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Discussion/Essay Questions with Vocabulary
Note: We are unable to supply an answer key to these study questions. Original thought is looked for in answering many of these questions for which there is no "one right answer". We hope these questions will assist parents in discussing the book with their children. Those who haven't read the book themselves could still discuss these questions and ideas in a general way with their children, have their children discuss it with others who have read the book, or seek summaries of the book online to better understand it.
Foreward, Chapters I-II
utopia
heredity
viviparous
1. If Huxley had rewritten the book at the time he wrote the Foreword, what would he have changed?
2. How do human beings come into the world in the brave new world? Why?
3. When the Director is speaking to the students he gives them a little history lesson and they are embarassed; what is considered obscene in this society?
4. What was discovered about the uses of hypnopaedia? How is this useful in this society?
Chapters III-IV
consumption
promiscuously
morphia
1. How are people kept happy in the new society?
2. What evils does the Controller say the brave new world has eliminated that used to exist in the past?
3. Why does Bernard feel different from the others? What do people attribute this to? Why does he feel a certain kinship to Watson?
Chapters V-VI
Unatoned
consolingly
cajolery
1. What is a Solidarity Service? What is it supposed to accomplish?
2. What kind of attitudes does Bernard exhibit which distress Lenina? Why do they bother her?
3. What experience did the Director have while visiting the New Mexican Reservation years ago?
Chapters VII-VIII
precipitous
intimate
patronizingly
1. What distressed Lenina about her visit to the reservation?
2. They discover Linda on the reservation. What had happened to her? How did she adjust to the new society?
3. What kind of childhood did John have? What book greatly influenced him?
Chapters IX-X
pensive
heinous
impropriety
1. What does Lenina do to escape her discomfort?
2. How does Bernard get his revenge on the Director?
Chaptres XI-XII
rejuvenate
intoxicant
grievance
1. Why is John distressed about Dr. Shaw's treatment of Linda upon her return to society?
2. What laws does John feel he is bound by? How does this affect his relationship with Lenina?
Chapters XIII-XIV
sententiously
incoherently
ignoble
1. What misunderstanding occurs as a result of the different laws that John and Lenina obey?
2. What upsets John about the way his mother died?
Chapters XV-XVI
derisively
impunity
sedulously
1. What does the Savage do to upset Park Lane Hospital? How do the police bring the situation under control?
2. How does the Controller justify the abolition of freedom, literature, science, etc. in the brave new world?
3. What is the fate of those who cannot adjust to this society?
Chapters XVII-XVIII
tempest
compulsory
incongruous
1. The Savage is given the choice of staying in the new society or returning to his solitude. What does he decide? What does he recognize are the consequences of his choice?
2. What happens to the Savage in his solitude?
Questions courtesy of Sharon Mollerus