Brave New World Summary: Chapters 1-15
Chapter 1
Why was the fertilising room an important place ?
Because there you see how humans are mass produced. Mass production is the most important tool in society.
How did the Bokanovsky process cause social stability ?
Because it was one of the main instruments of social stability where they were used with substances that stopped their normal growth and caused them to divide into 96 identical human beings each.
What happened to the female embryos ?
The female embryos are made sterile by giving them a male sex hormone. This makes them unable to produce eggs.
According to the Director, what was the secret of happiness ?
The secret of happiness is by making people like who they are and what society forces them to do. That is the secret of happiness.
Chapter 2
What happened when the babies were offered books and flowers the last time ?
The babies moved away in horror when they saw the roses and the brightly coloured pages.
Why were Delta babies conditioned to hate books and flowers ?
Because the Deltas waste Community time with books. They might read something that could undo parts of your conditioning. People can enjoy nature without buying anything. That is why they decided to abolish the love of nature, at least among the lower classes. They condition people to love sports that require complicated equipment. That way, they contribute to the economy.
3. Why was Reuben’s experience important ?
Because the principle of dream teaching was discovered for the first time.
Chapter 3
Why didn’t the State allow family life to exist ?
Because when everybody belongs to everybody, there are only weak emotions. Weak emotions are not dangerous, so society is stable, but strong emotions create problems.
2. Why was sleep teaching prohibited in the past ?
Because people believed in freedom, individuality and liberty. They also believed in something called democracy and opposed the caste system where you find people of high and low people and everybody knows their place and their job.
3. What was soma and why did people take it ?
Soma was a perfect drug and they took it because it was pleasant hallucinations so they could get away from reality when they wanted to and it has no side effects without headache
Chapter 4
Why did Fanny disapprove of Lenina’s relationship with Henry ?
Because she said it was wrong to have a long and intense relationship with only one man.
Why did Lenina think the Savage Reservation would be an exciting place to visit ?
Because it is a place where there is no civilisation and people still live like in the past but it is very difficult to get permission to go to one.
Why was Fanny horrified to discover that Lenina was interested in Bernard
Because Bernard doesn’t have a good reputation. They say he doesn’t like games and spends most of his time alone. He is very ugly and small. He looks low caste.
Chapter 5
Why did Bernard hate Henry Foster and Benito Hoover ?
Because they’re talking about Lenina as if she were a piece of meat.
Why did Lenina speak loudly in the lift ?
Because now everyone would know she wasn’t going out with just one person.
What made Helmholtz an outsider like Bernard ?
His exceptional mental abilities made Helmholtz an outsider but he felt that something was missing in his life but he didn’t know what.
Chapter 6
What were the bodies of people used for after they died and what were the advantages of this ?
That’s where the phosphorus is collected from the bodies that are being cremated. The bodies produce nearly 400 tons of phosphorus every year. It’s good to think that we can continue to be socially useful even after we’re dead by helping to make plants grow.
Why did the Director sign the permit for Bernard ?
The permit came for the World Controller’s Office and had already been signed by Mustapha Mond. Everything was perfectly in order.
What happened to the girl in New Mexico ?
They went horseback riding through one of the mountains. It was very hot. After lunch, they went to sleep, or at least he did. When he woke up, she was not there. It was raining heavily and there was thunder and lightning.
Chapter 7
What bad news did Bernard hear from Helmholtz ?that the director has announced to him that bernard will be transferred to iceland.
What disgusted Lenina when they got to Malpais ?That there was rubbish everywhere, with flies and dogs all around it.
Why weren’t there any old or sick people in the New World ?Because they don’t allow them to be so they were kept disease free, they keep their bodies young, they give them young blood transfusions. free of diseases, keep their bodies young, give them transfusions of young blood. And most of them die before they reach old age.
Chapter 8
Why was Bernard surprised when he first met John ?
Because he was wearing Indian clothes, but his hair was blond, his skin was white, and his eyes were blue.
What did Bernard realise about John and Linda and what made him realise this ?
His name was Tomakin. i he thought he had to be the director and that’s why he was very excited he was the double blood of him but they didn’t let him because his name is Thomas.
Why did people on the reservation think Linda was bad ?
Because no one is supposed to be with more than one person. And if you have more than one partner, people think you are very bad because she had been with a lot of men and women were going to attack her.
Chapter 9
Why did Linda feel ashamed to be John’s mother ?
Because animals and savages are mothers and have babies.
What did Linda tell John about the “Other Place” ?
She told John how everyone belonged to everyone else and how everyone was happy and never sad.
3. Why did Mustapha Mond agree to let John and Linda come to London ? Because they thought his fordship might find the savage and Linda of scientific interest, Bernard said.
Chapter 10
What reason did the Director give the workers for transferring Bernard ? This man is an Alpha-plus, but he has betrayed society. His unconventional ideas are dangerous to the order and stability of society. He’s a danger to civilisation.
What events caused the Director to feel humiliated ?
Linda said she had a baby from the Director, the son is John.
How did Bernard’s life change after the Controller made him John’s guardian ?
For the first time in his life, Bernard was treated as an important person by everyone at the Centre. Henry Foster did everything he could to be friendly to him. And now Bernard could have any women he wanted.
Chapter 11
How did John feel about civilised life in London ?
They all had identical faces, identical bodies and heights. John was so upset by these mass-produced people that he left his companions and went to vomit behind some bushes.
How did the children learn to accept dying as a routine thing ?
Every child spends two mornings a week in a hospital for the Dying. All the best toys are kept there and they get chocolate cream when someone dies. This way they learn to accept dying as a routine thing.
Why was Lenina feeling confused and frustrated about John’s feelings for her ?
Because he doesn’t touch her, he doesn’t look at him. But sometimes when he turns around suddenly, he sees him looking at her and then she is sure she likes him.
Chapter 12
Why didn’t John want to meet the people at Bernard’s party ?
Because he says he doesn’t like your civilisation or your civilised people.
Why did Helmholtz’s students report him to the Director of the college ? Because in the students’ poems they said they were alone.
Why did John protest when Lenina tried to kiss him ?
Because he wanted a pure and beautiful love, he wanted them to get married. But that wasn’t love, it was lust.
Chapter 13
Why did John’s reaction about Linda surprise the nurse ?
Because she had never seen any of the patients react like this with so much pain.
What was John’s reaction when Linda thought he was Popé ?
John was very furious that Linda loved Popé and not him. And he shook her violently.
Why did John try to stop the people from talking soma ? Because the soma was poison, the soma killed Linda.
Chapter 14
According to the Controller, how had the world and people changed since the time of Shakespeare ?The world is stable now. People are happy, healthy and safe. They’re not frightened of death. Their bodies don’t get old. They’re conditioned to behave well, and if anything goes wrong, we’ve got soma.
How did Bernard react to the Controller’s decision to send them to an island ?bernand knelt in front of the controller talking to him and crying hysterically.
What surprising statement did the Controller make to Helmholtz and John towards the end of the meeting ?That the people who are sent to the island are the most interesting in the world. They think independently and do not obey the rules of society.
Why wasn’t John sent to an island with Bernard and Helmholtz ? Because he said he wanted to continue the experiment. He wants to see what happens when a savage is transferred to civilization.
Chapter 15
Why did John go and live in the lighthouse ?Because their plan is to grow up and hunt for their own food. He had decided to live independently, without the comforts of civilization.
How did John’s life change after the film The Savage was shown ?A crowd of helicopters appeared over the lighthouse. Hundreds of people came out of them, looking and laughing, taking pictures and throwing peanuts and sex hormone gum at John.
What did John do when he saw Lenina ?He yelled at her whore and he ran to her like a madman and hit her with the whip.