Close Reading Handout Chapter 1:

Brave New World

1. What is the World State’s Motto?

The World State’s Motto is Community, Identity, Stability.

2. What does, “Wintriness responds to wintriness” (15) mean? Consider the use of the color
white in the second paragraph, what is the symbolic meaning here? Light symbolism?

The color white could mean bleak, and as we see in this book people are conditioned to fit their
environment so the workers match their cold white environment. The color white is also a
symbol for clean which I’m sure the factory must be since they are essentially creating life in this
building.

3. On page 16, the first full paragraph begins with, “’Just to give you a general idea…’” and ends
with, “compose the backbone of society.” What does that paragraph mean?

The Alphas must be give some sort of information to understand their society if they are one day
going to have to run it. This paragraph is discussing the idea that information is purposefully
hidden from the general population as they are “necessary evils.” The paragraph finishes by
saying people who know too much, like philosophers live in their head thinking about all the
information they know, are essentially useless members of society, unlike people who may not
know much but contribute to society like stamp collectors.

4. Why is it, do you think, “hard to say” how old or young a person is? What year are we in? (16)

It is hard to say how old or young a person is because it simply does not matter. Age means
nothing in this year of stability so people never ask. This book is set in the year A.F 632.

5. Predict: Why would a parallel be made between Jesus and Henry Ford?

A parallel is being made between Jesus and Henry Ford as Henry Ford is the man who created
this idea of an assembly line, something this society completely relies on. The assembly line is
how life is created in this society which makes Ford like a God figure like Jesus, who taught us
the correct way to live our lives.

6. What is the “operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society…”?

The operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society is when women “voluntarily” give
up their ovaries to provide eggs for the Center for Hatching.
7. What is “Bokanovsky’s Process”? How is it one of the instruments of social stability?

Bokanovsky’s Process is forcing an embryo to divide until it creates 96 new embryos from that
one original embryo. These embryos are labeled as Gammas, Deltas, or Epsilons, as they are a
lower class unlike the Alphas and Betas who are born from one undivided embryo.

8. Why so many identical twins? The director says, “’If we could bokanovskify indefinitely the
whole problem would be solved.” What ​problem​ would be solved?

Identical twins are basically used as machines to operate the identical machines. These embryos
will eventually be mindless factory workers doing the same mundane job everyday, which is
what they were created for. In this society, humans are needed for the mass production of
everything is one could bokanovskify indefinitely there would be an endless supply of humans
ready to work on the assembly line.

9. What is Podsnap’s Technique?

Podsnap’s Technique allows for eggs to mature or ripen rapidly to provide for more embryos to
be created in the factory. It would create 15o mature eggs within only two years.

10. Who is Henry Foster? Where do his two names come from?

His last name comes from William Foster, the leader of the Communist Party in the US who ran
for president many times and failed. His first name comes from Henry Ford who is regarded as a
god like figure in this novel.

11. What’s a freemartin?

A Freemartin is a woman who is given testosterone so that they become sterile. They are not
part of the group of women who are forced to donate their ovaries to the factories. This is over
70% of the female population who are sterile.

12. What does, “The lower the caste…the shorter the oxygen” mean? Why do they do this? (24)

The lower the caste the shorter the oxygen means that while the embryos are developing the
lower class embryos are given less oxygen during development. Oxygen affects the development
of the brain and the skeleton and is a way to reinstate this class structure. Epsilons do not need
human intelligence so they are deprived of the most oxygen during development.

13. What is “heat conditioning”? How is it used? (25-26)

Heat conditioning is when the embryos are placed in tunnels of extreme temperatures. Heat
conditioning is used so the embryos can be conditioned to enjoy or even desire the temperature
of the environment that they are going to eventually be sent to like mines or tropical forests.
14. What is the secret of happiness and virtue? Do you agree with the director? Why, or why
not? (26)

The secret of happiness and virtue is enjoying what you do according to the director. I believe
this is somewhat true as if you enjoy what you do you are most like to be more happy however
happiness also comes from within and if you are being controlled and are essentially powerless
in your actions can you truly be happy.

15. Describe Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning (iBook)

This is a room where babies are conditioned to hate or love certain things like for Deltas they
are conditioned to hate nature and books by electric shock so they associate bad things with
nature and books.

​Character’s Names: History and Background

Bernard Claude Bernard​-Fresh physiologist who Karl Marx​-Economist and philosopher

Max helped establish norms for scientific who co-wrote ​The Communist
study. Manifesto.​ Believed that through class
struggle, communism (belief in a
classless, equal society) would replace
capitalism and inherent inequalities it
produces.
Mustapha Mustapha Kemal Ataturk​-Turkish Sir Alfred Mond​-German-Jewish
Mond military figure who founded the Republic Industrialist and politician and an
of Turkey. He helped create a advocate for labor reforms such as
western-style, democratic, secular sate health care and profit sharing.
post WWI. Ataturk means “Father Turk”.
Henry Henry Ford​-One of the wealthiest and William Foster​-Popular trade union
Foster most well known people of his leader and General Secretary of the
generation. Best known for introducing Communist Party of the United States.
the assembly line to the manufacture of Ran for president multiple times, but
automobiles. Instead of building one car failed.
at a time, his system of replicated and
interchangeable parts allowed several
identical cars to be built at the same time
in different stages. Ford’s system made
mass production a reality and led to more
affordable cars. In May 1916, he told a
reporter, “History is more or less bunk.
It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition.
We want to live in the present, and the
only history that is worth a tinker’s damn
is the history that we make today.”
Helmholtz Hermann von Helmholtz​-19​th​ century
Watson scientist best known for inventing the
ophthalmoscope which allowed the
inside of the human eye to be viewed.
Lenina Vladimir Lenin​-Leader of a Russian
Crowne revolution and first head of the Soviet
Union. Wanted to overthrow the modern
world and became a dictator who
advocated mass terror against any
enemies of the state. Sent thousands to
work cams or to be killed.
Benito Benito Mussolini​- A fascist leader who
Hoover was the dictator of Italy from 1922 to
1943. His reign is remembered for
militarism, nationalism, oppressive
censorship, and wide-spread propaganda.
He was also a close advocate of Adolf
Hitler and allied Italy with Germany
during WWII.
John B. Watson​ – Founder of the
school of behaviorism and many books
on child-rearing. Said he could take any
twelve healthy infants and, through
behaviorism, create any type of person.
Crowne​-(crown) metonymy for the
monarchy in general.
Herbert Hoover​-31​st​ President of the
United States. Remembered for
presiding over the beginning of the
Great Depression. He was blamed for
the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and was
seen as being unable to remedy the
country’s economic problems.