MIRANDA
a hypertext of Huxley's Brave New World

Questions for Chapter IV

1) When the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron "liftman" (elevator operator) takes Bernard to the roof, the liftman repeatedly exclaims "roof" - what do you make of this? What might his day be like? Though we have no liftmen today, are there similarly tedious jobs that humans do?

2) What do the characters of BNW repeatedly wonder about Bernard Marx? How might this affect his character and responses in the novel?

3) In section one, what observations are made about time and what might this imply about their world?

4) What is the purpose of the Bureaux of Propaganda and the College of Emotional Engineering? Do we have similar institutions today?

5) Who is Helmholtz Watson and how is he distinctive from the other characters? What do he and Bernard Marx have in common? What does Helmholtz have to say about writing and the writing he does at work? What do these statements imply or reveal?