Friday, January 7, 2011

Chapters 6-10 Discussion Questions

Answer the following prompts thoroughly and formally (minimum 8 sentences).  Weave evidence from your reading and/or other outside sources.
HW: Respond to 3 different classmates' posts (minimum 4 sentences).


1. Which character in the novel would you be and why?
2. The name John Savage could be considered ironic. Explain how.
3. The two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World are birth and mother. Why?
4. When John first starts reading Shakespeare, he discovers that the words make his emotions "more real" - they even make other people more real. Talk about the power of language in the book--the power of the word to influence thought and behavior. Why did Huxley choose Shakespeare as the medium of John's intellectual awakening?
5. Talk about Huxley's use of narrator. Does the fact that Huxley's vision was impaired for part of his life have any bearing on the way he narrates the story and sets the scenes?
6. If you were to choose a theme song for Brave New World, what would it be and why?

117 comments:

Vicki Dobis said...

1.) If I had to pick one character to be in Brave New World I would choose Lenina Crowne. Although she has good and bad flaws, I see myself being most like her. She is a young and beautiful girl who is usually happy and one of the main characters in the novel. She is a vaccination worker at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. She is a very vital character because she is important to both the major and minor characters. She also has some bad habits like her being very promiscuous. She normally dates only one person at a time. Lenina has a date with Bernard, to whom she feels ambivalently attracted; and she goes to the Reservation with him. On returning with relief to civilisation, she tries and fails to seduce John the Savage. The Savage loves Lenina; but owing to his quixotic nature, he is attracted by her forwardness and the prospect of pre-marital sex.

Anonymous said...

i would be bernard because of how popular he gets after he comes back from the reservation. after all that happens he talks about how many women he gets. and how all these important people want him so, thats why i would be him.

Vicki Dobis said...

2.) The name John Savage is ironic because John is the complete oppoisite as savage. John is called "the Savage" firstly because he was not living in the civilized world, but on the "Savage Reservation." John is the only character in the novel born naturally of a mother, as opposed to being born in a laboratory from a clone. John maintains a familiar relationship with his mother, while the other characters never even know their parents. John's reads Shakespeare as a hobby, while the other characters use drugs and sex as their only sources of recreation. And, once in London, John loves society and thinks that freedom and individuality should never be sacrificed for the sake of stability. John is also labeled a savage in Brave New World because he rejects the society's values and prefers to live as people did in older times. Even though he rejects what society tells him is "civilized," John is the only character that is a bit normal in his mindset

Vicki Dobis said...

3.) The two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World are birth and mother because their society doesn’t believe that a mother givse birth to a child. They believe that sex is something you do to make you happy and pleasurable, not to have kids. Their kids are produced by machines, where they can create perfect kids, with skills and looks that the parents want them to have. There is no such thing as a mother for them. It is an obscenity because the child doesn’t come from a certain mother. Everybody belongs to everybody. The word birth is also an obscenity because nobody is giving birth to anybody. The kids are produced. These two words belong to the Reservation people, where they believe in love, and marriage. They show the reservation life as bad as disgusting. If the reservation people believe in birth and mother, the State, which is a perfect society, would never do the same. They are better, and that’s why they took over.

brianna kea said...

brianna kea part. 1
2. The author had a different way of describing people. He believed if you were different, you were savage. You we’re not a loud to be listened to or be heard out. To everyone else, he was savage. He’s a poor person and frowned upon. John tells a very detailed story about his and Linda’s past. John accepted the way of life that came along with the name “savage”. Linda believed he was “mad” because of it.
3. People in their society believed that mothers should not give birth. Their society believed that you should have sex for pleasure, not to have a family. If they did have children, they were brought up to be like robots. With talents and skills. The perfect child. They don’t have mothers. Everyone is open to everyone. The people in the world are also not giving birth to anyone.
4. Through Shakespeare he understood the world. The plays gave John the values he thought were most important to him. The plays let him express his emotions.

Anonymous said...

1. In the novel I would like to be Mustapha Mond. I would like to be Mustapha Mond because he holds much power in the novel. I think that holding power in the World State would be crucial for me, because I would have trouble being a follower of everyone else. Mond is also an intelligent man. Intelligence is an attribute that is important to me, and is important daily throughout life. A person must not only follow what others say, because they may be walking into the wrong directions. A person must have a mind of their own and think for themselves. Mond is an example of a person who thinks for himself. He shares his knowledge on topics with others, rather than waiting for them to share their ideas with him. Mond is a strong person, and an intelligent person; both of these are characteristics that I strive to have.

2. The name John Savage could be considered ironic because he grew up on a reservation called the Savage Reservation, and also because of the way that he was looked down upon in the New World. The name Savage is ironic partially because it is part of the name of the reservation that he grew up on, but it is mainly ironic because of the way that he was looked down upon in society. People were disgusted at the thought of knowing that his family
practiced things such as marriage and natural birth. These things were abnormal in their society; unlike in our society today where these things are normal. In our society today the name John Savage would be ironic instead because he would be considered civilized.

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

1. This is, for me, a simple question. I find it exceedingly easy to find parallels between my social/psychological outlook and that of John Savage's. John Savage reaches an epiphany at one point in the novel where he realizes that he is not only surrounded by debauchery and manipulation, but also by a people who either tolerate this oppression obliviously or are simply apathetic to their plight. It could be said that I have reached a similar epiphany: My residence of a judgmental, indulgent, compassion-less world based on image and appearance, where all real feeling and passion becomes suppressed behind the facade of how one is "supposed" to feel, complimented by the way they are "supposed" to look and the way they are "supposed" to live: A wife, a conventional family home, a few children, a steady job, pay taxes, ignore seditious ideas and outspoken individuals and trudge along through life, dying quietly, surrounded by family in the local hospital. I have always yearned to be represented by and representative of something much more. These realizations are what has in the past toward straightedge and what are currently driving me closer and closer toward veganism. I cannot stand by while the world eats itself alive from the inside. However, whereas John the Savage's realizations lead him to dispair, and ultimately suicide, mine will instead drive me to hopefulness and determination.

2. I would have to disagree with this question. The name John Savage could not really be considered ironic in a literary sense because the name was entirely deliberate on the part of Aldous Huxley. Consequently, recognition of the name as an exposition of John the Savage's character would not be at all ironic. The conditions in which John's name could be considered ironic would be those in relation to the other characters, so respectively John Savage is not and could not be considered ironic unless the characters of the novel acknowledged it as such.

3. In permission of social system, what is considered "taboo" or "obscene" is defined as those entities which would undermined the sovereignty of the state. For instance, sexuality in Roman culture was not considered at all obscene, it was considered natural and as such included in art on public display. The high ranking citizens were even known to take part in large orgies. However now, in a culture primarily defined by typically conservative religions like Christianity and Islam, sexuality (especially casual sexuality) becomes repressed and eventually becomes known as obscene. The fact that "birth" and "mother" are known as obscenities because of the sanctity, familial quality, and affection they convey and carry is directly proportionate to the fact that the word "f***" is considered an obscenity because of the stigma of casual sexuality that it carries.

4. The language in Brave New World has essentially been sterilized for the most part, or at least in exception of John the Savage's Shakespearean rant. Aldous Huxley utilized a scientific diction in Brave New World to portray the emotionless, stupefied condition of the dystopian society. Also the administration within the story utilize this and relentless repetition to anesthetize the populace. Huxley most likely chose Shakespeare as the representative of language outside of the Controller's grasp because Shakespeare possessed the ability to convey through words the most obscene and terrible of curses to the most elaborate and beautiful imagery. This allowed for longevity's sake that John the Savage receive his lingual epiphany all in "one fell swoop" if you will. In short, Shakespeare's embellished, beautified language was the antithesis of the, cold, sterilized, scientific language of Brave New World's London.

-Zachary Baker

p.s. Questions five and six soon to come.

Anonymous said...

1. This is, for me, a simple question. I find it exceedingly easy to find parallels between my social/psychological outlook and that of John Savage's. John Savage reaches an epiphany at one point in the novel where he realizes that he is not only surrounded by debauchery and manipulation, but also by a people who either tolerate this oppression obliviously or are simply apathetic to their plight. It could be said that I have reached a similar epiphany: My residence of a judgmental, indulgent, compassion-less world based on image and appearance, where all real feeling and passion becomes suppressed behind the facade of how one is "supposed" to feel, complimented by the way they are "supposed" to look and the way they are "supposed" to live: A wife, a conventional family home, a few children, a steady job, pay taxes, ignore seditious ideas and outspoken individuals and trudge along through life, dying quietly, surrounded by family in the local hospital. I have always yearned to be represented by and representative of something much more. These realizations are what has in the past toward straightedge and what are currently driving me closer and closer toward veganism. I cannot stand by while the world eats itself alive from the inside. However, whereas John the Savage's realizations lead him to dispair, and ultimately suicide, mine will instead drive me to hopefulness and determination.

2. I would have to disagree with this question. The name John Savage could not really be considered ironic in a literary sense because the name was entirely deliberate on the part of Aldous Huxley. Consequently, recognition of the name as an exposition of John the Savage's character would not be at all ironic. The conditions in which John's name could be considered ironic would be those in relation to the other characters, so respectively John Savage is not and could not be considered ironic unless the characters of the novel acknowledged it as such.

3. In permission of social system, what is considered "taboo" or "obscene" is defined as those entities which would undermined the sovereignty of the state. For instance, sexuality in Roman culture was not considered at all obscene, it was considered natural and as such included in art on public display. The high ranking citizens were even known to take part in large orgies. However now, in a culture primarily defined by typically conservative religions like Christianity and Islam, sexuality (especially casual sexuality) becomes repressed and eventually becomes known as obscene. The fact that "birth" and "mother" are known as obscenities because of the sanctity, familial quality, and affection they convey and carry is directly proportionate to the fact that the word "f***" is considered an obscenity because of the stigma of casual sexuality that it carries.

4. The language in Brave New World has essentially been sterilized for the most part, or at least in exception of John the Savage's Shakespearean rant. Aldous Huxley utilized a scientific diction in Brave New World to portray the emotionless, stupefied condition of the dystopian society. Also the administration within the story utilize this and relentless repetition to anesthetize the populace. Huxley most likely chose Shakespeare as the representative of language outside of the Controller's grasp because Shakespeare possessed the ability to convey through words the most obscene and terrible of curses to the most elaborate and beautiful imagery. This allowed for longevity's sake that John the Savage receive his lingual epiphany all in "one fell swoop" if you will. In short, Shakespeare's embellished, beautified language was the antithesis of the, cold, sterilized, scientific language of Brave New World's London.

-Zachary Baker

p.s. Questions five and six soon to come.

Anonymous said...

1) If I was to be compared to any character in the novel, I think I’d be compared with John because of his unique interests. John is considered an outsider in Brave New World because he grew up outside of the World State where he couldn’t seem to fit in to that society due to the fact that he spent his life on the New Mexico Savage Reservation, where he also was rejected from. His qualities that seem to fit my personality include his love for Shakespeare’s work which gave him the unique qualities of being able to verbalize his own complex emotions and actions. Although I’m not a big fan of Shakespeare, what his love for his literature expresses his own interesting personality that is quite different from others which fits who I am. I feel as if I can really adapt to what John stands for in today’s society.
-Miles Ard

Ryan Boyd said...

1.The character i feel that i im most like is Helmholtz Watson. I feel like i im like him because he is strong, intelligent, and attractive he also is a figure of respect and is well liked by everyone. We both also strive to be the best and will only stop when we reach the top.

2.His name is ironic because he was born on the reservation where all of the "savages" live. He was born there and shares the last time but is not accually a savage himself because he wasent born the old fasion way like the other savages.

3. The reason birth and mothers are considered great obscenities is because they rarly happen and are looked down upon. Some one can only be a mother by haveing a child. People aren't haveing children anymore which is why birth is also seen as bad. They populate the earth by creating people in labs.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

2) John’s name, “John Savage”, developed during the book from the fact that he was rejected from both a “savage” community and a “civilized” community, making him a true outsider. The irony that comes from his name is that his personality is everything but savage; he’s considered different only from his interests and how he looks at the world. His main interest that he relies on which give his name the most irony is his love for the work and philosophy of Shakespeare. His deep knowledge of Shakespeare gives him the ability to criticize the World State’s values with a framework, and his knowledge of a different language supports himself in his confrontation with Mustapha Mond. As his name is both ironic and critical, I respect John in Brave New World and the beliefs that he follows.

-Miles Ard

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Jessica Pfeiffer said...

part 1

1. the character I would choose to be is Bernard. He is not exactly a really good person but he keeps things interesting. He was at first lonely and not very confident in his self but as the book goes on he becomes very popular after the trip to the Reservation. He meets John and they seem to get close. He uses his newfound popularity to participate in all of the aspects of World State society. I like him because he seemed to be a very interesting individual. He also like everyone else had his downfalls though but that just comes with life.

2. The name John Savage can be considered ironic. John lived at the reserves which is where the idians lived. The Indians were considered savage compared to those who lived in london. this was because they werent programmed and were just normal people with normal desires in there life. With the last name "Savage" its ironic because he lived the lives the Idians lived, and they were considered savage.

3.. The two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World are birth and mother. This is because preganacy is not aloud and neither is having a connection with each other. So a mother having a connection to her daughter would be considered horrible because its not supposed to happen. Even having a baby will mess up the whole system and make it so that the women is not able "to belong to anyone else".

4. In the book John seems to base his opinions and emotions all on the fact of Shakespeare. He picks stuff up everywhere he goes. He is not in the right state of mind, and his conscience over rules him sometimes. Huxley makes it hard for John with him reconciling different worlds. John grew up hearing myths of the World State just as he heard stories of Shakespeare's characters. Huxleys choice of shakespeare is because
everyone knows who he is so they would understand the impact he had on him.

Anonymous said...

3. In permission of social system, what is considered "taboo" or "obscene" is defined as those entities which would undermined the sovereignty of the state. For instance, sexuality in Roman culture was not considered at all obscene, it was considered natural and as such included in art on public display. The high ranking citizens were even known to take part in large orgies. However now, in a culture primarily defined by typically conservative religions like Christianity and Islam, sexuality (especially casual sexuality) becomes repressed and eventually becomes known as obscene. The fact that "birth" and "mother" are known as obscenities because of the sanctity, familial quality, and affection they convey and carry is directly proportionate to the fact that the word "f***" is considered an obscenity because of the stigma of casual sexuality that it carries.

-Zachary Baker

Anonymous said...

1. In the novel Brave new World the character that I would most closely relate myself too would be Henry Foster. I would relate myself to this character because he is an intelligent person, and likes to work with numbers. He also enjoys having fun in his leisure time. He works basically for the government, which i can see in a future for me. He also seems to follow with most of the norms in society. Which I would like to think that I usually do, with some exception of course. That is how I would most closely relate myself to a character in the book. Although I still believe I do not closely resemble any of them.
2. The name John the Savage could be considered ironic because he would be "normal" in our world. But in the World State he is considered savage due to his natural birth. The people in the World State are all genetically engineered so they think themselves to a higher status than everyone else the world. So in the world they all live in, to be conceived by a mother is seen as savagery. I think that Aldous Huxley named the character John the Savage to show the extreme differences in our worlds.
3. The two greatest obscenities in Brave New World are mother and birth because of the evolved society. The believe birth to be a form of savagery because it is a "lower" way to create life. Because the genetically made humans are supposed to get rid of all imperfection in the world. The reason that birth is considered so obscene is because the population does not want children to feel the emotional bond to a mother. I think they think that it will make them out to be weaker individuals.
4. The reason that Huxley chose to use Shakespeare's work is because of its natural obscene nature. Having the ability to be rude in the harshest of ways and then go on to explain the most beautiful things, made Shakespeare the perfect candidate. He used his primarily on John's intellectual awakening because the raw power that can be absorbed from Shakespeare's works. Since language in the book is used strongly to influence behavior, Henry was greatly influenced by him. That is why I believe that Shakespeare was used in the novel the way that he was.
>Danny

Anonymous said...

4. The language in Brave New World has essentially been sterilized for the most part, or at least in exception of John the Savage's Shakespearean rant. Aldous Huxley utilized a scientific diction in Brave New World to portray the emotionless, stupefied condition of the dystopian society. Also the administration within the story utilize this and relentless repetition to anesthetize the populace. Huxley most likely chose Shakespeare as the representative of language outside of the Controller's grasp because Shakespeare possessed the ability to convey through words the most obscene and terrible of curses to the most elaborate and beautiful imagery. This allowed for longevity's sake that John the Savage receive his lingual epiphany all in "one fell swoop" if you will. In short, Shakespeare's embellished, beautified language was the antithesis of the, cold, sterilized, scientific language of Brave New World's London.

-Zachary Baker

Anonymous said...

1.I think I would be more like Lenina Crowne than anyone else. She is a quirky alpha female who at times can be a nonconformist. Like myself she finds ways to become distracted from the unpleasant things in life. Although she isn’t considered super beautiful because of her blotchy skin condition, she is pretty, intelligent and conditioned well. Lenina seems to like getting her way and is determined to get what she wants even if she doesn’t get the first time, as she tried to seduce John twice to get him to like her back, like I do. Also we are alike because we both have a method of getting what we want from people. I think she also think she would best fit me because we both are silent member of society. Finally we are well functioning beings in society but because of some of the paths we walk we find it best to stay out of the government.---Kayla

Jimmy Chu said...

1. In Brave New World, I would want to be Mustapha Mond because he is a very important person in the the world. He is one of only 10World Controllers meaning that he has a ton of power. The way he got that way is also why I want to be Mustapha Mond; because of his high intelligence. Also, I admire his mindset for the World Sate. His goal for the World State is to obtain stability and happiness. Mustapha also shows characteristics that I admire including: perserverance, commitment, leadership, and even more. Mustapha agrees, which I also agree on, that "history is bunk" (34). I agree that the past is the past and we should look ahead to the future, exactly what Mustapha suggests which is why I want to be Mustapha Mond.

Jimmy Chu said...

2. The name John Savage could be considered ironic because he was born in the Savage Reservation. The Savage Reservation is where people go who don't belong in the World State because they lived in the past before the World State existed. "Savages" are those who were born and lived before the Bokanovsky Process was invented. The reason why John Savage is ironic is because his mother gave birth to him in the Savage Reservation, even though getting someone pregnant is sinful in the World State. He is the Director's son and his mother, Linda, was visiting the Reservation until she got lost and was rescued by Indians. She was told to not get an aborption therefore John Savage is born in the Savage Reservation despite not being a "Savage".

Jimmy Chu said...

3. "Birth" and "mother" are obscenities in Brave New World because in the years of Brave New World, being a mother means giving birth to someone. Being pregnant is seen as a "savage" characteristic meaning that giving birth and being a mother are, too. It is said "everyone belongs to everyone else" (46) so the idea of giving birth and having a child is considered individualistic, something shunned upon in the World State. The Bokanovsky Process is used to produce children and put them into a certain caste where they will be during their lifetime. If someone gave birth the natural way, then that would go against the World State's way of reproduction.

4. The power of language is really influential when controlling thoughts and behavior. The best example is with a technique used in Brave New World; Hypnopaedia. Hypnopaedia involves teaching kids while they are sleeping. It is similar to school except the kids are asleep when they are being taught. By repeatedly sending messages, by word of course, to the child's brain, the message will be absorbed and the child will do, or not do, what hypnopaedia said. NOT FINISHED WITH THIS ONE YET

Delanie Sage said...

1. If I were any of the characters I think I would be Helmholtz Watson because he is discontent with the World State. I think the World State is awkward and disturbing and those are the feelings that Helmholtz has as well. He is extremely smart but wishes he could use his intelligence for something more valuable. I believe that if I were a part of that society I would feel the same way. Helmholtz is also not a complainer. Bernard and him have similar issues regarding the World State but while Bernards venting process is complaining, Helmholtz has rational reasons for being upset. I feel like I am the same way. I don't think it is necessary to complain unless you have an intelligent, rational reason of feeling that way.

2. The name John Savage is ironic because in the World State he is thought of as a "savage". He has a mother which means he was born naturally. In the World State, a live natural birth is looked down upon. Another instance that makes his name ironic is when he is explaining how he wishes he could have been a sacrifice. John goes on to tell Lenina and Bernard that he "can bear pain without crying out" (117). When I hear the world savage I think of something bloody and gory just as John is explaining to Lenina and Bernard.

Delanie Sage said...

3. A live or viviparous birth is considered absurd in the society of Brave New World. The children are made through machinery and a process of chemical reactions. This being, the only way to be a mother is to birth a child. Looked down upon, the people of this society think it is inhumane to have sex for any reason other than pleasure. Sexual contact is supposed to be strictly for pleasure and happiness as far as they're concerned. In the society of Brave New World, nobody has a mother; everyone belongs to everyone. When a male and female participate in sexual contact, the male claims to have had to woman. This is because families do not exist. If a woman were to have a baby she would not be aloud to "belong" to anyone else.

4. John Savage realizes that Shakespeare's diction makes his emotions more real. I believe this is because the people of their society are brain washed into their morals and values. Everything they say and believe is from the sleep teaching process that is mandatory as a child. When John was introduced to Shakespeare and his vernacular he realized all the words available to express feelings and emotions that he never knew existed. It is ironic when Lenina and John meet because she is constantly reciting slogans from sleep teaching while John is constantly reciting Shakespeare. This shows how much influence words have on peoples' actions and beliefs. I think Huxley probably chose Shakespeare because he can make something terrible and grusome sound beautiful through his diction and that is the message being conveyed when Lenina and John meet; the difference in the "Other Place" and the Reservation.

Anonymous said...

3. Birth and mother are the two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World because both of these things were considered immoral in their society. There was no such thing as natural birth; machines were used instead. Mother was also considered obscene in their society because since they used machines and cloning rather than natural birth, there were no real mothers to children. Birth and mother were valued on the reservation, but were looked down upon greatly in their society. In the World State "everyone [belonged] to everyone else;" differing from the reservation's society where children were born naturally, and each child was belonged to by a mother. This hence the opposing morals and values that each of the societies held.

Kelly Evans

Jessica Summers said...

1. If I could be one character in the novel I would be Bernard Marx. Even though people see him as weird and an outcast, he's one of the only characters who is different then everyone else. Bernard appeals to me because he is the only one is the novel who can be viewed as "human". He is always wanting things he cant have, which is the complete opposite of the rest of the characters. I also like how he has his own thoughts and opinions.

2. John Savage is an ironic name because he is viewed as "savage". He lives in the Reservation, which is completely different from where Bernard and Lenina are from. While reading this novel he might sound normal to us but put in context he isn't. He wasn't made in a bottle and he has his own thoughts and wants, which to everyone else is "savage".

3. Birth and mother are the two greatest obscenities because there is no such thing as "mothers" and "birth" in the novel. Having a connection like a child and mother do is not allowed. If women were to have children it would make them less appealing and un-wanted. "Everyone belongs to everyone." Is what the motto is and when a women has a baby this can't apply to her anymore.

4. Huxley choose Shakespeare as the medium of John's intellectual awakening because everyone knows who Shakespeare is. His words are read by everyone and he had a way of writing. This made John's emotions more real because he could relate to Shakespeare's words.

5. Yes, I think Huxley's life has an impact on the way he narrated the story. Since he wasn't able to see for part of his life he had to use his imagination. And this novel causes the reader to use theirs. He uses strange settings that aren't real so that it is left up to use to picture what they look like. He wanted the reader to see things for themselves.

Delanie Sage said...

5. Huxley uses very descriptive language to illustrate the setting of the Brave New World. I think his vision being impaired may have a part in that because he had to use other senses to "see" what was happening. In some instances Huxley describes things in a distorted way that the reader has to think about to understand the true meaning of the description. One of the slogans from hypnopaedia says "the skies are blue inside of you". To me this shows his interpretation of the world while he could not see. Blue could either mean sad and depressed or it could me clear as in happy. Huxley narrates the story in such a way that shows the characters emotions; I think this is because he couldn't see things through his eyes, he had to see them through his emotions.

6. If Brave New World had a theme song I think it would be Faith Works by S.O.J.A. The song talks about the way the world is today. In one phrase of the song it says "working hard to change peoples' mentality, the way the world is going now its insanity". This illustrates the hypnopaedia process. Sleep teaching is how the society of Brave New World tries to "change peoples' mentality". The song also says "Babylon destroy your minds they want to corrupt" in this phrase Babylon would actually be the D.H.C. They're trying to destroy their minds in order to create a perfect society.

Anonymous said...

6. If I were to choose a theme song for this novel I would choose The Unforgiven by Metallica. I would choose this song because it is about people conforming others to be a certain way. In this novel the children are born liking and disliking certain objects. In this song there is a line that says "you labeled me." I think that this is a strong line in correlation to the novel because people are labeled differently in society from the Alphas all the way down to the Epsilons.

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

Huxley used strong words to describe things. He used words that at times may have puzzled the reader, and made them interpret the meaning of his words for themselves. The fact that Huxley's vision was impaired for part of his life had an effect on the way that he described things. The descriptions that he used would most commonly make the reader not just read the words that he spoke, but think on a higher level to the more abstract meaning of his descriptions. Since his vision was impaired for part of his life, a vast amount of his descriptions of things and places came solely off of the way that he imagined in his mind that they were.

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

4. Huxley chose Shakespare as the medium of John's intellectual awakening because of the way that Shakespeare was able to express his emotions by the use of strong words. Shakespeare not only described things that were beautiful and uplifting, but he also described things that were dark, and horrifying. I think that Shakespeare's writings were an awakening for John. It showed him how Shakespeare was able to express the way that he felt through writing; both good and bad feelings. Shakespeare was a person for John to look to. He gave Savage insight into his world, and different societies.

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

Jessica-- I agree with what you said about the impairment of Huxley's vision. I think that this made the novel more interesting. Rather than Huxley being blunt by saying exactly how things were, he was forced to use his imagination, causing the reader to use his or her imagination as well. I feel that his descriptions gave the novel a deeper meaning, which made the novel all the more intriguing.

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

Ryan-- I agree that the name John Savage was ironic in their society. I also think that his name would be considered ironic today, becuase his morals and value would be considered civilized. Do you agree that his name would also be considered ironic today, or do you think that people would not make any connection with his name being John "Savage?"

Kelly Evans

Anonymous said...

Jessica-- You stated that John's emotions were more real becuase he could relate to Shakespeare's words. I agree with this statement. Earlier this year we read "Hamlet;" do you think that the emotions represented in "Hamlet" were more realistic, or the emotions represented by John in "Brave New World?"

Kelly Evans

Franklin Burroughs said...

1. If I were to choose a character to be from the novel, I would be Bernard. I chose Bernard because he is trying to be an individual instead of everyone acting like robots in the New World. When Henry Foster tells Bernard “Everyone belongs to everyone else,” Bernard calls Foster an idiot. Although Bernard is a “a specialist on hypnoaedia,” Bernard realizes that the repetitions are a means brainwashing and stifling individuality (53). As Bernard and Lenina travel over the English Channel, he wants his helicopter blades to be silent, so he can “look at the sea in peace” (98). Bernard is struggling to be an individual who appreciates beauty in the world which is totally against the conditioning of the New World.
2. John Savage’s name is ironic because savage is perceived as a wild, uncivilized person who has no control or feelings about personal emotions. John is the total opposite of the people of the New World who are conditioned to have no feelings or emotions. The most intimate of human relationships during sex is considered inappropriate in the New World, yet John feels that he cannot even touch Lenina for fear that he is being disrespectful. As John watches Lenina on her “soma-holiday,” he begins to quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that… No, he didn’t” (157-158). John uses the eloquent words of Shakespeare to define his feelings of love and admiration yet restrains himself from touching her. John’s quiet and reserved behavior is the antithesis of a wild and cruel beast.
3. Birth and mother are the two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World because they represent the greatest of human emotions. The maternal bond is so strong that it often supersedes all other thoughts and controls. The New World does not want to compete with the strong emotion of maternal love. If something as intimate as birth and motherhood are removed from society, weaker emotions and thought process are more readily controlled. Since the World State’s motto is “Community, Identity, and Stability,” the absence of the initial sense of child and mother gives the control to the directors and controllers. Love and affection are replace by facts and figures.
4. When John reads Shakespeare the wording that Shakespeare uses makes John realize the true feelings and the context of those words making him feel “more real emotions”. In the New World people aren’t allowed to read books like Shakespeare so they aren’t able to experience those emotions. John being able to read allows him to experience these emotions and act differently toward people. This is shown when John sneaks into Lenina’s cabin while she is on her “soma-holiday” and starts repeating lines from Shakespear “her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice” (157). He then decides to try and touch her but then says “Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that… No, he didn’t” (158). This shows how him reading Shakespeare has given him some morals and emotion on how to act with other people. In the New World someone would have just touched Lenina without even thinking about it. Huxley chose to use Shakespeare for the medium of John’s intellectual awakening because Shakespeare uses vivid words that provide great detail to his readers.

Franklin Burroughs said...

1. If I were to choose a character to be from the novel, I would be Bernard. I chose Bernard because he is trying to be an individual instead of everyone acting like robots in the New World. When Henry Foster tells Bernard “Everyone belongs to everyone else,” Bernard calls Foster an idiot. Although Bernard is a “a specialist on hypnoaedia,” Bernard realizes that the repetitions are a means brainwashing and stifling individuality (53). As Bernard and Lenina travel over the English Channel, he wants his helicopter blades to be silent, so he can “look at the sea in peace” (98). Bernard is struggling to be an individual who appreciates beauty in the world which is totally against the conditioning of the New World.
2. John Savage’s name is ironic because savage is perceived as a wild, uncivilized person who has no control or feelings about personal emotions. John is the total opposite of the people of the New World who are conditioned to have no feelings or emotions. The most intimate of human relationships during sex is considered inappropriate in the New World, yet John feels that he cannot even touch Lenina for fear that he is being disrespectful. As John watches Lenina on her “soma-holiday,” he begins to quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that… No, he didn’t” (157-158). John uses the eloquent words of Shakespeare to define his feelings of love and admiration yet restrains himself from touching her. John’s quiet and reserved behavior is the antithesis of a wild and cruel beast.
3. Birth and mother are the two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World because they represent the greatest of human emotions. The maternal bond is so strong that it often supersedes all other thoughts and controls. The New World does not want to compete with the strong emotion of maternal love. If something as intimate as birth and motherhood are removed from society, weaker emotions and thought process are more readily controlled. Since the World State’s motto is “Community, Identity, and Stability,” the absence of the initial sense of child and mother gives the control to the directors and controllers. Love and affection are replace by facts and figures.
4. When John reads Shakespeare the wording that Shakespeare uses makes John realize the true feelings and the context of those words making him feel “more real emotions”. In the New World people aren’t allowed to read books like Shakespeare so they aren’t able to experience those emotions. John being able to read allows him to experience these emotions and act differently toward people. This is shown when John sneaks into Lenina’s cabin while she is on her “soma-holiday” and starts repeating lines from Shakespear “her eyes, her hair, her cheek, her gait, her voice” (157). He then decides to try and touch her but then says “Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that… No, he didn’t” (158). This shows how him reading Shakespeare has given him some morals and emotion on how to act with other people. In the New World someone would have just touched Lenina without even thinking about it. Huxley chose to use Shakespeare for the medium of John’s intellectual awakening because Shakespeare uses vivid words that provide great detail to his readers.

Franklin Burroughs said...

5. Huxley, as the narrator, uses a great deal of imagery throughout his narration of the book. The fact that Huxley’s vision was impaired for part of his life helped him to be able to narrate the book with better imagery than a writer that has had their complete vision throughout their life. He uses great imagery when he says “The roses were in bloom, two nightingales soliloquized in the boscage, a cuckoo was just going out of tune among the lime trees” (35). This section of the book uses imagery and sound to better narrate. When someone, like Huxley, who has lost one of their senses like sight their other senses become stronger to compensate for the loss of sight. The increase in his other senses allows him to narrate his book in better ways than most people would.
6. I think that the Song World So Currupt by Ziggy Marley. I think this songs is a good theme song for Brave New World because they talk about a world that is corrupt the same way the world of brave new world is corrupt. Brave New World is corrupt because of how they create surrogate people that are placed into certain castes to do certain jobs. Each caste is treated differently in the book instead of having everyone equal and the same. The lowest classes are treated as though they are nobody’s instead of being someone important. In a world that is not corrupt everyone would be allowed to reproduce themselves and they wouldn’t have to condition each person to do certain things in society.

Xhesika said... said...

1. Out of all the characters in the novel, I would choose Mustapha Mond. He is good- natured, dedicated to his work and also, extremely intelligent. He is one of the characters who can choose and has free will. To be able to have free will and choose is very important to me because then, I would be responsible for the choices I would make. As to where, the people in the civilized community don’t have the free will because of being conditioned when they were little. Like Mustapha Mond, I would like to be dedicated to my work and use my intelligent for good purposes.

2. The name would be considered ironic because he was conceived in Savage Reservation .The place where, “children...are actually born”(102) and are entitled the name , “savage”(103) by the civilized people . The Reservation is a place where, “about sixty thousand Indians and half-breeds” (103) practice their habits and customs of marriage, families, religion and different languages. They have their own world and because of it they are disliked by the civilized people, for not following their customs and beliefs. Also, they are looked down upon all the time and their habits and customs is considered, “repulsive” (103) by the Warden. The Warden speaks for everyone in the civilized community. In our society the Savage Reservation is viewed as normal, where as the civilized world to me is not normal.

3. Birth and mother are the two greatest obscenities in the society of Brave New World for the meaning they have. They are both looked down upon and disapproved because when babies are born they are not the same, but unique. In the Bokanovsky Process every baby is the same and not unique. So, when a baby is born out of their control they immediately judge. The reason is because that is the way they were taught to think. To have a bond with a mother means that you rely on her to help you through every problem and advice. In Brave New World they teach them to rely on themselves for every problem they have. They want them to become strong individuals and to show that they are able to handle any situation.

Xhesika said... said...

4. Huxley choose Shakespeare as the Medium of John’s intellectual awakening because when a person reads Shakespeare’s novels , certain words reveal emotions that we did not even know were there. For John to live in a world where he has to face certain issues every day and nothing be real, finding words that make his emotion real from a novel he read from Shakespeare is amazing to him. The power of language has numerous effects. One of the effects in the novel would be hypnopaedia .Children are taught to think and feel a certain way. So, when they are not exposed to learning the meaning of those words the true effect is missed and they would not know what it feels to be real. Their conversation to one another would have no effect at all to each other.

5. Having his vision impaired for part of his life does play a role on the way he narrates the story and sets the scenes. When a person losses their vision for a period of time, they can only rely on their memory of what they seen and remember. So, when the person is able to receive their vision back everything is changed with time. With everything being changed, the novel could symbolizes what Huxley thought he could find when he received his vision back or what could happen in the future. If his vision was not impaired for part of his life, the novel would probably have a different setting and narration. The reason is because he would have not experienced being in that sort of situation. Therefore, he would not think the same. But, that is something that we will never know.

6. A theme song for Brave New World would be Better Than You by Sam Adams. The song talks about how he is better than everyone else and in one line from the lyrics he says, “I’m better than your whole crew”. “I’ m better “, would be the people who live in the civilized community saying,”than you whole crew” to the Savage Reservation people. Thinking they are better than everyone because they are not born naturally. Their beliefs are different then their beliefs and also, they would consider the people who are born naturally “savage”.

Xhesika said... said...

Ryan-I think there are different ways of someone being a mother rather than just giving birth. Being a mother means you are there for your child 24/7 for whatever they need. If the reason is just asking for advice or asking for help. Or just needing someone to talk to and listening when they talk.

Jimmy Chu said...

Complete #4

4. The power of language is really influential when controlling thoughts and behavior. The best example is with a technique used in Brave New World; Hypnopaedia. Hypnopaedia involves teaching kids while they are sleeping. It is similar to school except the kids are asleep when they are being taught. "Reasons why people should not like to be in any position than they are now are repeated over and over" (helium) until children get it in their heads making them believe it's the truth.By repeatedly sending messages/phrases, through words, to the child's brain, the message will be absorbed and the child will do, or not do, what hypnopaedia said. This shows just how powerful words can be.

Xhesika said... said...

Danny—I agree with you that the people in the World State are all genetically engineered so they think themselves to a higher status than everyone else in the world. If they were not genetically engineered then they would see themselves in a different perspective. Therefore, they would not need to put everyone else down for not being in the same level as them. The novel would have had a different ending.

Xhesika said... said...

Danny—I agree with you that Shakespeare has the ability to be rude in the harshest of ways and then go on to explain the most beautiful things. It’s because of the way he expresses his thoughts in his novels so well, he is famous. Also, some of his novels like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are most known because of the symbolism and lessons a person learns from them. Shakespeare is a true artist.

Jimmy Chu said...

5. Yes, the fact that Huxley's vision was impaired does have an effect on the way he narrates the story and sets the scenes. With his vision impaired, Huxley has not had the same experiences that people with normal vision would have. Through sight, you learn how to describe things in different ways based on how they look like but in Huxley's case, he had to use the 4 other senses to describe scenes because his vision made it difficult to see things to describe them. For example, Huxley describes the light in the laboratory as "frozen, dead, a ghost" (3) because it is difficult to describe using sight because his vision was impaired affecting how he narrated Brave New World. Huxley was forced to use adjectives through smell, hearing, and even emotion because it was hard to describe with what he saw. Thus, Huxley's impairment caused his descriptions to be less accurate.

Miles said...

--Kelly Evans--

2) I agree with your ironic outlook on John's name being "savage". Even though he was rejected by the civilized society in Brave New World, his outlook in today's society would seem very civilized compared to the reservation he grew up on in the novel.

Miles said...

--Jessica Pfieffer--

2) I agree with your comment how John grew up in an indian reservation, making him "savage". I think he's also considered "savage" because he wasn't accepted into the "civilized" society, and he would be considered civilized in today's society.

Miles said...

--Jessica Summers--

2) I understand what you mean when you said how we today would look at John as a normal and civilized type person but in Brave New World they look down on John as "savage". If you weren't accepted into the "civilized" society in the book, you basically were considered "savage".

Jimmy Chu said...

6.If there was a a theme song to Brave New World, it would be "All the Same" by Sick Puppies because this song talks about everything being the same. This relates to Brave New World because all the people in the Utopian society are the same. Except for being in different castes, those that are in the same castes are the same. All the Alphas are "programmed" to be the most successful while the Epsilons are born to do the menial labor. Also, all the children are taught the same values and to like and dislike the same things (for example they are taught to dislike flowers). Because the government is trying to create "the perfect world", they control everything from what people do to what they like meaning they are making everyone all the same.

Jimmy Chu said...

#5 Delanie - I agree with you that Huxley's vision impairment did affect how he described things. It makes sense that he had to use his senses other than vision because it wasn't completely effective. The way he did describe some of the scenes in fact came because he used sense like hearing and touching. I also agree that Huxley narrated Brave New World through emotions. Without being able to envision what everyone was doing, he narrated it through what they felt.

#2 Jessie - I agree with you that John Savage is ironic because he lived in the same place (the Savage Reservation) where the nicknamed "savages" lived. His last name might have even been influenced because of where he lived in his childhood. The question is, should John be considered a savage just because he lived with them? Also, will John be labeled by his last name or by his actions?

#6 Kelly - I agree with the theme song you chose for this book. This book is about controlling people and making them do what the government wants them to do because they are trying to create a perfect world. Also, the hypnopaedia method is a good example that you said dealt with controlling people. The line, "you labeled me" does correlate well with Brave New World because the government does decide what caste every human is going to be. This song is a good choice for the Brave New World theme song.

Anonymous said...

5. When sensory impairment takes place, it is usually considered a human condition that in replacement of the effected sense, the other senses become heightened, strengthened, fortified. However, this "common denominator" does not seem to affect the imaginative or literary senses. In fact, the elaborate portrayals of the settings in Brave New World (from the lighthouse to the hatchery to the garden) suggest quite the contrary. The use of color in Brave New World is rather paramount, with the stale, sterile whites of the scientific environments, or the vibrant colors of the gardens and lighthouse area. The only condition of the novel that suggests at all to the contrary is the emphasis on what is heard, with the mottos, and slogans, and buzzing of bees and helicopters, and erotic chants of "Orgy Porgy".

-Zachary Baker

Rusty johnson said...

1.The character that I would like to be in the story would be lemons. Only because she is the only one that comes out as normal to me because she doesn't like to tell anyone her business about her sex life and doesn't like to make it public.but the only problem about her is that she acts like she is so good but she really gets around I mean the girl carries birth control around her waist. But I will give her that she doesn't take the drug soma. Which is something that I wouldn't do and one other thing is that she is a girl so I would rather be a make version of her.

Anonymous said...

Both of these songs are by politically-relevant death metal band Beneath The Massacre. The first possibility is a good one because the lyrics identify with the feigned perfection of a utopia/dystopia. The second is included because the lyrics symbolize a knowledgeable acceptance of social fate and succumbing to the reliance of narcotics and methamphetamines as a means of personal and communal control. Here, Lithium is the drug of choice, illuminating a subconscious or conscious will for suicide (like John the Savage), in this case symbolized with both "soma" and the sexuality of the novel.



OUR COMMON GRAVE

Perfection never seemed so reachable
A though pattern used oh so many times in the past
Passively waiting to fulfill our role
Of flesh and steel, we live in the perfect symbiosis

Reduced to consumer machines,
We fulfilled the role we were thought to
One foot in the grave; our common grave

Perfection never seemed so reachable
A though pattern used oh so many times in the past
Passively waiting to fulfill our role
Of flesh and steel, we live in the perfect symbiosis

Reduced to consumer machines,
We fulfilled the role we were thought to
We create superfluous needs only to sustain our arrogance
One foot in the grave; our common grave
One foot in the grave; our common grave

Coffin shaped incubators
Take us one step closer to our doom
Self inflicted destiny
Take us one step closer to our doom

Passively waiting to fulfill our role
Of flesh and steel, we live in the perfect symbiosis

Reduced to consumer machines,
We fulfilled the role we were thought to
We create superfluous needs only to sustain our arrogance
One foot in the grave; our common grave
One foot in the grave; our common grave

OR

LITHIUM OVERDOSE

Wretched
Fatally wounded
Save me from myself

A tormented mind that nothing can appease
A stain on our conscience
A tormented mind now running on empty
A stain on our conscience

Help me find my way back to healing
Take me to your artificial paradise
Feed me the lies I'm dying to hear
I need this illusion to make it through

Wretched
Fatally wounded
Save me from myself

I need a shoulder to rest my head on
Bring me serenity so I can close my eyes;
Close my eyes on this world
Take me to your artificial paradise
I need an illusion to hide my insanity
Give me, give me the strength I need to carry on
The strength to carry on

Wretched
Fatally wounded
Save me from myself

A tormented mind that nothing can appease
A stain on our conscience
A tormented mind now running on empty
A stain on our conscience

Save me...
I can stare at the enemy in the mirror's reflection

rusty johnson said...

John savage is a ironic name because of where john lives. Another reason why savage is a ironic name is because how he was born. The only reason why john was born was because his moms birth control messed up and she could not get a abortion on the reservation and she was to ashamed to go back to the world state. So they started a new life as savages in an indian village where she would sleep with anyman she pleased.

rusty johnson said...

5. My theme song for a brave new world would be bed rock by lil wayne because all this book is about is sex and that is all the song is about.

Corey said...

1) Bernard Marx is the best example character of me in the novel Brave New World. Bernard is down to earth and wants a lot of things that he can not have. He is human and feels jealousy, love sickness, and anger at his sexual rivals. Being put in the same predicament as Bernard is in this novel would be very challenging. Although he is not very heroic, he takes action when necessary and follows through with his word. Bernard and I, however, do not compare in the fact that he is a hypocrite. He criticizes things that he supports depending on the setting he is in.

Ryan Boyd said...

4.When Johns reads Shakespeare for the first time he is overwelmed by the realness of the sensations he is feeling. In the novel books like these are banned and him reading it gave him fresh eyes on the world and they way he did things and interacted with others changed. This brought about better morals for John
5. Huxley uses an immense amount of imagery in his narration. His vision being impaired for part of his life seemed to help make his imagery even better. When once sense is gone the others become stronger so him haveing his other senses increased and being able to imagine what he is seeing made his imagery amazing.

Ryan Boyd said...

xhesika, i know what you mean by there are mothers because parents are the people who take care of you, are there for you no matter what, and always love you but in the story the kind of mother i think there refering to is that your were accually born of the women.

Ryan Boyd said...

Franklin, for question number 5 i can agree with you more his sight being impaired has helped him gratly in bring imagery to his narration.

Ryan Boyd said...

all of you, i agree that Johns last name is very ironic due to him being created in a lab and born on a reservation. Also how he bears the name and is shunned by society.

Faith Simmons said...

2. The name "John Savage" is ironic because in today's time, "savage" is the last thing he'd be considered as. He was born by a father and a mother. Therefore, he is unlike everyone else. In BNW it is extremely frowned upon to have a child naturally. To think of John as savage is just rediculous. To me, savage means evil, mean, and just all around nasty for no reason. John is deffinitely NOT savage.
3.In BNW it is an obscenity to have a child because then the child cannot be conditioned to think the way that the world wants them to think. This means the born child will be an individual. Individuals do not do what the Controllers want them to do. Mothers are frowned upon because a childs natural tendency is to look to its mother for guidance and correction. The mothers cannot be controlled either to teach their children to do what the Controllers want them to do. The mothers will want to do what is best for their children and not what the Controllers want them to.

Faith Simmons said...

6. If I had to pick a theme song for Brave New World I think I'd choose the song "I Am" by Hillary Duff. I've known the song for almost 10 years, but it's the only song I can come up with that even describes the people in the book. "I Am" talks about having both good AND bad qualities in a person, it talks about whatever aspects there are of you, it's what makes you special and strong.

Endri said...

A character from the novel that I would choose to be Mustapha Mold. The reason being is because he is a figure of the world. He holds the power and has courage because heading a World State is not an easy job. Personally, I would like to be an intelligent person which Mustapha is. He holds the key for anyone that wants to be self represented and self respected. Mustapha is a man of opportunity and reliance which are shown by his actions. His courage and drive would allow me to accomplish goals that are difficult to reach. He holds the world on his shoulders, and he is doing it well.

Faith Simmons said...

1. I wouldn't want to be any of them. I am my own person. If I had to be any of them then it would totally suck. Can you imagine having to live in that world? I would personally die if i had to live there. I would much rather be me.
Even if a lot of people dislike me, at least I am true to myself, and not being what other people want me to be. I don't think I'm like any of those people and I'd rather not be. There are some good characters but I'm happier being myself.

Endri said...

The name John Savage is an ironic name for many reasons. Partially it is ironic because of the way he views the world. Considering that in the current world, everything is unlike our modern time. His name is also ironic because he was born on a reservation called Savage Reservation. The most important reason it is ironic is because his family enacts rituals that are considered savage. These rituals aren't deadly, but simply marriage and natural birth. Although these actions do not contain anything savage. A name is the identity of a person, but is not the person.

Vicki Dobis said...

4.) The language the author uses in Brave New World lets John express his true emotions and lets him understand the world in a better way. Aldous Huxley uses almost “Brave New World diction” to create a visual of the imperfect world or the dystopian society. Also his emotions sometimes seem to get the best of him and his conscience seems to over rule him. I think Huxley chose Shakespeare to represent the language because Shakespeare used the ability to convey most terrible of curses and problems to imagery. Everyone also knows who Shakespear is, and most likely have read some of his work, therefore people can relate easier. Shakespeare's language was the best fit for this book because its cold, heartless, and weary.

Anonymous said...

3) Birth and Mother are considered major obscenities in Brave New World due to the civilized society's belief that birth doesn't come from mother. In Brave New World, sex wasn't considered the proper process for making kids, only for love and pleasure. Machines took care of making the kids because they made perfect kids with the proper skills and specific appearances that the parents wanted them to have. The term "mother" for them was obscene because nobody was considered a mother of a child or anything. "Birth" as well was considered obscene in the civilized society because birth didn't happen, children were only produced. The people of the indian Reservation believed in "mother" and "birth" because they stuck with the original and natural way of how life is supposed to happen.

-Miles Ard

Carrie said...

Xhesika-
I agree that you relate to Mustopha Mond because you are really smart and free willing. If i had to choose a charcter I would be Lenina. I would be her because she is a young, quiet, and shy person just like me. Also we are both very opinionated people and have our own views on different topics.

Endri said...

The birth of a child and the mother are the two greatest obscenities because it is not ethical in their society. It would be considered taboo if a baby is born by a mother. The people of the world are born of machines, and they believe that sex is simply for pleasure and not for reproduction. You could almost call them asexual organisms because they do not conduct sex for survival. The only place where they aren't obscenities are on reservations. In our current world, the connection between a baby and a mother is the strongest bond. In their world, they cannot experience that love and comfort. Whether it is better to have a mother or not, that's for others to decide but for me, I love my mom.

Corey said...

2) John Savage is a very ironic name. First off, John is a very common or natural name. John was the only character born naturally, by mother, and he has the most common name. His last name, savage, is ironic because he was an accident and he grew up in the wild with Indians. Indians are very aggressive in their nature. They kill people and animals to make a living, showing just how “savage” they are. Although John was brought up with the Indians in their civilization, which was probably not too civilized, he has a rather normal mindset, in comparison to the rest of the characters.

Endri said...

The words of Shakespeare allow the reader to experience the emotions of the characters. In Brave New World,
Huxley makes a significant decision in making the book emotionless. His words writing BNW do not contain any deeper meaning. Using Shakespeare allows Huxley to exemplify that not everyone is emotionless. While reading the books of Shakespeare, John experience what every thoughtful reader experiences, the feel of actually being the character. He feels the sadness, hate, love, and anger that Shakespeare usually utilizes. The books and plays of Shakespeare are a gate way for John. Those gates opened his eyes to see the real nature of humans.

Vicki Dobis said...

5.) Huxley use of language is usually in great detail and very descriptive. It often illustrates the setting of Brave New World. I think him being blind is part of the problem because he had to use other 4 senses to see and understand what was happening. Sometimes, Huxley describes things where the reader has to think about it in a deeper meaning to understand the true understanding of the description. A phrase from hypnopaedia says "the skies are blue inside of you". This shows to me that his meaning of the world while he could not see. Blue often reminds someone of being sad, depressed, or in a dark time. But, it could me happy and fluffy as in the sky. Huxley narrates the story in such a way that shows the characters emotions through things other then just telling the reader. I think because he couldn't see things through his eyes, he had to see them through his emotions.

Delanie Sage said...

Ryan, I disagree. John Savage's name isnt ironic only because he lives on the Savage Reservation. While that may be one of the form of irony that shows, I think the main reason that his name is ironic is because he was born naturally. A natural birth is completely looked down upon in the society of Brave New World which cause John Savage and his parents to be looked down upon as well.

Anonymous said...

In the novel I think I would be more like bernard. Bernard has his own mind. He is differnet from everybody else in his own sort of way. Like most people myself included we are our own way.
2.) I think john savage is ironic because John is such a common name and "savage' because he was a savage and because he is so familiar shakespere.
3.) Birth and mother are considered obscenities because of the way the people are raised. They are raised to be programmed how they are, having the idea of a mom was bad in their eyes because of the way the sleep teaching taught them.
4.) the power of the language in the book is very strong and emotionally moving because the of how emotional the play is.Huxley probably gave john shakespere because shaksepere lived in a time where humanitariaism is about to show.
5.)Yes huxley vision had alot of bearing on the way he narrates the story because how he switches from first person to second person to third person and then it jumps from different people talking.
6.)The song I choose for this novel is Bad Touch by blood hound gang because how in the book they have casual sex and in the song talks about having casual sex like animals.
ALEX CRANE

Endri said...

Huxley's blindness in my opinion was an advantage. Since he could not experience everything a person that can see does, he relied on his imagination. BNW was written at a time when a cellphone would have been crazy to thing about, so a World State is even more oblivious. Huxley used his imagination to paint a World where everything was in order. His eyes, were not in fact his eyes, but rather his force behind his writing. His inexperienced eyes and wonderful imagination allow him to adapt the weird settings and dark tones. His blindness in the end served him well, and were not a burden.

Ryan Boyd said...

6. If i had to pick a theme song for the Brave nNew World i would pick fear the dark by the iron maiden. The song stands for a life style that is dipicted in the book, consumption without reason, style over substance, the pursuit of wealth and celebrity without a solid foundation or sustainable principles. This makes this a perfect theme song for a Brave New World.

Franklin Burroughs said...

Delanie: I agree with your answer to question 4 that Huxley chose to use Shakespeare becuase of how he can take something terrible and gruesome and make it sound beautiful.

Vicki Dobis said...

If I had to choose a theme song for Brave New World, it would be the song Brave New World by Iron Maiden. In this song they talk about similar things that relate to the book. The song talks about not being afraid of trying new things. A lot of this book is being brave because it takes a lot to clone people and the people being cloned have to be sacrificed as well. Also it talks about there was a new world during the time because new inventions, discoveries and many more things are coming out.

Delanie Sage said...

Jessie, I think the reason Huxley chose Shakespeare is not because of his popularity but he way with words. Shakespeare has a way of saying things that have different meanings. Symbolism is used repetitively throughout all of Shakespear's writing. The same style is used in some of Huxley's pieces. Huxley may be writing about something completely different but is using the plot of Brave New World to shield it. Maybe Huxley feels as if his writing styles are similar to Shakespear's. Maybe he strives to create novels and writings that resemble Shakespear's.

Anonymous said...

4) In Brave New World, John Savage bases his beliefs and views off of Shakespeare's writing. The reason why John relies on Shakespeare mainly because of the process of Hypnopaedia, the practice of sleep teaching, that was being performed on everyone in the civilized society. John's deep knowledge of Shakespeare gives him the advantage of attaining real and complex emotions and views, other than what was brainwashed into everyone else's heads. Shakespeare's work contains lots of deep and intense emotions, which truly relates to John's personality and how he wishes to view things. Overall, John's unique personality fits Shakespeare's work, creating a very helpful advantage for John as an outsider to the civilized society and the world in general.

-Miles Ard

Carrie said...

Brianna-
I agree that Shakespeare gave John the chance to express himself and it also gave him the opportunity to express his feelings and emotions. Then it gave him a chance to stand out from the other characters and be true to himself.

Anonymous said...

I agree with delaine with question number 2. The way she says about John being born naturally because he has a mother. The people of the world where they program you see that as being a savage because they were mechanically born.
ALEX CRANE

Vicki Dobis said...

Response to Kelly- You , as well as me, stated that John's emotions were more real because he could relate to Shakespeare's words. I agreed with this statement. Earlier this year we read "Hamlet;" do you think that the emotions represented in "Hamlet" were more real, or the emotions represented by John in "Brave New World?" Personally I think the language in “hamlet was more really because it meant more.

Endri said...

I believe that the song Brand New Day by Fireflight would be a great theme song. It sings about leaving the the past and starting a new life. It talks about a time when a world is not stable and people are fighting to hold on to the past. That even in dark times, you can always make it through. It suggests that there is always an escape route and you just have to find it. No matter how much you have been beaten down and scarred, you can always come back up with some help.

Corey said...

3) Birth and mother, in the novel Brave New World, are the two greatest obscenities. In their society, birth is not even spoken of. Most people were brought up by machines or grown in test tubes in factories. In our society, birth is the only way of reproduction. Meaning, sex is our source of passing on the family name. In Brave New World, sex happens for strictly pleasure, like they are animals. Today, children look up to their parents for advice and help. The characters in this novel do not have biological parents, meaning, there is probably no connection to bring these people together.

Anonymous said...

I agree with anonomous number 1. He/she said they would rather be Bernard becuase of how popular he gets. How he says "I had six girls last week, One on monday, two on tuesday and two more on friday, and one more on saturday." he got so much booty after he came back because of john.
Alex Crane

Endri said...

vicki #2 - I agree with your reasons as to why the name is ironic. Everything that they find erotic and disgusting is perfectly normal in our modern world. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure we were meant to be born with mothers. Then again I can be wrong haha.

Vicki Dobis said...

Ryan- I agree with Jessica 100%. I also think there are different ways of someone being a mother rather than just giving birth. You can mom can be a mom in many different ways. A mother cares for a child all the time, worries about their child and takes care of them and is there whenever they need it. You're not a mother just because you gave birth to a child, you can just have the “motherly touch”

Franklin Burroughs said...

Jimmy i agree with your answer to question 5. I agree that huxleys vision impairments doesnt allow him to have the smae exsperience than everyone that does have vision. i also agreewith how Huxley uses adjectives to describe the defferent feelings to better depict the picture

brianna kea said...

1.If I could be one character in the book, it would be Bernard Marx. He may seemed strange or what not, but he was his own person. Different from all the others in their “utopia. He always wanted “material like” things. Or the things he could not have. He strives for things too high for his reach. Which is so different from the other characters that the book focuses on. He's down to earth and just so normal at times.

5.Huxley uses a great deal of imagery and commentary, so that the readers can really envision the scene. The whole idea of Huxley being impaired while writing the novel is even better. So that he could write his novel with even more imagery. He already couldn't see, so he already had that creative image in his mind. When a person loses a sense, it causes anther one to lead them in life. Just the way he described things we're completely different than someone who could see.

6.If I had to pick a song to resemble the novel brave new world it would be, I don't need a man by the pussycat dolls. Everyone is “suppose” to be single and loving it. This song is exactly that. “ I don't need a man to make it happen, I get off being free”. Everyone belongs to everyone.

brianna kea

Carrie said...

Kelly-
I agree with your explanation of how birth and mother are obscene. But I disagree with the fact that women couldn't have babies. To me it's sad that children were brought into the world by test tubes. I think that children should be brought up naturally because it is a bond between a couple who love each other and if science is involved then that bond is broken.

Endri said...

Kelly #1 - I also agree that Mustapha is a powerful man which is why I chose him. I don't like being a follower either, rather have the power to myself. He is also smart and courageous which is phenomenal in a leader. Over all, he would beat me to a captaincy spot on a soccer team.

Delanie Sage said...

Danny, I agree with you but I also think that avoiding a mother's bond isn't the only reason that child birth is not allowed. I think that if the World's State wasn't so strict about Community and Stablity then child birth would be authorized. Originallity has been eliminated from the society. If mothers raised their own children, sleep teaching would not be a part of thier lives; therefore, the children would not be brought up with the same morals.

Vicki Dobis said...

Response to Miles-
I understand what you mean when you said how we today would look at John as a normal and civilized type person but in Brave New World they look down on John as "savage". If you weren't accepted into the "civilized" society in the book, you basically were considered "savage". But in today's society there are so many different people and different perspectives there isn't really a “normal” person.

Endri said...

Vicki #3 - To say that these actions are obscenities is oblivious. Marriage and natural birth are part of what makes us humans. Without marriage we wouldn't be loyal. Without natural birth, you can kiss our species goodbye.

Anonymous said...

I agreee with danny about the way he talks about shakespere. How his obscene language turns into beautiful language. It really captures John by suprise. He even says in the book"the strange words rolled around in his mind; rumbled, like when drums at the summer dances, if the drums could have spoken; like men singing the corn song." He is basically saying the words are like that of a beauitful song.
Alex Crane

Brianna kea said...

Jessie #3
i do agree with what your saying. it would mess up their entire lives and the "system" and that would be terribly wrong. Mothers we're not suppose to exist or that family connection in their "utopia".

Anonymous said...

5. Huxley jumps from a first person point of view to a third person point of view. He uses his ability to jump from character to character to paint a very wide and vivid view of the story. I believe Huxleys impaired vision affected the story by not allowing all of the characters to know all of the information that they may have needed to know. So he kind of incorporated his own life into the book. Because in his life he will never really understand the whole picture.
6. If I had to pick a theme song for Brave New World it would be Cold by Crossfade. I believe that this would be a good song because it talks about how this guy was so cold to his girlfriend. I think this can relate to the soma because he says that she was like his drug that got him high. The people in the novel use the soma like he used her, whenever they wanted and just to make them happy for a short time.
>Danny

brianna kea said...

Vicki #5
I do agree with what you said about the senses. When you lose a sense, it causes you to have to uses the other 4 to work harder. By using them, it does make the reader think harder and see deeper into the meaning. The author wants the readers to see what he saw.

Anonymous said...

5) Many authors narrate novels in their own personal tones and reasons. Huxley's narration of his novel, Brave New World, really speaks out about who he is because of the strange settings and scenes, creating a big impact on the book itself. I think Huxley's vision impairment he suffered for a part of his life really speaks out about how the book is narrated because it really makes you have to think in order to illustrate the settings and scenes in the novel from the distorted way he described them in the novel. It really brings out the reader's imagination and how Huxley's narration lets the reader have their own image or opinion on the book's settings. Basically, Huxley's purpose in Brave New World was to let the reader think for themself, not what the book directly describes.

-Miles Ard

brianna kea said...

rusty #6
i do agree with your song choice. The book is all about sex and physical relations. In this song, there are no emtional attactments and that is how it is suppost to be in their society or "utopia".

Franklin Burroughs said...

Xhesika: I disagree with Xhesika’s answer to question 1. Mustapha Mond is deceitful in that he proclaims that society has no need for knowledge and literature, yet he has an abundance of information on both topics and chooses to mask his awareness. Mustapha also has free will but at the expense of others.

chase said...

6. If i had to pick a theme song for Brave New World, it would be The Pretender by The Foo Fighters. I would choose this song because it talks about not conforming to society. This song relates to the book because basically the story revolves around the idea that everyone in society is the same and everyone conforms to what the government wants. However the song is the exact opposite. In the music video the song is being sung to an army of police in riot control gear. The lead singer is talking about not being a "slave", and "not like the others".

chase said...

1. If I had to pick one character to be in Brave New World I would choose Bernard Marx. Even though he becomes famous later in the book he is a little different at first. I'm not exactly the biggest guy around. Like bernard I'm pretty skinny, I guess you could say small. Bernard also seems to be fairly shy towards girls at the beginning of the book when Lenina is talking about him. Unfortunately I too am somewhat shy around girls when I first meet them. Until this year not many people knew me, but then I got really into pep rallys and got the morph suits. Now more people know me for things i have done, just like bernard.

chase said...

3. The two greatest obscenities in Brave New World are "birth" and "mother". This is because in the book children are no longer born, it is a thing of the past. Now children are "decanted" or removed from the bottles in which they grow. The children are kept from knowing anything about the past, so a word like birth which has no meaning in society anymore is considered obscene. Furthermore since children are no longer born from a woman there are no mothers. They don't believe that women get pregnant and have children because sex is no longer seen as reproduction, they see it purely as a form of pleasure and happiness. So "mother" is considered obsene because their is no such thing as a mother anymore.

Anonymous said...

6) If I had to choose a theme song for Brave New World, I'd choose Mad World by Gary Jules because of it's depressing-like mood and lyrics. In the song, it talks about how all around there are familiar faces and worn out places, with nothing being accomplished or going anywhere. I think the title of the song itself tells a lot about Brave New World with the civilized and savage societies and how they are run. This song's depressing mood really fits how life in the civilized society is so unnatural and blank, truely describing it as a mad world.

-Miles Ard

chase said...

2. The reason John's name is ironic is because he is the furthest thing from being savage. People in the book were accustomed to a happy, pleasurable lifestyle in which everyone, in each class, is pretty much the same. When they saw something or something out of the ordinary they automatically recoiled from it and looked down upon it. Such was the case with John. The main reason he was known as "savage" was because he was born on the reservation and has lived there his entire life. He is actually the complete opposite though. He may not have been considered civilized by the people in Brave New World, but in my opinion he was the most normal character in the book.

chase said...

Well first of all zach sounds very convincing. Even though i responded differently to question number 2 I agree with his position on the irony of Johns name. I can see how it is actually not at all ironic in a sense. However I think that my response is also correct, there could be more than one right answer.

Corey said...

4) Shakespeare is chosen as the medium of john’s intellectual awakening because Shakespeare’s style of writing reveals emotions in words that are never discovered until reading a Shakespearian novel. This reflects on John living in a world where emotions in the novels he reads can be compared to certain issues in his society. Hypnopaedia is a method used to teach children in the novel. However, the teaching occurs while the children are sleeping. This is an example of how the power of language has effects throughout the novel. Hypnopaedia tells the mind how and what to think by repeatedly sending messages, through words, to the brain of the child. The process itself corrupts the meaning of conversation.

Corey said...

5) The fact that Huxley was impaired for part of his life does affect his narration of the novel Brave New World. While not being able to see, Huxley had to use his sense of creativity, or imagination to be able to picture things in his head. Having this in mind, his narration causes the reader to have to use his or her imagination while reading this novel because the settings are so “out there.” Not being able to see caused Huxley to be able to strengthen his other senses tremendously. Having these strong senses makes him capable of putting more imagery into his pieces. He shows this in his writings by making things difficult to interpret, causing the reader to really think and create ideas in their head.

Corey said...

Xhesika: I agree that Shakespeare was chosen as the medium for john’s intellectual awakening because of his choice of words that reveal secret emotions. I also agree that hypnopaedia is a form of power of language in this novel. However, I do not see how the chosen way of teaching these children changes reality into feeling real or not.

Corey said...

Danny: I agree that mother and birth are the two largest obscenities in this novel because of the evolved society, but why does the emotional bond to a mother have to be their biological mother. A mother can be a guardian who has watched over this child their whole life and gained a strong comfort bond between the two of them. The child does not have to be created on a “lower” level to have an emotional bond with a mother, if the mother is not biological.

cole said...

If i was most like a single character, i would consider myself as Bernard. Because of his individuality and spunk. As i do, he refuses drugs (Soma). And he would like to act civilized around people he cares for. He is rebellious and extremely outgoing. But when found in a difficult situation he gives in to pressure and usually gets himself into trouble... XD

cole said...

The Irony "John Savage" holds can be explained in two parts. The first name "John" is used in today's society when naming un-identifiable bodies ergo- "JOHN DOE". John savage is the embodiement of the all man. The second part of his name "Savage" holds irony in that he came from the 'civilized' world outside of the reservation but is considered a savage. The name savage comes from only the "Savage Reservation" that he lives in with his mother Linda now.

cole said...

The greatest obscenities in the book are "birth" and "mother" because without the artificial birth that the process gives there would be individuality throughout the system and possibly corruption. The bokanovsky process obliterated the entire mother-child connection, as clones were being made as a possible 96 members at a single time. Although sex is strongly encouraged, birth was supposed to be a non-reality. and exempting John Savage along with the entire savage reservation it would be in the society.

cole said...

Huxley chose shakespeare as a medium for John's intellectual awakening because not only is shakespeares work one of the most widely known collection in today's society, but he himself is nothing less than an icon in the literary world. Shakespeare also created his work where the common man would decipher and understand it in a certain way, and the highly educated would decipher and understand in an entirely different aspect. John Savage uses shakespeare to break down the boundary between our present day world and the "Brave New World".

cole said...

Huxley uses his narrator(s) to show that many people have a part in the big picture. Huxley uses every main character as an output for a 'snippet' of the story. And his vision being impared is slightly ironic because he only gives us a piece of the story from every character. Until later on when the pieces all fall together just as Huxley's visioned returned.

cole said...

If i had to pick one theme song for Brave New world i would pick... "Social Disease" by Bon Jovi. The song says, "I sometimes feel like I don't belong in society" and it fits PERFECTLY with Bernard. Who is the only one who doesnt do Soma and loves to be rebellious. He also goes to the reservation to in a way escape the Society of the Brave New world.

cole said...

Hey Kelly, I kind of agree with your statement of why the name "John Savage" is ironic. He was looked down on in society because of his relationships with his mother and with the other savages, plus him growing up on the "Savage Reservation" didn't really help his status out so much.

cole said...

Zachary Baker, I found your answer to the language simply amazing. I didn't realize until you said something but now that I do, I see that Huxley only mentions one specific entrance of literature at all. During "John's Shakespearen rant" haha that you mentioned.