Brave
New World 
compiled by Ruth Palmer and Jeramie Crabtree
Sec. Ed. 276R
Academy
Curricular Exchange-Literature Review
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/lang/ceclang/ceclang023.html
A lesson plan easily adaptable for any novel. It focuses on developing questions
on different Bloom's taxonomy levels. Students ask and answer these questions
and are mediatied by "student judges" appointed by the teacher.
"Amusing
Ourselves to Death"
Postman,
Neil. Et cetera: A Review of General
Semantics 42:1 (1985): 13-18.
Postman writes a stunning and frightening article regarding the loss of humanity
when a culture chooses pleasure before freedom, connecting the idea with the
widespread television epidemic.
Ban It or Buy It
Backham, Richard H. "Huxley's Brave New World
as Social Irritant: Ban It or Buy It?" Censored Books, Critical Viewpoints.
London: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993. 136-143.
This article also discusses the reasons for censorship of the book. Beckham
reviews and explains the relevance of drug use, promiscuity, technological
advances, adn absence of God in the novel. Necessary information for any educator
who wishes to teach this book.
Brave
New World: Monarch Notes
Bureau of Electronic Publishing. 1993. 20 October 2001.
http://www.somaweb.org/w/sub/BNW_MonarchNotes.html
This is an excellent site! It discusses each part, symbol,
theme, and allusion in the novel, as well as providing historical background
for the time Brave New World was written. There is a brief history
of Huxley's life and a look at his work as both essayist and novelist. There
is almost too much to read, but the teacher wanting to establish a setting
for this novel would find this site irreplaceable.
Constucting
a Utopia
http://communitydisc.wst.esu3.k12.ne.us/CGI/TAF/cdunitplan2.taf?function=detail&Layout_0_uid1=6
- 19k
Focuses on the utopia/distopia theme of the book. It gives a detailed lesson
plan on how students would arrange their own perfect society based on their
knowledge from teh novel of things that could go wrong.
Five
and a half Utopias
Weinberg,
Steven. January 2000. 20 October 2001.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/01/001weinberg.htm
This is a discussion of Utopian literature in general. From Sir Thomas More's
Utopia to Brave New World, what might a real utopia be like? "Five and
a half Utopias" provides interesting background for a good discussion
or paper topic. Weinberg teaches at the University of Texas and earned a Nobel
Prize in physics in 1979.
Human
Cloning
http://www.globalchange.com/clonlink.htm
Human cloning is an important issue in the novel. This is an extensive website
on the subject. Students could research and develop their own opinions on
this scientific advancement.
Huxley,
Aldous: Brave New World
Coulehan,
Jack. 16 January
1998. 20 October 2001.
http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/huxley1256-des-.html
The priceless aspect of this site is the fact that it links to explorations
of other works of literature with similar themes, which could lead to further
research if a teacher wanted to teach a single recurring theme for an entire
semester. Themes discussed on this site relating to Brave New World
are as follows: freedom, genetic engineering, human worth, individuality,
power relations, science, science fiction, society, and technology.
"Huxley's
Brave New World"
McGiveron,
Rafeeq O. The Explicator 57:1 (1998):
27-30.
McGiveron takes an in depth look at the allusions Huxley made when he named
his characters. This would be an interesting addition to a study of Brave
New World.
Lesson
Exchange: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (assignment)
Haxton, John.(Senior,
Literature). 4 March 2001. 20 October 2001.
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2161.html
Haxton has written out some possible assignments geared for seniors studying
Brave New World. This can be used directly from the site, or modified
to fit any teacher's needs.
"Making
Use of the Literacy Debate: Literacy, Citizenship, and Brave New World"
Hankins,
June Chase. The CEA Critic 53.1 (1990):
40-51.
Hankins writes a fascinating article about the importance of literacy, bringing
to her case several instances from Brave New World.
Richard:
Brave New World
Cornelissen,
Richard. 1993. 20
October 2001.
http://home.concepts.nl/~corn_856/bravereview.html
This site is not exceptional, except that it lists all possible foreign words
and their meanings in Brave New World. These can help students easier
understand the culture Huxley invented. The definitions begin on page three.
Shakespeare and Aldous Huxley
Meckier, Jerome. "Shakespeare and Aldous Huxley."
Shakespeare Quarterly: Vol. 22, No.2. 129-135.
Examines Huxley's affinity for Shakespeare and how many of his works seem
to be patterened in a similar manner to those of the Bard. Meckier also discusses
the examples of Shakespeare's works in Brave New World.
Teacher
Cyber Guide
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/bnw.bnwtg.html
Great Educational Site. It contains examples of five student activities relating
to the themes of the book, objectives, lesson plans, and links to additional
information.
Teacher's
Guide-Brave New World
San Diego County Office of Education. 22 September 2001.
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/bnw/bnwtg.html
This site is temporarily down for construction or technical difficulties but
will be up soon. I used some of its bountiful information in my research paper.
There are five possible topics for discussion with activities and assignments
already planned. It is created by the San Diego County Office of Education.
Technology
and Gender
Deery, June. "Technology and Gender in Aldous Huxley's
Alternative (?) Worlds." Critical Essays on Aldous Huxley. New York:
G.K. Hall & Co., 1996. 103-116.
Investigates the depiction of science and women in a number of Huxley's works,
mostly Brave New World. This is a very useful article for discussion
or essay ideas. Deery points out many details of the book that could get lost
in a quick reading to support her thesis.
The Relevance
of Brave New World
Adams, Robert M. "The Relevance of Brave New World."
Censored Books, Critical Viewpoints. London: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993.
130-135.
Gives a great overvies of the major themes in the novel. Adams looks into
the possibly objectionable elements (drug use, emmorality, promiscuity, planned
society) and explains the importance of studying them. He also examines the
1934 publishing date and compares Huxley's view of society to today's society.
"The
Shakespearean Voice of Conscience in Brave New World"
Wing, George. The Dalhousie
Review 51 (1971): 153-164.
George Wing analyzes Brave New World with regards to Shakespeare and the Savage's
love of the playwright. He observes how Mr. Savage's perspective of the world
was shaped directly from his study of Shakespeare. It is not only interesting,
but would make an excellent transition between a study of Brave New World
to a study of Shakespeare.
Utopia
Website
http://www.euro.net/mark-space/Utopia.html
A good source for anyone researching different attempts at utopian societies.
Great for a class presentation or a research paper comparing those societies
and the one presented in Brave New World.
Information
compiled by Whitney Carlton.
Reading Activities (compiled by Jeramie Crabtree)
Before:
http://lion.chadwyck.com/searchFulltext.do?id=2741&idType=bio&divLevel=0&area=ref&forward=critref_ft&extra_link=biog
This is a biography on Aldous Huxley. It is rather lengthy, so it would be
best to highlight a few areas to share with your class.
http://web2.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=1&_ug=sid+C727C646%2D83A1%2D4D35%2DB736%2DFA64308156B9%40sessionmgr3+dbs+gih+cp+1+A72F&_us=hs+True+cst+0%3B1+or+Title+ss+SO+sm+KS+sl+0+dstb+KS+ri+KAAACBWA00020106+81BB&_uso=hd+False+tg%5B0+%2D+st%5B0+%2DAldous++Huxley+db%5B0+%2Dgih+op%5B0+%2D+F3F4&fn=1&rn=2
This is a better biography for the classroom. It is brief and to the point,
in order to keep students interested.
http://members.tripod.com/~siser/time.html
This gives an excellent timeline of the major events preceding and following
the publishing of this book.
www.Bressler.org
This page has some political caricatures that might be useful to demonstrate
satire.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/ford.html
This is an excellent article done by Time magazine on the arising of Ford’s
Model T vehicle. This would be a good background for the novel because it
explains the significance of the assembly line in modern industry.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/peoplescentury/teachers/index.html
This site is the PBS web site and offers several options for interviews (audio
and other) that could be used in lesson activities.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0111_040112_consumerism.html
This is an article from National Geographic on consumerism, one of the governing
principles of the society in the novel.
Back to Top
During:
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9703/04/clinton.cloning/
This is an excellent article about the controversial decision President Clinton
made to ban cloning in the United States—it could be used in a class
discussion on the ethicality of cloning.
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9702/24/cloned.sheep/index.html
This is an article exploring some of the issues and controversy surrounding
cloning.
http://whyfiles.org/034clone/ethics1.html
This is a fun tabloid style article about the ethics of cloning. It might
be an article the students could get into a little more because of the style.
http://www.nm.blm.gov/aufo/rec_brochures/BrochureHoleintheWall.pdf
This is a map of the Malpais area to help orient the students with the region
of the Indian reservation in the novel. It also contains a description of
the area and some history.
http://www.nm.blm.gov/aufo/rec_brochures/BrochureDittertSite.pdf
This is a map of the Malpais area to help orient the students with the region
of the Indian reservation in the novel. It also contains a description of
the area and some history.
http://www.goldenhourphotography.com/el-malpais/el-malpais.html
This site contains several beautiful photographs of the Malpais region.
http://www.nps.gov/elma/hist/fig9.jpg
This is a map of the Malpais area to help orient the students with the region
of the Indian reservation in the novel.
http://www.nps.gov/elma/hist/fig10.jpg
This is a map of the Malpais area to help orient the students with the region
of the Indian reservation in the novel.
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/bnw/bnwtg.html#1
This is a site that has several activities that explore the various issues
within the novel. These are issues such as brainwashing/propaganda, ethics
of cloning and the various viewpoints of the issue, encroachment of laws on
freedom, and prescription drug issues.
http://www.foothilltech.org/rgeib/english/bnw/culminating_project/Introduction#Introduction
This site has excellent ideas for a project exploring the brainwashing/propaganda
issue in the novel.
After:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145600/
This is a site for a movie review for the TV movie of the novel aired in 1998.
This could provide information to help obtain the movie as well.
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~slinder/BNW%20paper%20assignment.htm
This site has several different essay topics that you can used for student
writing assignments.
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/brave_new_world.asp
This site provides a brief synopsis of the novel, and some good discussion
questions to further student involvement.
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/huxley.html
This site has several different links to different web sites with some great
activities.
http://www.fact-index.com/z/zu/zuni.html
This site includes a history of the Zuni Indian tribe (the tribe John is from)
that would be useful for background information after or while reading the
section about the reservation experience. This would provide a great contrast
to the negative connotation that is given to the Indians in the book, and
provide an opportunity to discuss perspective.
http://www.allabery.com/courses/webquest/chaparro/
This site has several different writing/discussion topics for the novel—there
are some pretty good ones in here.
http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/t033.htm
This site provides the legal definition of totalitarianism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism
This site also provides the definition of totalitarianism with examples of
totalitarian governments.