that makes people imagine
that they can see things that do not really exist
naked (adj) not wearing clothes or not covered by clothes
sacrifice (v) to willingly stop having something you want or doing
something you like in order to get something more important
sterilize (v) to perform an operation that makes a person or animal
unable to have babies
Chapters 10–13
crematorium (n) a building in which the bodies of dead people are
burned at a funeral ceremony
whore (n) an offensive word for a woman who has sex for money
Chapters 14–17
compass (n) an instrument that shows directions
iceberg (n) a very large mass of ice floating in the sea, most of which is
under the surface of the water
Pu blis hed a nd dis tribut ed by Pearson Educ ati on
F act sh eet wri tten by W S Fo wler
Fact sh eet ser ies dev el oped b y Louis e James
level
6
Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
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Student’s activities
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Brave New World
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3
Photocopiable
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These activities can be done alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.
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Activities before reading the book
Read the Introduction. Under each of the categories below,
write down three things.
(a) Tragedies in Huxley’s life:
(b) Huxley’s occupations:
(c) Huxley’s interests:
(d) Themes of Brave New World:
Activities while reading the book
Chapter 1
1 Explain the significance of these numbers in the
chapter.
(a) 632
(b) 37 degrees
(c) 5 groups
(d) 36 hours
(e) 72, 96
(f) 267
(g) 4.50pm
(h) 250
2 ‘That is the secret of happiness and virtue – liking what
you’ve got to do. All our conditioning aims at that:
making people like their unavoidable place in society.’
(a) Who says these words? Who to?
(b) What is the speaker giving an explanation for here?
Give one or two examples of what the speaker
means.
(c) Do you agree with this statement? Say why/why
not.
(d) Which would you rather be: an Alpha or an Epsilon
embryo? Explain why.
Chapter 2
1 Answer these questions.
(a) What do we learn about Delta children in this
chapter?
(b) Why are the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ considered
‘dirty words’?
(c) What is the principle of sleep teaching?
(d) What are Beta children told about other groups?
(e) What are the titles of the two lessons that the Beta
children are given that afternoon?
2 Write the sleep instruction that you imagine might be
given to
(a) Alpha children.
(b) Epsilon children.
3 Do you think that methods such as sleep conditioning
and conditioning (eg pairing electric shocks with
flowers) are effective? Give reasons for your opinion.
Chapter 3
1 Describe the relationships between:Lenina Crowne and
the following people:
Fanny Crowne
Henry Foster
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the Director
Bernard Marx
2 Answer these questions:
(a) Who mentions a ‘Savage Reservation’? What do
you think a Savage Reservation could be?
(b) Who would you prefer to have as a friend, Lenina
or Fanny? Say why.
Chapter 4
Complete these sentences.
(a) Bernard feels unhappy about Lenina because ...
(b) Bernard feels different from other Alpha Pluses
because ...
(c) Helmholtz Watson and Bernard are friends because ...
(d) Helmholtz feels lonely because ...
(e) Helmholtz feels unhappy about his work because ...
(f) Helmotz feels rather ashamed for his Bernard because ...
Chapter 5
1 Are these sentences true or false? Correct them if they
are wrong.
(a) In the society of Brave New World, people are
buried after their death.
(b) The crematorium chimneys have platforms around
them so that people can inspect the chimneys.
(c) Lenina has less respect for the lower levels of
society than Henry does.
(d) Bernard finds Morgana Rothschild attractive
because of her eyebrows.
(e) In the Unity Service, twelve Alpha people meet and
discuss politics.
(f) Bernard feels even more lonely after the Unity
Service.
2 Answer these questions.
(a) What do you think ‘soma’ is?
(b) What is the purpose of the Unity Service, do you
think?
(c) Would you like to take part in a Unity Service? Say
why/why not.
Chapter 6
1 Answer these questions.
(a) Who describes Bernard as harmless?
(b) Who is determined to do things in private?
(c) Who wants to be free to be happy in his own way?
(d) Who thinks that Lenina resembles meat?
(e) Who thinks that someone made a mistake when
Bernard was in his bottle?
(f) Who lost a girlfriend when he went to the New
Mexican Reservation almost 25 years ago?
(g) Who threatens to send Bernard to Iceland unless
he behaves more normally?
ADVANCED
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Student’s activities
(h) Who describes the savages as having shameful
habits and customs?
(i) Who thinks the savages are amusing?
2 Explain what you think Bernard means by this
statement:
‘we are infants where feelings and desire are
concerned.’
Chapter 7
Lenina is shocked and horrified by what she sees in the
Savage Reservation. Explain why.
2 Imagine you are Linda. Write one or two paragraphs
describing why you came to live in the Reservation and
how you feel about your life there.
Chapter 8
1 Linda is different from the Indians in the Reservation.
Explain:
(a) what she does that angers the Indians and makes
them feel that she is not as good as them.
(b) what the Indians do to show their anger to Linda
and John.
2 Answer these questions.
(a) John has read The Complete Works of
Shakespeare. What do you know about
Shakespeare? What effect do you think
Shakespeare’s plays have had on him?
(b) Why do you think Bernard wants to take Linda and
John back to London?
Chapter 9
Imagine that you are one of the workers in the Fertilizing
room. You are a witness of the scene between the Director,
Bernard and Linda. Write a letter to a friend describing
what happened.
Chapter 10
1 Describe the attitudes that the following characters
have towards soma and how they use (or do not use) it.
Linda The Savage Lenina
(c) Lenina leaves the bathroom.
(d) Lenina discusses her feelings about the Savage
with Fanny.
(e) The Savage tells Lenina to go or he will kill her.
(f) Lenina takes off all her clothes.
(g) Henry asks Lenina if she is ill.
2 Answer these questions:
(a) Who is your sympathy with in this chapter? Try and
explain why.
(b) What do you think the telephone conversation is
about?
Chapter 13
1 In this chapter, a number of people become upset.
Explain who becomes upset and why.
2 What is your reaction to the scene in this chapter? Try
and explain it.
Chapter 14
1 Which of the adjectives below would you use to
describe the following characters in this chapter? Give
reasons for your opinion.
courageous, stupid, cowardly
The Savage
Helmholtz
Bernard
the Deltas
Chapter 15
1 Mustapha Mond says: ‘We believe in happiness and
stability?’ What are his arguments in favour of these
things? How does he say they are achieved? Do you
agree with him? Give reasons for your opinion.
2 How does Mond say he will punish Bernard and
Helmholtz? What are their reactions and what do their
reactions show about them?
3 Imagine that you could have a conversation with
Mustapha Mond. Write down what you would say to
him.
Chapter 16
2 Lenina and the Savage both disappoint each other
badly. Explain how and why they this happens.
1 What are the most powerful lines in this chapter, do you
think? Give reasons for your opinion.
Chapter 11
2 What is going to happen to the Savage, do you think?
Write two or three sentences describing the feelings of the
following characters at these points in the story.
(a) Bernard when he learns that the Savage won’t come to
meet his guests.
(b) Lenina when she learns that the Savage won’t come to
meet the guests.
(c) The Savage when he sees how unhappy Bernard is that
he (the Savage) did not come to meet his guests.
(d) Helmholtz’s students when he reads them verses in
praise of silence.
(e) Helmholtz when John reads him Romeo and Juliet.
Chapter 12
1 Put these sentences in the correct order.
(a) The Savage has a telephone conversation.
(b) The Savage falls on his knees before Lenina.
© Pearson Education 2000
Chapter 17
1 Work in pairs. Write a summary of this chapter. Then,
join with another pair and compare your summary with
theirs. What are the differences? Are there any changes
you would like to make to your summary as a result of
seeing the other pair ’s summary?
2 Find the word epitaph in your dictionary. How do you
feel about the death of the Savage? Write an epitaph for
him.
Activities after reading the book
Brave New World is an important book because it has so
much to say about what is happening in the world today.’
Discuss this statement.
Published and di st ributed b y P ear son E ducat ion
Factsheet written by W S Fowler
F act sheet s eri es de ve l oped by L ouise James
level
6