Brave New World Practice Test

What is the World's State motto?

community, identity, stability

Where does the story begin? In what year?

Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, 632 a.f (after Ford) or 2540

Explain what is happening at the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre

a director is giving a tour to students of the hatchery that produces humans and conditions them for their predestined roles in society

What is Bokanovsky's Process? What is the result?

shocking an egg so that it divides to form up to ninety-six identical embryos, which then develop into ninety-six identical human beings, predestined to perform identical tasks, alphas and betas never undergo this because it weakens embryos

What are freemartins? What symbol are they given?

a female deliberately made sterile through exposure to hormones during the fetal development, they are given a question mark

What are the five castes of the World State?

alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon

What happens to the Delta babies after they were lured to the books and flowers?

a shrill alarm starts ringing and they receive a mild shock, afterwards when they are presented with the flowers and books the babies shrink away and wail in terror

Why were they conditioned to hate flowers?

In order to increase the consumption of goods, The World State decided to abolish the love of nature while preserving the desire to use transportation. The lower castes are now conditioned to hate the countryside but to love country sports. All country sports in the World State require the use of elaborate apparatus. As a result, the lower castes now pay for both transportation and manufactured goods when they travel to the country for sporting events

Explain how hypnopaedia works.

playing audio while someone sleeps repeatedly so that they memorize it without even trying

What word or words are "Our Ford" and "his fordship" replacing in this society?

lord

What unusual behavior is encouraged in the children's play?

erotic play

What does Mood mean when he says "History is bunk"?

history is not important and does not exist

What are a few "smutty" or "vulgar" words in their language?

mother, father, family, viviparous

Why does Fanny chastise Lena for going out with Henry again?

because she has ONLY been going out with him and not with other men or other men at the same time

What is soma?

drug that helps the people escape reality

How is Bernard different from other Alphas? What is rumored to have caused his difference?

he is shorter, rumor is that alcohol was put into his bottle when he was an embryo because they thought he was a Gamma

"ending is better than mending" "the more stitches, the less riches" How do these saying reflect the economic views of the state?

Mending, repairing any goods, is contrary to constant consumption, the economic basis of the World State

What is Helmholtz Watson's job?

lecturer (college professor)

Explain Helmholtz's feelings toward the state

He dislikes his job, thinks things he writes are senseless, and feels he has ability which he cannot use

What is the crematorium and for what is it used for? What is the point of this process?

it is a massive oven in which bodies are burned, and the energy released powers the factory

What is unusual about the "Bottle of Mine" song?

the song is sung in an upbeat tone, but is saying that people never wished they were born

Why is Lenina able to remember her birth control precautions despite taking so much soma?

she was trained her whole life, it's instinct, not a decision

What is the Solidarity Service? What is the purpose of the service?

the community gathering together in a temple like setting, they all gather in a circle, take soma, and have an orgy

What does Bernard do that makes him even more out of place at Solidarity Service?

he cannot get as high as everyone else on soma and he has sex with a woman with a unibrow

What does Bernard want to do on his date with Lenina that she finds odd?

he wants to talk to her instead of having sex

What did Bernard regret doing on his first date with Lenina?

having sex

What happened to the D.H.C and his Beta-Minus date when he visited the New Mexico Reservation 25 years ago?

she got pregnant, and "fell off a cliff"

To where does the D.H.C warn Bernard he will send him if he continues his current behavior?

Iceland

Rather than the soap, hand lotion and shampoo that we are used to, what do Bernard and Lenina find waiting for them in their hotel room?

contraceptives and soma

What did Bernard remember that he left running back at home?

the scent tap

How does Lenina react to the environment and people at the Reservation?

seh is horrified by the ceremony taking place

How does Lenina react to Linda? Why?

disgusted because she is old, fat, wrinkled and missing teeth

What about Linda is different from the other savages?

she is not from the reservation, she got injured while visiting and then stayed on the reservation

Who is John's father?

"Tomakin"; Thomas the director of the Hatchery

What substance satisfies Linda's craving for soma?

mescal

Why do the other women hate and therefore, whip Linda?

she slept with their men because she does not understand monogamy, which is what all the women on the reservation practice

What gift did Popè bring John when he was nearly twelve?

"The Complete Works of Shakespeare"

Describe what happened to John when we went with the Indian boys to the puberty ceremony?

John was not allowed to participate because he was "the son of the she-dog" and was forced to leave, he contemplated suicide because of this

What does Bernard say that he has in common with John?

they are both always alone, they are both different, they both dream, and they are both curious (about death, pain, etc)

What does Bernard propose to John? Why does he do this?

come back to London with Lenina and him, he wants to expose that Thomas has a son

What is John's reaction to this proposal?

he excitedly agrees

What does Lenina do immediately upon returning to the rest-house?

take soma

How does Bernard get permission to bring John and Linda back to the civilized world?

he tells Mustapha Mond who agrees that John and Linda are a matter of scientific interest to the World State

What does John do when he finds Lenina's personal belongings and then finds Lenina sleeping?

he recites passages from Romeo and Juliet to her and rifles through her bag

Why does the D.H.C. dislike Bernard? What does the D.H.C do to humiliate Bernard?

Bernard's heretical views on soma and sport, unorthodox sex life, refusal to obey teaching of Ford

How does Bernard turn the tables to humiliate the D.H.C.?

he brings out John and Linda

What causes an uproar of laughter from the workers in the Fertilizing Room?

John falls at the Director's feet and cries, "My father!"

How does the D.H.C. react to this news?

he flees and resigns immediately

What happens to the D.H.C?

he resigns

Why do the people not want to see Linda? What is the plan for her?

she is always high on soma,

How does Bernard become such an important and popular figure?

he is now the legal guardian of John

What word does Bernard omit in his letters to Mond? Why?

mother, it is considered obscene

The libraries of the World State contain only reference books. Why is this so?

So that the government can control what the people read and they won't read about emotion or feelings or opinions

What is a feely? What does John think about it?

a movie that appeals to the sense of touch, Jorn is disgusted by it

How do Bernard's party guests react to John's refusal to make an appearance?

they all leave

What happens to Bernard as a result?

he returns to his old sense of melancholy

Why was Helmholtz in trouble with the authorities?

reading unorthodox rhymes to his students at the college

Why is Bernard jealous? What does he do out of vengeance?

because John and Helmholtz are very close now, he takes soma

Why does Helmholtz burst out in laughter?

because Romeo fights for Juliet, and that is unheard of in Helmholtz's society, not only is having a mother and father ridiculous to him, but also fighting over which man their daughter should MARRY

What does Henry suggest Lenina do for her bad mood?

go to a feely

What is Lenina thinking about when she makes a mistake at work? What is the result of her mistake years later?

she wants John but cannot get him

What does John try to tell Lenina? What is her reaction?

he tries to say that he wants to get married and grow old together, she is horrified

How does John respond to Lenina's reaction?

he slaps her and calls her a wh*re

What "saves" Lenina from being trapped in the bathroom?

John gets a phone call and leaves

To where has John been summoned by the phone call?

the hospital for the dying

While John is by his mother's bedside, who interrupts his visit? Why? What is John's reaction?

a group of eight year old Bokanovsky boys, they are going through death conditioning, he is angry

Who does Linda think is actually there? What is John's reaction to this?

Pope, he shakes her angrily

What are the children given to reinforce their death conditioning?

chocolate eclairs

What does John see in the hospital vestibule? To what does he compare the khaki mob?

2 Bokanovsky groups gathering their soma rations

Why do you think John keeps repeating the phrase "O brave new world"? How is his tone different now from when he first arrived in the new world and quoted the phrase?

Who arrives at the hospital? What does Helmholtz do? What does Bernard do?

Helmholtz and Bernard, jumps into the fight to defend John, Bernard hesistates

How do the police suppress the riot?

spray soma and anesthetic vapor

How does Mond justify the banishment of Shakespeare and other beautiful things?

they last and are not constantly consumed

What does Mond say has taken the place of high art?

newness

Why can't everyone be Alpha-decanted and conditioned, according to Mond? What does he assert would be the result?

because then nobody would want to do the menial jobs

What was the Cyprus Experiment? What was the result? Why?

an island was made all Alphas, and they were given all needed jobs, only the intellectual jobs were done

What does Mond say is a "menace to stability"?

every change

What does Mond say is a "possible enemy"?

science

What is a "cookery book" according to Mond? What nearly happened to him as a result of his "cooking"?

What is Bernard's reaction to the hint that they were to be sent to an island?

he begs them not to exile him, he wants to be killed instead

To where does Helmholtz prefer to be sent? Why?

he wants to be sent to an island with a bad climate because it will help him write

What two things does John say that the people have sacrificed for their happiness?

What does Mond call the old books about religion, including the Bible?

bunk

Explain what a VPS does. What does it attempt to replace?

emotions of fear and anger

What rights does John claim? What exactly does this mean for him?

he wants God, poetry, real danger, and sin

What does John say metaphorically made him ill? What literally made him ill?

contamination of civilization,

To where does John go to be left alone?

the lighthouse

What does John do to himself in order to purify and rid himself of his feelings of guilt and disgust?

whip himself

What interrupts John's independence?

reporters

Why does John kill himself?

because he realized that he has whipped Lenina