Brave New World: Satire and Social Commentary in Huxley's Vision
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter 17 [231-] 10 min: Add any relevant quotes from Mustapha Mond in chapter 17 to your poster.
Chapter 16 & 17 [231-] • Is MM correct: “Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery… happiness is never grand”? What does he mean? • What happened to a society of all Alphas? What about in real life? • Why would World State not vaporize the unorthodox? Why is violence not the best tool for them? • Do you like the inconveniences of life? Which suboptimal moments have turned out to have value for you? • How does the freedom to be unhappy compare to the right to be happy? How does it compare to the freedom to say 2+2=4? • Why does “nothing cost enough here”? Do you agree with John? • Why does Huxley refer to John as “the savage” exclusively now? Irony? • How does MM represent Huxley’s social commentary? John? • What is the VPS? Why is it important? Do we need to express these feelings in life?
Chapter 18 [] • Why does John go to the lighthouse? • What is the fate of each of the main characters? • How does John purify himself at the lighthouse? Why does he do so? • How does media doom John? • How does Lenina act when she sees John at the lighthouse? • What happens to John when the crowd begins to imitate his behavior? • How does the crowd respond? What happens that evening? What becomes of Lenina? • What is the significance of the ending of the novel? What message does Huxley give us about the world through this resolution?
Chapter 16-17 • Is BNW an utopia? • What is the evidence for and against?
Brave New World: Satire? • To what extent is Brave New World satirical? • What evidence do we have for and against, in terms of the elements of satire? • Irony of the title and John’s usage of “O, brave new world”? • Irony of John as ‘the savage’? • Juxtaposition of World State and the Savage Reservation? • What else?
Huxley’s Future How accurate is Huxley’s vision of the future? Compare and contrast specific aspects of Brave New World State with the USA you know today in a Venn Diagram. The questions below are meant to spur your thinking as you work as a table group. • Do the citizens of World State/USA • share cultural values? • value art, philosophy, and literature? • have dignity? • show that they are civilized? • love their servitude? • live a dehumanized life? • value stability over individuality? • agree to be conditioned by society and controlled by government? • have “predestined” social roles? • What elements of BNW look good but are bad? What elements of life in the USA look good but might be bad?
Is the United States today a “Brave New World”? What aspects of contemporary American society look good but are actually bad? • Perception of super-wealthy population but in reality poverty is significant • 2nd Amendment—people argue that guns protect people but there have been 200 school shootings since Sandy Hook • Hollywood—fame draws people to LA but then the plastic society seems pneumatic • Social Media—a “filter” on our lives • Equality—legislating that equality is super tricky #harrisonbergeron • Free market—a small percentage of people get really wealthy #intime • Starbucks—you get the caffeine you crave but you also get calories, a costly beverage, and fewer coffee options nationwide • You can buy almost anything here—including things that will kill you quickly!
