Brave New World Question #8

Q. Entry of your choice: How would I feel if I found myself in a negative utopia. How would I deal with it?

A. I would feel so devastated in the negative utopia because it would be without the kind of happiness we can achieve right now. The happiness we can achieve right now would be our emotional fulfillment when we read a great novel or watching a very emotional play. In addition, in the negative utopia there is a restriction on the amount of happiness we can get because of soma. Soma is a drug that has its limits because it is a controlled drug which the amount of the tablets makes the happiness degree different. Then I would feel so lonely in the negative utopia because there is no culture in the daily that Bernard lived in. Furthermore, two of the characters Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson knew that something was missing in the world. This caused both of them to try to search for the reason why they felt something was missing in this world. I think I would deal with it not in John’s way because it was all too sudden. Also, he didn’t even try to think about how to deal with the problem instead he just tries to convince them by actions which did not help at all. The way I would deal with it would be first by trying to act that I’m getting used to the New Society. Then I would think of a way to convince people to go off soma permanently and to stop people from depending on it too much. Next, would be to exercise this movement throughout he negative utopia so then we can speak out in greater numbers to rebel. Therefore, I would deal with this by rebelling against the government or the world state.

Brave New World Question #7

Q. Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? Describe those settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.

A. There are two settings that were disturbing and memorable to me. These were London in the New Society and the Reservation in New Mexico. These settings were the main places the stories took place in. All of these settings were in the future, A.F. (After Ford) 632, or A.D. 2540 in our calendar’s today (from Peter Kim).

London: The futuristic London was disturbing to me because it was so different from the London now. The new London was as if the whole entire city is separated into caste groups and the city was just filled with places that were supposed to make you “happy.” Also, the city was a hub of the story because many of the events took place in London. The new London was just filled with technology and it was without distinctness compared to other cities. Another fact that distressed me was that the people were living off somas to feel “happiness.” The last thing that disturbed me was that except for the Alphas everyone else was identical twins.

New Mexico Reservation: I think that this setting was the most memorable to me because the setting was full of nature and it had people with morals, beliefs, and art. This made a big difference in the reservation compared to the New World and even John felt the difference and felt disturbed in the New World. The place was especially memorable because it was the only place in the story without skyscrapers or tall buildings. The reservation had literature, ideas, and tradition which were never found in London.

Brave New World Question #6

Q. Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you think about the passage.

A. I think that my favorite passage is this:

“O brave new world…” By some malice of his memory the Savage found himself repeating Miranda’s words. “O brave new world that has such people in it.”

-John the Savage in Brave New World

This quote is spoken by John the Savage which is in the original passage that John is amazed that there is such a place in the New Society. This is actually a part of the quote from The Tempest which John has read long ago.

“O, Wonder!How many goodly creatures are there here!How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,That has such people in't!”

-Miranda, from The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Act V, Scene I

This passage is meaningful to me because it shows John’s amazement over his time at the reservation. Also, he is interested to see all these factories and communities that he goes to see. He is amazed especially at their technology and knowledge with production. This passage also, shows that John was awed by the superficial condition of the New Society. The New Society was indeed a total utopia in John’s standards without germs, disease, and violence. John naively felt, without knowledge or understanding, as though the society built by mankind was indeed stunning.

In addition, this passage shows how mankind can be ignorant about “prosperity” which can be defined in many ways. The world built by humans was successful not because of their power and knowledge. But, it was with God’s help and the human ability to carry out the orders that made a society prosperous. Many people believe that they act by themselves but actually they are not because humans are not the reason of success, it is God.

Thirdly, this passage is meaningful and is the most likely the most significant passage in Brave New World. When Huxley is referring to the “brave new world” it is irony because the world that John sees is not brave at all. It is because people are pre-conditioned think that the new society is brave and an ultimate utopian society. However, the new society is not brave at all to us because the people are soul-less without the morals, values, and traditions.

Brave New World Question #5

Q. What is the mood of this novel? Do you find this novel saddens you in any way? Why?

A. The mood of this novel is depressing throughout the entire story. In addition, much of the story has a negative feeling because you know from the start the New World is very superficial. The mood also depicts the eventual outcome of our world if we continue to strive for happiness without thought. Furthermore, the normal people in the story make the story even more depressing because they make me think about what could happen to the entire world. The happiness people are currently aiming for are not going to happen because it is just material wants not want we can fill emotionally or mentally. This novel saddened me in so many ways that I feel so compelled to write about those. The first thing that saddened me was that people were controlled easily by soma and other entertainment that made them prone to having fun. The kind of fun that the New World had was not thinking at all while having the material wants that just made lazier. Second, the fact that people were soul-less about their lives made me the most disappointed. This specially saddened me because many people in Brave New World just wanted a comfortable life with happiness which only meant that they didn’t have any form of art available to them that could fulfill their emotions. Also, this caused probably the entire society to be controlled by the government in such a way that people were just living with it while not getting out of the mental shell. The last fact that saddened me was the fact that people were not able to get out of their mental shell and just did what the government wanted for them to achieve material happiness. The material happiness is where people are satisfied because of soma or other materials made for people to get happy.

Brave New World Question #4

Q. What is the climax of this novel? What happens? How do the events of this novel make you feel?

A. The climax of the novel is when John makes a mess at the hospital where his mother was residing. Linda was in the hospital for taking too much soma which made her go into coma that she cannot come back alive again. Then when John is visiting his mother a group of children come into be “death-conditioned so that they wouldn’t be scared of death. The children ridicule Linda’s physical appearance which makes John furious. Before any of this happens John feels so welcomed into the New Society that he doesn’t realize that it is actually dystopia in which people are living in. This New Society was forged with superficial happiness that needs to be replenished with soma. In the end he decides to make a difference and try to lead mankind into the right path.

What happens in the climax is that John goes out of his mother’s hospital room and goes to a room where the Delta identical twins were getting their rations of soma. When John gets into the room he forcefully throws the rations away to show the Deltas that they can turn away from this and still be happy. John believed that the New World’s happiness is not enhancing mankind but destroying it into a group of people who can only do what they’re told to do. After this John chooses a different path to live in the New World. In addition, he realizes that the New World is dystopia and that the people were soul-less. The events of this novel make me feel so sad because it points out so many mistakes humans are working towards right now. Furthermore, I felt that if we progressed into the future like Brave New World we would be thoughtless humans only wanting a drug to keep us alive.

Brave New World Question #3

Q. Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

A. The main characters in this novel are Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, Lenina Crowne, and John. First, I didn’t like Bernard Marx because he wasn’t able to stand up for his physical defections compared to the other Alpha-Plus. Bernard is special because he is smarter than any other Alpha-Plus in the Conditioning Center and he does really risky moves in the story such as bringing John to his boss. Second, I loved Helmholtz Watson because he is always questioning himself to know what he is missing in life. I think that he is special since he learned something that he had been longing for. Third, I didn’t like Lenina Crowne because she was not very interesting and was just a character that people liked so much. In addition, she in the end she changed a lot because of John’s difference and his refusal to become a “happy person.” Lenina is special because she realizes her true feelings and feels disconnected from society afterwards. Fourth, I really liked John for his nature of standing up to what he believes in and questioning himself to know what was right to get out of the mental shell. There are so many things that are special about John which are the fact that he still cares about Linda, his mother, and goes to a hill to get away from civilization and be unhappy. This information reveals that universal human experience can be different from the type of society, people, and government that people are in.

Brave New World Question #2

Q. Are there any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

A. There is a current situation in the world right now that relates to the novel which is North Korea’s continued oppression of its people as if they are rich and always winning battles. This is so false because everyone in the world knows that North Korean people are starving and that they didn’t win the Korean War. They relate to the novel because the society in Brave New World is manipulated into thinking that they are living in a peaceful society where sex is good and shunning of sex is criminal. Also, it can be the fact that if someone is just a bit different from everyone else they are separated in society. They both relate to the novel because in the novel Bernard is separated because he has a physical defection and a child is sent to a psychologist to make sure that the child doesn’t hate erotic play. The novel shed so much light on how the current situation can be resolved by showing the events and the way the characters reacted to those events. When Bernard showed John to his boss everyone in the country wanted to see John and made Bernard famous. After a while John didn’t want to see those people and Bernard was again thrown into oppression from his peers. I think that Aldous Huxley showed that we need to stand up for people who are getting oppressed with this novel.