Brave New World

Consider the World State’s motto: “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY” (3). Why is each of these values important? How does the World State government instill each of these values in its citizens? How successful are their attempts to cultivate each one of these three attributes?

What role does race play in Brave New World? In Huxley’s novel, how much of a link exists between physical characteristics and social caste?

Discuss the motif of twilight in Brave New World. What is significant about Huxley’s repetition of this word? Is the twilight in Brave New World natural, artificial, or both?

Discuss the character of Lenina. What makes her a dynamic character? Examine her “awakening” over the course of the novel (see pages 176-177). Although the ending is ambiguous regarding her fate, what do you think happens to her?

Discuss the character of John as a Christ figure (or as an ironic/satirical Christ figure). Pay particular attention to the final page of the novel. What do you think Huxley intends John to symbolize?

Discuss the role that social conditioning plays in the lives of the characters. Just because John grew up on the reservation, is he free of conditioning? How does each of the characters in the book respond to their conditioning? How do they each challenge the status quo? How much free will do they really have?

Discuss the role that solitude plays in the novel. Bernard claims to want solitude, but does he actually want to be alone? John intentionally seeks out a life of solitude as a way to atone for what he perceives as being his sins. Is solitude ultimately a positive or negative experience for the characters in the novel?

Discuss the role of sexuality in the novel. The Director remarks that, “feeling lurks in that interval of time between desire and its consummation” (44). Is promiscuity ultimately satisfying for the characters in the novel? Is the fact that the novel only mentions heterosexuality problematic? Are women in the novel empowered or harmed by promiscuity? Is John’s view of sexuality preferable to Lenina’s, or is it just as harmful?