Brave New World Test

Where does the novel open and what is happening

Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre; the Director is giving a tour.

A.F. 632 significance

Stands for "After Ford"; reflects a technologically obsessed, dehumanized society.

First sentence description implication

"A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories" implies coldness, industrialism, and conformity.

Bokanovsky Process

A method to clone one fertilized egg into up to 96 identical embryos.

World State motto

Community, Identity, Stability.

Social Predestination Room function

Assigns and conditions embryos for caste roles to maintain stability.

Meaning of “Infant Nurseries

Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms”

Shelves of infants/unloading babies implication

Dehumanization; treating people like products.

Purpose of countryside hate conditioning

To increase consumption by discouraging enjoyment of nature.

What children hear in sleep

Hypnopaedic moral lessons and caste-based prejudices.

Khaki babies’ conditioning against books and flowers

Electric shocks during exposure to those items.

Hypnopaedia

Sleep teaching method to instill societal values.

Why games need equipment

To promote continuous economic consumption.

Mustapha Mond's role and view on history

World Controller; calls history and family outdated, incompatible with stability.

Fanny’s criticism of Lenina

She’s too monogamous; encouraged to be promiscuous.

Bernard’s issue with society

Feels alienated and disgusted by dehumanization.

Soma

A calming, happiness-inducing drug that eliminates negative emotions.

Why Huxley says “Suffer the little children”

Biblical allusion; satirizes loss of innocence and sexualizes childhood.

Lenina’s surprise to Bernard and his reaction

She accepts his invitation to the Savage Reservation; he is embarrassed.

Rumored cause of Bernard's abnormality

Alcohol in blood surrogate during development.

Red Rocket satire

Mocks supposed perfection of World State by comparing it to flashy but meaningless tech.

Helmholtz Watson

Alpha lecturer who, like Bernard, feels disconnected from society.

Bernard’s explanation of inner “something”

Describes emotional depth and repressed individuality; somewhat accurate.

Body disposal method

Cremation; phosphorus reused as fertilizer—death is commodified.

What’s consumed with after-dinner coffee

Soma; leads to orgy-porgy, loss of individuality.

Feelies vs movies

Feelies stimulate multiple senses; John finds them vulgar and shallow.

Solidarity Service

Satirized orgiastic ritual with drug-induced unity; mocks religion.

Elements of mysticism being mocked

Group rituals, artificial spirituality, manufactured transcendence.

Why Bernard wants time alone with Lenina

To talk and connect; she finds it odd and boring.

Lenina’s phrases to comfort Bernard

“Everyone belongs to everyone else”; “A gramme is better than a damn.”

Bernard’s “mad, bad talk”

Rejects conformity and conditioning; Lenina doesn’t understand.

DHC’s story to Bernard

Lost a woman in Savage Reservation; emotionally repressed.

Why DHC criticizes Bernard

Plans to exile him for nonconformity and improper behavior.

How Bernard avoids exile

Brings Linda and John (his son) to discredit DHC.

Public’s reaction to John and Linda

Fascinated by John as a "savage"; reject Linda due to her appearance and behavior.

Why Bernard gains popularity

Uses John to gain attention and social influence.

Helmholtz’s issue with Bernard

Disapproves of Bernard’s arrogance and superficial change.

John’s reaction to feelie

Disgusted; sees it as degrading and artificial.

Reaction to John’s refusal to perform for crowd

People resent him; Bernard and Lenina are disappointed.

Bernard’s response to rejection

Takes a large dose of soma to escape feelings.

How John influences Helmholtz

Introduces poetry, solitude, depth; they become close friends.

Bernard’s jealousy of Helmholtz and John

Feels excluded, seeks revenge via soma.

Lenina’s conflict

Struggles with emotions and love for John.

John’s quotes from Shakespeare

Uses them to express love, moral principles, and inner conflict.

Why John calls Lenina a “strumpet”

She offers herself sexually; he feels betrayed by her disregard for love.

Where John goes next

Hospital for the Dying; Linda is dying.

Who “invades” the hospital and John's reaction

Identical Deltas; their apathy toward death drives him mad.

Linda mistaking John for Pope

Flashback-induced confusion; she panics and screams.

John’s hospital action

Tries to stop people from taking soma; calls it poison.

Bernard’s real motive during hospital scene

Indecisive; wants to appear heroic but is scared.

What surprises John about Mustapha Mond

He reads and understands Shakespeare and classic literature.

Cyprus experiment similarity to Lord of the Flies

Society of only Alphas failed; chaos like the boys’ island society.

Enemies of happiness (per Mond)

Freedom, art, science—threaten stability.

Bernard’s behavior in Mond’s office

Cowardly, pleading; shows loss of integrity.

Why Mond envies the exiled

They get to think freely; he sacrificed that for control.

Cardinal Newman’s book lesson

Talks about God, aging, and suffering—excluded from BNW.

Why John gets angry

BNW’s rejection of God, truth, and real emotion infuriates him.

Understanding between Mond and John

John chooses suffering and truth; Mond chooses control and stability.

John’s new life

Moves to lighthouse for solitude, purification, and self-discipline.

Bernard and Helmholtz’s attitude toward exile

Accept it; Helmholtz is excited for real life experience.

John’s lifestyle

Fasts, prays, whips himself—seeks purity and redemption.

What ruins John’s peace

He is discovered by workers and media; becomes a spectacle.

Lenina’s change and John’s reaction

She is emotional; he whips her in front of a crowd.

Ending of the novel

John hangs himself after being pushed to moral and emotional collapse.

Bernard Marx

An Alpha Plus who feels like an outsider due to his small stature; insecure and critical of the World State's shallow values.

Helmholtz Watson

A handsome, intellectually gifted Alpha who becomes dissatisfied with the superficiality of society and seeks deeper meaning in life and art.

Popé

Linda’s lover on the Savage Reservation; he introduces her to alcohol and treats her poorly. John despises him and eventually attacks him.

Lenina Crowne

A Beta worker who vaccinates embryos and follows societal norms, though she experiences confusion and frustration when she becomes emotionally attached to John.

Tomakin (The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning)

John’s biological father and a high ranking official; he tries to exile Bernard but is humiliated when his past with Linda is revealed.

Linda

John’s mother and a former Beta who was left on the Savage Reservation. She becomes addicted to soma upon returning to the World State.

Mustapha Mond

One of the ten World Controllers; he defends the principles of the World State and explains its philosophy to John, revealing the trade-offs made for stability.

John, the Savage

The son of Tomakin and Linda, raised on the Savage Reservation. He struggles to reconcile his moral beliefs and emotional depth with the shallow values of the World State.