MIRANDA
a hypertext of Huxley's Brave New World

Questions for Chapter XI

1) Why is the word “mother” so much more inappropriate and scandalous in BNW than the word “father”?

2) What is the BNW reaction to Linda and what reaction might she get today?

3) Two characters are intoxicated in this chapter - which characters & what intoxicants?

4) What scene causes John to repeat Miranda's famous phrase "O, brave new world" and how is his meaning different from the first time he says this at the end of chapter eight? Why does John respond to this scene as he does?

5) Why are "upper caste, one egg, one adult" students "more difficult" to educate?

6) Note the definition of "savage reservation" given in the geography room - what priority system does this reveal?

7) Why do the Eton boys laugh at the scene of the Penitentes?

8) Why does BNW discourage solitude and why do they fear it so?

9) What is the "death conditioning" of BNW and how does it compare with ours?

10) What are the "feelies" and what purpose do they serve? Any modern parallels?