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Brave new world essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: dystopian themes in "brave new world": a critical analysis of social control, consumerism, and individuality.

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the dystopian themes in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," focusing on the concepts of social control, consumerism, and the suppression of individuality, and examines their relevance to contemporary society.

• Introduction
• Dystopian Elements: Defining Characteristics of "Brave New World"
• Social Control: The Role of Soma, Conditioning, and Surveillance
• Consumerism: The Pursuit of Pleasure and the Commodification of Life
• Suppression of Individuality: The Conformity of Citizens in the World State
• Relevance to Contemporary Society: Analyzing Parallels and Warnings
• Conclusion: Reflecting on the Ongoing Significance of Huxley's Vision

Essay Title 2: The Role of Technology in "Brave New World": Examining the Impact of Genetic Engineering, Conditioning, and Entertainment

Thesis Statement: This essay investigates the pervasive role of technology in "Brave New World," specifically genetic engineering, conditioning, and entertainment, and analyzes how these elements shape the society portrayed in the novel.

• Technological Advancements: Genetic Engineering and the Creation of Citizens
• Behavioral Conditioning: Shaping Beliefs and Social Roles
• Entertainment and Distraction: The Use of Soma, Feelies, and Escapism
• Impact on Social Order: Maintaining Stability Through Technology
• Critique of Technology: The Dangers and Ethical Questions Raised
• Conclusion: Reflecting on the Relationship Between Technology and Society

Essay Title 3: Character Analysis in "Brave New World": Exploring the Development of John "the Savage" and Bernard Marx

Thesis Statement: This essay provides a comprehensive character analysis of John "the Savage" and Bernard Marx in "Brave New World," examining their backgrounds, motivations, and the roles they play in challenging the societal norms of the World State.

• John "the Savage": Origins, Beliefs, and Struggle for Identity
• Bernard Marx: The Outsider and His Quest for Authenticity
• Comparative Analysis: Contrasting the Journeys of John and Bernard
• Impact on the World State: How These Characters Challenge the System
• Symbolism and Themes: Analyzing Their Roles in the Novel
• Conclusion: Reflecting on the Complex Characters of "Brave New World"

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The Relation of Brave New World to Our Society Today

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Ascertaining Whether The Brave New World is Actually Brave

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1932, Aldous Huxley

Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Bernard Marx, Mustapha Mond, Helmholtz Watson, Lenina Crowne, John the Savage

The novel is based on a futuristic society that is heavily controlled and manipulated by a powerful government. It is inspired by Huxley's observations of the rapid scientific and technological advancements during the early 20th century, along with his concerns about the direction in which society was heading. Huxley's vision in "Brave New World" presents a world where individuality and personal freedoms are sacrificed in favor of stability and societal control. The novel explores themes of dehumanization, social conditioning, and the dangers of unchecked scientific progress. It serves as a critique of the emerging consumer culture, where people are distracted and numbed by mindless entertainment and shallow pleasures.

In the futuristic society of "Brave New World," the world is governed by a totalitarian government that controls every aspect of people's lives. Humans are engineered in laboratories and categorized into different castes, each conditioned from birth to fulfill specific roles in society. Among them is Bernard Marx, an Alpha Plus with feelings of alienation and discontent. Bernard travels to a Savage Reservation with Lenina Crowne, his love interest, and encounters John, a young man born to a woman from the civilized world but raised by a native woman on the Reservation. John becomes a symbol of the old, natural ways of life that the World State has eradicated. Back in civilization, John's presence disrupts the rigid social order, leading to chaos and rebellion. However, the government suppresses the uprising and maintains its control. Ultimately, John becomes disillusioned with the superficiality and lack of humanity in the brave new world, leading to tragic consequences.

The setting of "Brave New World" is a dystopian future where the world is tightly controlled by a centralized government known as the World State. The story primarily takes place in London, which serves as the central hub of the World State's operations. London in this future society is a highly advanced city characterized by technological advancements, efficient transportation systems, and elaborate social conditioning. Beyond London, the novel also explores the Savage Reservations, which are isolated regions where people still live in a more primitive and natural state. These reservations are juxtaposed against the highly regulated and artificial world of the World State, highlighting the stark contrast between the two.

One of the central themes is the dehumanization of society in the pursuit of stability and control. The World State prioritizes uniformity and conformity, suppressing individuality and natural human emotions. This theme raises questions about the price of a utopian society and the loss of essential human qualities. Another theme is the manipulation of technology and science. In this dystopian world, advancements in genetic engineering and conditioning have been taken to extreme levels, resulting in the creation of predetermined social classes and the elimination of familial bonds. This theme highlights the potential dangers of unchecked scientific progress and the ethical implications of playing with human nature. Additionally, the novel explores the theme of the power of knowledge and the importance of intellectual freedom. The characters in "Brave New World" struggle with the limitations placed on their understanding of the world and the suppression of critical thinking. This theme emphasizes the importance of independent thought and the pursuit of knowledge in maintaining individuality and resisting oppressive systems.

One prominent device is symbolism, where objects or concepts represent deeper meanings. For example, the "Savage Reservation" symbolizes a world untouched by the World State's control, showcasing the contrasting values of individuality and natural human emotions. Another literary device employed is irony, which serves to highlight the disparity between appearances and reality. The World State's motto, "Community, Identity, Stability," is ironically juxtaposed with the lack of true community and individual identity. The citizens' pursuit of happiness and stability comes at the expense of their authentic emotions and experiences. A significant literary device used in the novel is foreshadowing, where hints or clues are given about future events. The repeated mention of the phrase "Everybody's happy now" foreshadows the disturbing truth beneath the facade of happiness and contentment. Additionally, the author employs satire to critique and ridicule societal norms and values. The exaggerated portrayal of consumerism, instant gratification, and the devaluation of art and literature satirizes the shallow and superficial aspects of the World State's culture.

One notable example is the television adaptation of the novel. In 2020, a television series titled "Brave New World" was released, bringing Huxley's dystopian world to life. The series delves into the themes of technology, social control, and individual freedom, exploring the consequences of a society built on conformity and pleasure. The novel has also inspired numerous references and allusions in music, literature, and film. For instance, the band Iron Maiden released a song called "Brave New World" in 2000, drawing inspiration from the novel's themes of societal manipulation and the loss of individuality. The song serves as a commentary on the dangers of an oppressive system. Furthermore, the concept of a technologically advanced but morally bankrupt society depicted in "Brave New World" has influenced science fiction works, such as "The Matrix" and "Blade Runner." These films explore themes of control, identity, and the implications of a society driven by technology, echoing the concerns raised in Huxley's novel.

"Brave New World" has had a significant influence on literature, philosophy, and popular culture since its publication. The novel's exploration of themes such as totalitarianism, technology, social conditioning, and individuality has resonated with readers across generations. One major area of influence is in dystopian literature. "Brave New World" established a blueprint for the genre, inspiring subsequent works such as George Orwell's "1984" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." These novels, among many others, have drawn upon Huxley's critique of societal control and the dangers of sacrificing individual freedom for stability and pleasure. The novel's influence also extends to the fields of psychology and sociology. The concept of social conditioning, exemplified by the conditioning techniques in the novel, has contributed to discussions on the influence of environment and societal norms on individual behavior. Additionally, "Brave New World" has made a lasting impact on popular culture, with its themes and phrases becoming embedded in the collective consciousness. References to the novel can be found in music, films, and even political discourse, highlighting its enduring relevance.

Brave New World is an important novel to write an essay about due to its enduring relevance and thought-provoking themes. Aldous Huxley's dystopian vision offers a powerful critique of the dangers of unchecked scientific and technological progress, as well as the potential consequences of a society driven by pleasure, conformity, and the suppression of individuality. By exploring complex topics such as social conditioning, consumerism, and the loss of human connection, Brave New World prompts readers to reflect on their own society and its values. It raises critical questions about the nature of happiness, free will, and the balance between individual freedom and societal control. Furthermore, the novel's literary techniques, such as its vivid imagery, symbolism, and satire, provide ample material for analysis and interpretation. Students can delve into Huxley's use of irony, character development, and narrative structure to deepen their understanding of the novel and engage in critical analysis.

"Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced." "Happiness is never grand." "Civilization has absolutely no need of nobility or heroism. These things are symptoms of political inefficiency. In a properly organized society like ours, nobody has any opportunities for being noble or heroic." "You can't make flivvers without steel, and you can't make tragedies without social instability." "But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."

1. Huxley, A. (2007). Brave New World (1932). Reading Fiction, Opening the Text, 119. (https://link.springer.com/book/9780333801338#page=128) 2. Woiak, J. (2007). Designing a brave new world: eugenics, politics, and fiction. The Public Historian, 29(3), 105-129. (https://online.ucpress.edu/tph/article/29/3/105/89976/Designing-a-Brave-New-World-Eugenics-Politics-and) 3. Kass, L. R. (2000). Aldous Huxley Brave new world (1932). First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, 51-51. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA60864210&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10475141&p=AONE&sw=w) 4. Meckier, J. (2002). Aldous Huxley's Americanization of the" Brave New World" Typescript. Twentieth Century Literature, 48(4), 427-460. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3176042) 5. Feinberg, J. S., & Feinberg, P. D. (2010). Ethics for a Brave New World, (Updated and Expanded). Crossway. (https://www.crossway.org/books/ethics-for-a-brave-new-world-second-edition-ebook/) 6. Buchanan, B. (2002). Oedipus in Dystopia: Freud and Lawrence in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Journal of Modern Literature, 25(3), 75-89. (https://muse.jhu.edu/article/46720) 7. McGiveron, R. O. (1998). Huxley's Brave New World. The Explicator, 57(1), 27-30. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144949809596803?journalCode=vexp20) 8. Higdon, D. L. (2002). The Provocations of Lenina in Huxley's Brave New World. International Fiction Review, 29(1/2), 78-83. (https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/IFR/article/download/7719/8776?inline=1)

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Brave New World

Aldous huxley, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Brave New World: Introduction

Brave new world: plot summary, brave new world: detailed summary & analysis, brave new world: themes, brave new world: quotes, brave new world: characters, brave new world: symbols, brave new world: theme wheel, brief biography of aldous huxley.

Historical Context of Brave New World

Other books related to brave new world.

• Full Title: Brave New World
• When Written: 1931
• Where Written: France
• When Published: 1932
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Dystopian fiction
• Setting: London and New Mexico, under the fictional World State government
• Climax: The debate between Mustapha Mond and John
• Antagonist: The World State; Mustapha Mond
• Point of View: Third Person

Extra Credit for Brave New World

Lukewarm Reception. Though Brave New World is now considered to be one of the most important works of dystopian fiction ever written, its reception in the 1930s was much more restrained, even negative. It was dismissed by some reviewers as an unsophisticated joke and as repugnant in its account of promiscuous sexuality. Granville Hicks, an American Communist, even attacked Huxley as privileged, saying his book showed that Huxley was out of touch with actual human misery.

The Doors of Rock and Roll. As one might expect, Huxley's book about his experiences with hallucinogenic drugs, The Doors of Perception , was a cult classic among certain groups. One of those groups was a rock and roll band in search of a name. After Jim Morrison and his friends read Huxley's book, they had one: The Doors.

A Fresh Perspective on “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley

This essay about Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” provides an analysis of the dystopian themes and societal critiques presented in the novel. It discusses the futuristic setting where the World State controls every aspect of life, categorizing citizens into castes and eliminating individuality through conditioning and the drug soma. The narrative follows characters like Bernard Marx and John the Savage, who challenge the societal norms and expose the cost of maintaining such a controlled utopia. The essay explores the novel’s reflection on contemporary issues like technological control, loss of personal freedom, and the ethical dilemmas of progress, suggesting that Huxley’s work remains relevant today as it questions the balance between societal stability and personal freedom. Through “Brave New World,” the essay prompts readers to consider the moral implications of our own societal choices and the future we are navigating.

How it works

In his dystopian novel “Brave New World,” Aldous Huxley presents a terrifying picture of a society in which the government has painstakingly planned every aspect of society to guarantee stability and happiness for all. First published in 1932, the book continues to be a key work of dystopian literature, addressing issues of control, technology, and the willingness to give up personal freedom in the name of social harmony. As we delve deeper into Huxley’s universe, we find a civilization that at first glance could seem utopian—all disputes and discomforts are supposedly eliminated—but a closer look exposes a troubling price for this peaceful way of life.

The futuristic London of “Brave New World” is ruled by the World State, which assumes the appearance of kindness but really has an iron grip. From birth, the residents are socialized into classes that range from the highly intelligent Alphas to the lowly Epsilons who work as laborers. This indoctrination permeates every aspect of life, as individuality is reduced to a historical idea and free will is given up for the benefit of the group.

The government ensures compliance through the distribution of soma, a drug that eradicates pain and ensures compliance among the masses, promoting an ethos of “a gramme is better than a damn.” Huxley’s narrative begins to twist when Bernard Marx, an Alpha plus psychologist, feels out of sync with the society he’s supposed to lead. His restlessness leads him to question the foundations of the World State, a curiosity ignited further by his relationship with Lenina Crowne and his interactions with John, a “savage” from an unassimilated reservation in New Mexico.

John, who grew up outside the societal norms of the World State, serves as a poignant contrast to the controlled denizens of the utopia. His presence in London acts as a catalyst, challenging the core tenets of this society. His struggle with the World State’s ethos of consumption, sexual freedom, and emotional suppression brings the philosophical debates to the forefront of the narrative. The tragic arc of John’s character underscores the novel’s central thesis: the loss of human dignity and freedom in the face of technological and governmental control.

Through vivid characterization and a richly imagined world, Huxley critiques contemporary issues of his time, many of which resonate profoundly today. The novel contemplates the impact of advanced science and technology on human values and behaviors, highlighting the dangers of a society willing to sacrifice liberty for perceived security and comfort. It prompts a reflection on the meaning of happiness and the price of progress, questioning whether true contentment requires a balance between freedom and order.

As we reflect on Huxley’s work in the context of modern society, it’s apparent that many of the ethical and philosophical questions he raised remain pertinent. From genetic engineering to the role of government in personal lives, “Brave New World” offers a crucial lens through which to examine the moral implications of our choices. Huxley’s speculative world, with its technological wonders and social stratifications, serves not only as a warning but also as a mirror, reflecting our own struggles with technological advancement and ethical governance.

In summary, “Brave New World” is a pertinent remark on the modern world as well as a relic of dystopian literature. Readers are prompted to consider the future of our civilization by its examination of the human condition, societal expectations, and the frequently hazy boundary between utopia and dystopia. Huxley’s book serves as a timely warning of what happens to us when we let the monetization of human experience determine our future, even while we forge our own daring new paths. It is an engaging investigation on the extent and price that mankind should pay in its quest for the ideal society.

This classic story still functions as a critical analysis of our decisions and goals, demonstrating how a deeper comprehension of a work this complex may enhance not only our enjoyment of literature but also our grasp of society structures and the human mind.

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Brave New World

Introduction to brave new world.

Aldous Huxley ’s dystopic novel , Brave New World , was published in 1932. It became an instant hit for the way it presented the futuristic world as amazing and stunning at that time when WWII was still not on the horizon and the people were technologically not as advanced as presented in this novel. On account of the ingenious presentation of that social fabric, the novel was ranked as the best English novel of the century. Huxley wrote sequels in essay form Brave New World Revisited (1958), and with his final novel, Island (1962). The story revolves around the World State where people have been put into hierarchical order after they come out of hatcheries and are graded on the basis of their functions and performance duly monitoring and surveilled.

Summary of Brave New World

The story starts from the Hatching and Conditioning Centre, located in London where its director and assistants are lecturing the touring boys. They learn about processes Bokanovsky and Podsnap used for creating identical human beings through the embryonic processes in which different human beings are produced in factories into separate castes of Alpha and Beta at the top. The Alpha takes up the higher positions in the World States and other positions go to other castes in hierarchical order. The last race, the Epsilons, are occupying the final stage at the bottom of the hierarchy for doing labor. One of the employees also informs the boys about the vaccination procedure. From there, they visit the Nursery and see the programming of the infants through different techniques. Such as the use of ‘Soma’ drugs to escape unpleasant experiences.

When the students come into the open, they see games and sexual acts where a World Controller, Mustapha Mond, delivers a lecture to the touring students about history, the State’s narrative , and the nation’s ideology. Simultaneously, Lenina talks to Fanny about her intimacy with Henry Foster at which Fanny rebukes her for becoming too intimate and not being promiscuous. However, Lenina also informs her that she has already met Bernard Marx, a short and funny-looking guy for an Alpha caste and different than his peers.

Meanwhile, Bernard becomes furious about Lenina’s mention in the conversation of Henry and one of the assistants. Engaged in work, Lenina then informs Bernard that she would be gladdened to have the trip to the Savage Reservation. Meanwhile, Bernard meets his friend, Helmholtz Watson, for having disenchanted from the World Estate on account of their shortcomings. When Bernard applies for permission to visit the reservation, he has to go through the rigors of listening to the director’s tales before winning it. The director becomes nostalgic by mentioning his own trip to Reservation twenty years ago with a woman who was never to be recovered. He also learns about his exile and reviles at it but then moves to the reservation.

When he is on the reservation, he and Lenina are surprised to see its aging population contrary to the youth of the World State. They also watch religious rituals going on and they meet John, who narrates the story of Linda, his mother having met years back. Bernard senses Linda associated with his director in the past and learns about her ostracization from the village because of her willingness to sleep with various men and her book reading habit developed by Pope, her former lover. When Bernard agrees to take John to his world, he also asks him to take Linda with him.

Then Bernard promises him and asks Mustapha for permission to take Linda back. All of them fly back to London where the Director is waiting to confront Bernard, but he brings John and Linda instead and forces the Director to resign. So, John becomes a big hit in the society of London on account of his alienated look. However, he does not fit well in this world and with Lenina. Although Bernard becomes promiscuous, John hardly touches Lenina who becomes confused over his self-control and tries to seduce him on many occasions but fails. Despite Bernard’s insistence, John stays reclusive and refuses to meet important guests. Bernard, then, introduces him to Helmholtz and others and ridicules the reading of Romeo and Juliet by John for these ideas being foreign to the World State and its existing cultural milieu.

Lenina soon takes to John, visiting his apartment and taking soma. She confesses her feelings for him and he reciprocates. Hearing this she offers herself to him but ridiculed by the promiscuity of the World state he curses by using the lines from Shakespeare. However, John rebuffs her every effort. During this time, he comes to know about the death of Linda while Lenina was in the bathroom. He, later, says goodbye to her at the Hospital for the Dying. John is left to meet the clones having their soma ration. He tries to raise a rebellion among them but only causes riots which attract the attention of Helmholtz and Bernard.

However, the police arrive and arrest them all to bring them to Mustapha Mond. There they hold a debate on the policies, leading to John argue his cause and Mond responding to his arguments . While John argues in the favor of art and religion, Mond rejects his claims , adding these are useless things. Soon he exiles Helmholtz and throws Bernard out, threatening to reassign him to Iceland. Meanwhile, John says goodbye to them and stays far away in an abandoned lighthouse to purify himself by starving and flagellating. This catches the attention of a photographer leading many sight viewers to visit John. Meanwhile, Lenina arrives at which John calls her ‘strumpet’ and whipping her and himself. He cries out at her ‘Kill it, kill it’. The intensity of emotion leads the crowd to engage a party in which John participates. At the final realization, he commits suicide for submitting to the World State after that.

Major Themes in Brave New World

• Commodification: The novel shows the commodification of life in that human beings are being hatched, brought up, taught, and eliminated as if they are commodities. When the touring students come to know about hatcheries, they also learn how they are run. Thomas is monitoring Hatcheries and Conditioning Centers where Marx and Foster have been born to lead others. Crowne and Linda, too, show commodified human beings. When John visits the World State, he comes to know the application of this commodification by the upper class to keep on ruling the lower class. The purpose of commodification has been shared by Bokanvosky’s process in which it has been ensured that the new generation conforms to the social structure they are going to live in.
• Dystopian Society: The novel presents a dystopian society where human beings have lost not only their freedom but also their independence. Emotionless, they are being marked in the D.H.C. assembly line. Even if they have some common sense , they keep it to themselves such as Thomas and Marx. Human natural conditioning and mental preparation have also created a dystopia where human beings have become subservient to machines and mechanical behavior. That is why Lenina fails in hooking John who questions this very culture of the World State.
• Utilitarianism: The novel shows utilitarianism through the efforts of Big Brother to establish the Hatcheries for human production as well as conditioning. The savage, John, who visits the World State, comes to know this mechanical routine and detests it. He thinks that Soma food does not fit human beings. Instead of appreciating, he rather berates it and debates it with Mustapha. However, John preaches that though this system utilizes human beings, it is not akin to nature such as taking soma to experience human emotions is unnatural. Lenina’s engagement in promiscuity and her suicide points to the absence of this natural element she could not brook.
• Misuse of Science: brave new world shows the thematic strand of the misuse of science in that human engineering through hatching and conditioning has created desired characters. However, they do not conform to the new ethical framework of the World State. The director briefs the student about the paid voluntary work and conditioning of the Alpha males. The characters of Helmholtz and Bernard Marx have been conditioned, yet they are independent in their thinking most of the time. When Marx does not conform to the standards set by the World State, he is exiled. Similarly, hypnopedia for children and soma food point to this misuse of science.
• Dehumanization: The novel presents the dehumanization of its characters through different strategies adopted by the political elite. Human engineering and scientific techniques have successfully changed the behavior of some characters, yet humanity emerges from Lenina who does not find peace or Helmholtz and Marx who do not conform to the existing rules. Although soma has done its job well, yet the use of Bokanvosky’s process has, to some extent, makes dehumanization possible.
• Consumer Society: The theme of consumerism is significant in the novel in that human beings in the World State are primarily consumers who are fed with specific conditioning and specific food, soma, in order for them to conform to the social fabric created by the World State. That is why John does not become its consumer and shows other characters independence of thinking beyond marketing mechanism.
• Human Emotions: The novel sheds light on human emotions that though they could be engineered, robbed, taken away, and even subverted, yet human beings have the capability to feel empathy, sympathy and realize the dearth of these emotions. That is why when Lenina does not feel soma resolving her problems, she commits suicide and Bernard Marx has shown his desire to control his emotions.
• Genetic Engineering: The production line of the Hatchery and Conditioning center shows that the genetic engineering of humanity and its threat to the natural life cycle is not a figment of imagination. The creation of Alpha males or even the best human beings as argued by Mustapha does not seem a far-fetched idea. The subversion of the thoughts of Lenina and Bernard Marx and the surprising arguments of John show that humanity is facing this threat now .
• New Totalitarianism: The theme of new totalitarianism is significant. It is seen through characters like Mustapha Mond or Bernard Marx, as they are being controlled by the center. The World State has produced a culture where individuals have lost their individuality. Thomas views this as an “inescapable social identity” of every individual that conforms to the social structure engineered by the World State.

Major Characters Brave New World

• Bernard Marx: Bernard Marx is one of the protagonists along with John as they meet during the trip of the students to the hatchery. His special task is to teach sleep learning. Belonging to Alpha plus class has blessed him to think independently, a feature that makes him unfit for the World State society. It is, however, attributed to his stunted growth due to alcohol addiction. His mental independence has given him a feature that makes him empathetic toward others. Most of his character traits show that his condition is not executed properly and that his indifference lies in this. That is why he does not enjoy taking soma and feels a grudge against Lenina for enjoying her life. He leaves the World State by the end after his meeting with Helmholtz as he does not seem to fit into the society where his life constantly faces threats.
• John the Savage: Despite his supposed savageness, John is an important character in the novel. He was brought up on the Savage Reservation where he has learned sympathy and empathy, his two manly traits. Despite his otherness in the World State, he seems supposedly unethical except when he comes to know about Malpais. He could not understand the promiscuity of his mother and the enjoyment of the Malpasian males. His poetic rendering stays with him despite his tour of the World State and giving priority to freedom and not reconciling with existing contradictions, he ends his life.
• Helmholtz Watson: The character of Helmholtz Watson is equally important when starts to involve in the building of a new culture through engaging himself in emotional engineering. Befriending Bernard Marx has given him a point to vie for his attractiveness and intelligence despite his efforts to rationalize his dislike for him. Surprisingly, he loves poetry and lashes out at the wrong cultural engineering at the World State policy though he has been brought upon in a culture different from that of John the Savage. When he helps John to throw away soma by the end, he is exiled from the World State, considering his assistance an act of rebellion.
• Lenina Crowne: A teenager of just 19, Lenina Crowne is a female character of the novel who is working in the hatchery as a technician. Despite her being a lucky figure in the World State, she is promiscuous and becomes easy-going with almost everyone. Being in a relationship with Henry Foster does not impact her. She often uses soma to support her emotional state and goes to the reservation to enjoy life with Marx. When John spurns her advances by the end, she disappears from the novel.
• Mustapha Mond: As the controller in the country, Mond presides over the administration of one zone to consolidate the reins of the government. He controls the people about their do’s and don’ts in this connection and knows what to put on the pedestal of sacrifice for the greater good of the state. Although he is a physicist, he loves to please the public by proving that history is just a bunk and nothing else. He has evolved his own concepts about different social and individual values and finally lets John go to his mother by the end of the novel.
• Henry Foster: As an Alpha male, Foster musters the courage to flirt with Lenina, though, he quits immediately sensing his own future going to dogs. His casual behavior angers Bernard who warns him after which he moves on with the conventions, not showing his waywardness.
• Linda: Belonging to Beta-minus class, Linda is another significant female character who has a savage son, has brought upon on the reservations, yet she works in the Fertilizing Room. Having become a prostitute, Linda shows her other side that she cannot tolerate the type of life. Not able to bear it anymore, she takes too much soma to take her life.
• Thomas: Working as a D. H. C., Thomas is well-known in his circle as Tomakin and only appears in the initial chapters of the story. He briefs the students about the working of the hatchery and its role in the World State. Having a pedantic persona , Tomakin keeps a close watch on rebellious people like Bernard to whom he dispatches to Iceland as punishment. He resigns after Bernard confronts him about John to whom he fathered on the Reservation.
• Fanny Crowne: A friend of Lenina, Fanny presents herself as a typical lady in the World State. She is not her relative, yet she has a strong impact on Lenina in ruining her life by asking her to become promiscuous. Despite her own conditioning, she advises others to go wayward which is rather a surprising thing about her.
• Benito Hoover: A minor character, Hoover loves Lenina despite belonging to the Alpha class in the state. His name signifies two great dictators of the WWII era.

Writing Style of Brave New World

The writing style of Brave New World is known for highly detailed and technologically loaded diction . The characters are conditioned to live in that technologically modified world where the use of emotions is considered an abomination. The overall ironic style is called a mocking style in which the most vital information is held to be disclosed quite late in the text. It happens not only in the case of Bernard but also in Lenina. However, in terms of language, Huxley is highly precise to the point of clinical accuracy. He knows how to use diction appropriately to convey suitable meanings. For figurative language and literary devices , the author mostly turned toward metaphors , similes, irony , and sarcasm .

Analysis of the Literary Devices in Brave New World

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the whole life and growth of the political landscape of the World State as shown through Mustapha Mond, John, Bernard, and Lenina. The falling action occurs John could not brook the situation, isolates himself, and engages in punishing himself. The rising action moment of the novel arrives when Marx and Lenina visit the Savage Reservation and meets John.
• Anaphora : The novel shows examples of anaphora such as, i. We slacken off the circulation when they’re right way up, so that they’re half starved, and double the flow of surrogate when they’re upside down. They learn to associate topsy-turvydom with well-being; in fact, they’re only truly happy when they’re standing on their heads. (Chapter-One) The example shows the repetitious use of “they’re.”
• Alliteration : brave new world shows the use of alliteration at several places as the examples given below, i. Government’s an affair of sitting, not hitting. You rule with the brains and the buttocks, never with the fists. For example, there was the conscription of consumption. (Chapter-3) ii. “As though I’d been saying something shocking,” thought Lenina. “He couldn’t look more upset if I’d made a dirty joke–asked him who his mother was, or something like that.” (Chapter-4) iii. But though the separating screen of the sky-signs had now to a great extent dissolved, the two young people still retained their happy ignorance of the night . (Chapter-5) Both of these examples from the novel show the use of consonant sounds such as the sound of /s/ occurring after an interval to make the prose melodious and rhythmic.
• Allusion : The novel shows good use of different allusions as given in the below examples, i. “Well, Lenina,” said Mr. Foster, when at last she withdrew the syringe and straightened herself up. (Chapter-I) ii. “O wonder!” he was saying; and his eyes shone, his face was brightly flushed. “How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!” (Chapter-8) iii. He hated Popé more and more. A man can smile and smile and be a villain. Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain. What did the words exactly mean? (Chapter-8) iv. Did he dare? Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that … No, he didn’t. The bird was too dangerous. His hand dropped back. How beautiful she was! How beautiful! (Chapter-9) The first example shows the reference to Lenin, the second to The Tempest by Shakespeare and the third to Hamlet , and the fourth to Romeo and Juliet both by Shakespeare.
• Antagonist : Mustapha Mond is the antagonist of the novel as he appears to have tried his best to spread the domination of the World State by working as the Controller.
• Conflict : The novel shows both external and internal conflicts. The external conflict is going on between John who has been bred up in the natural world and other characters who have been conditioned. There is also an internal conflict in the mind of Lenina who could not brook this controlling atmosphere .
• Characters: The novel shows both static as well as dynamic characters. The young boy, John, is a dynamic character as he shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the novel. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation such as Mustapha Mond, Bernard Marx, and Helmholtz Watson as well as Fanny.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when Linda commits suicide and John vows to bring a revolution to change the system.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows many instances of foreshadows. For example, i. A SQUAT grey building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State’s motto , COMMUNITY , IDENTITY, STABILITY. (Chapter-1) ii. INFANT NURSERIES. NEO-PAVLOVIAN CONDITIONING ROOMS, announced the notice board. (Chapter-II) The mention of state, slogans, and nurseries show that this is some modern state set in the future. Therefore, this is an apt use of foreshadows.
• Hyperbole : The novel shows various examples of hyperboles such as, i. He was digging in his garden–digging, too, in his own mind, laboriously turning up the substance of his thought. Death–and he drove in his spade once, and again, and yet again. (Chapter-18) ii. The Savage nodded. “I ate civilization.” “What?” “It poisoned me; I was defiled. And then,” he added, in a lower tone , “I ate my own wickedness. (Chapter-18) Both examples exaggerate things as digging the mind and eating civilization are exaggerations .
• Imagery : brave new world shows the use of imagery . A few examples are given below, i. Hot tunnels alternated with cool tunnels. Coolness was wedded to discomfort in the form of hard X-rays. By the time they were decanted the embryos had a horror of cold. They were predestined to emigrate to the tropics, to be miner and acetate silk spinners and steel workers. Later on their minds would be made to endorse the judgment of their bodies. (Chapter-1) ii. There was a loud noise, and he woke with a start. A man was saying something to Linda, and Linda was laughing. She had pulled the blanket up to her chin, but the man pulled it down again. His hair was like two black ropes, and round his arm was a lovely silver bracelet with blue stones in it. (Chapter-8) iii. A moment later he was inside the room. He opened the green suit-case; and all at once he was breathing Lenina’s perfume, filling his lungs with her essential being. His heart beat wildly; for a moment he was almost faint. (Chapter-9) The above examples show images of feeling, sight, color, and sound.
• Metaphor : brave new world shows perfect use of various metaphors as given in the below examples, i. Two shrimp-brown children emerged from a neighbouring shrubbery, stared at them for a moment with large, astonished eyes, then returned to their amusements among the leaves. (Chapter-4) ii. Lenina did her best to stop the ears of her mind; but every now and then a phrase would insist on becoming audible. (Chapter-6) iii. The rock was like bleached bones in the moonlight. (Chapter-8) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel as the first shows a comparison of children to fish, Lenina’s mind to a body, and rock to bones.
• Mood : The novel shows various moods; it starts with quite a dry and rocking mood and turns to be highly exciting at times and tragic when it reaches Linda’s suicide.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel, Brave New World, are sex, drugs, and consumerism.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated from the third-person point of view , which is the author himself.
• Personification : The novel shows examples of personifications such as, John began to understand. “Eternity was in our lips and eyes,” he murmured. (Chapter-11) ii. Pierced by every word that was spoken, the tight balloon of Bernard’s happy self-confidence was leaking from a thousand wounds. (Chapter-12) These examples show as if the eternity and balloon have feelings and lives of their own.
• Protagonist : Bernard Marx is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry into the world and moves forward as he grows and transforms.
• Repetition : The novel shows the use of repetition as given in the below example, i. “ Silence , silence,” whispered a loud speaker as they stepped out at the fourteenth floor, and “Silence, silence,” the trumpet mouths indefatigably repeated at intervals down every corridor. The students and even the Director himself rose automatically to the tips of their toes. They were Alphas, of course, but even Alphas have been well conditioned. “Silence, silence.” All the air of the fourteenth floor was sibilant with the categorical imperative. (Chapter-2) This passage from the second chapter shows the repetition of “silence.”
• Setting : The setting of the novel is the dystopian future country of the World State showing events of 632AF.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the below examples, i. The tropical sunshine lay like warm honey on the naked bodies of children tumbling promiscuously among the hibiscus blossom. (Chapter-4) ii. Like the vague torsos of fabulous athletes, huge fleshy clouds lolled on the blue air above their heads. (Chapter-4) iii. At Brentford the Television Corporation’s factory was like a small town. (Chapter-4) iv. Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly–they’ll go through anything. (Chapter-4) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things. The first example shows sunshine compared to honey, the torsos of athletes to clouds, the factory to a town, and the words to X-rays.

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• All the World’s a Stage
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•  All the World’s a Stage
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• Aldous Huxley

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111 Brave New World Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

The importance of Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World can’t be overestimated. Today, its themes are as relevant as ever. If you’re looking for Brave New World essay titles or examples, you’re on the right page! But first, check out our simple writing guide.

🔝 Top 10 Brave New World Essay Topics

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First, you should pick up the topic. The first thing that your readers interact with when they read your paper is the topic and title. That’s why you should carefully select the issue you’re going to discuss in the essay.

Here’s how to select the perfect paper subject:

• Carefully read the essay instructions. Make sure that you understand them correctly.
• Look through the Brave New World essay examples on the page below. Make notes while reading them and select relevant topics.
• Adapt the topic to meet your requirements and start the research.

Brave New World Thesis: How to Write

After you’ve finished your research, it’s time to write Brave New World thesis statement. It should reflect what your paper will be about.

Remember, you should analyze the book instead of summarizing, unless you’re assigned to write a book summary. Keep the thesis statement short and strong.

Brave New World Essay Outline

The next step is to create a Brave New World essay outline. The more detailed it is, the easier will be the whole writing process. Point out key ideas you’re going to cover in your writing: your opinion, supporting arguments, and research results.

In your Brave New World essay introduction present your topic and thesis statement. Then, in the main body, share your point of view and provide supporting arguments. Lastly, in conclusion, summarize the key issues.

Brave New World Essay Prompts

Now, let’s talk about the content of your future paper. Below, you’ll find examples of Brave New World essay questions with prompts to discuss in your writing:

• Happiness and truth. Can anyone be happy without expressing their will freely? What are the elements of happiness described in the book? Investigate, what do you think happiness is and what constitutes it.
• Characters. Who is your favorite character? Provide in-depth character analysis in your paper.
• Shakespeare and John. What is the role of Shakespeare in Brave New World?
• What modern issues does Brave New World cover? How does the novel correlate to current events? Provide examples.
• Theme of drugs. How does soma contribute to the main theme of the novel? Express your opinion if people should self-medicate when they want to avoid true emotions?
• Theme of love. Is there a place for love and sentiment in the World State?
• Racial equality. How does the author describe gender and racial equality in the book? Does the World State have it?
• Depression and suicide. What are the reasons that led to John’s suicide? Could he avoid it?
• Technology and its impact on society. How did technological breakthroughs impact the establishment of the World State? How does the power of technology affect the citizens of the World State?

Aldous Huxley’s book still remains one of the most controversial masterpieces and has much more ideas for analysis than we provided above. IvyPanda essay samples presented below will also reveal some interesting opinions and thoughts you can use as a source of inspiration for your writing. Whether you’re looking for argumentative, descriptive, narrative, and expository essay topics, check the paper examples below!

• The World State’s Idea of Perfection
• The Role of Escapism in Huxley’s Novel
• Huxley’s Novel as a Critique of Modernity
• Love in a World of Artificial Happiness
• Individuality vs. Conformity in Brave New World
• Themes of Control and Oppression in Brave New World
• Technology as a Double-Edged Sword in Huxley’s Novel
• Conditioning and Indoctrination in Brave New World
• Freedom of Thought vs. Censorship in the World State
• Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Contemporary Societies
• The Brave New World Dystopia by Aldous Huxley The primary assertion in the novel is that the cost of this stability is the loss of individuality, creativity, and genuine human connection.
• Quotations in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” It was the sort of idea that might easily decondition the more unsettled minds among the higher castes make them lose their faith in happiness as the Sovereign Good and take to believing, instead, that […]
• Comparison of G. Orwell’s “1984”, R. Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and A. Huxley’s “Brave New World” The leadership is in charge of virtually each and every single activity that takes place in the lives of the inhabitants of the society.
• Dystopias “Brave New World” by Huxley and “1984” by Orwell The modern world is full of complications and the moments when it seems like a dystopia the darkest version of the future. In the novel, promiscuity is encouraged, and sex is a form of entertainment.
• Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley He chooses to stay on, despite his clear disapproval of the society around him Before his trip to the wilds, he becomes aware of the imminent threat of exile.
• Biographical Analysis of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World The writers came up with books and articles that tried to warn the society about the effects of their actions, while others tried to educate the society on what it needed to do to better […]
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: Novel Analysis In addition, the clash of Alphas and Betas is drastic some strive for recognition and living in a fake world, while others try to preserve their human nature.
• The Future of Society in “Brave New World” by Huxley and “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Postman Thus, this work will study the similarities between the visions of the authors of these literary works and their view of society.
• Huxley’s Brave New World Review Huxley has written in the introduction of his recent print of the book that much of the inspiration for the book was a result of his visit to the high technology Brunner and Mond plant […]
• Technology Control in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” They leave you with a, but there is a self-limiting effect of all of our contemporary psychotropics and mood-alterers. The tabloid news is full of people who have become addicted to prescription drugs, or find […]
• Circumstance and Individual in Huxley’s “Brave New World” He is not allowed to participate fully in the rites and ceremonies of the Reservation, so he fashions his system of thought out of the scripture and the dramas he reads.
• The Dystopian Societies of “1984” and Brave New World The three features which are discussed in this respect are the division of the two societies into social strata, the use of state power and control over citizens, and the loss of people’s individualities.
• Novel Response: Brave New World For instance, he uses changes in the world state society of the characters to illustrate how the changes influence their lives in a negative way.
• Common Theme Between Books These include psychological manipulation of the citizens, exercising physical control on the people, and using technology to control information, history and the citizens for the benefit of the party.
• The Predicted Modern Society in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Depiction of the Utopian Community in Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Funhouse Mirror: An Examination of Distortion of Government in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Consequences of Living in a Society Under a Totalitarian Rule in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• An Analysis of Satiric Elements in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Lost of Emotions for Social Stability in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• Alcohol in Our Society; Huxley’s View in Relation To “Brave New World”
• The Similarities Between Government Control and Suppression of Individuality in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Satirical Representation of the Perfect Society in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• Constant Individual Conditioning Is Needed to Reinforce Society in Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• An Analysis of the Reality That the World Have Inhuman Society Controlled by Technology in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Theme of History in “Brave New World” by Arthur Huxley and “1984” by George Orwell
• The Origin of Happiness in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• An Analysis of Propaganda and Hypnopaedic Teachings in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• A Literary Analysis of a “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• Suppression of Individuality in Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Important Role of Reproductive Technology in the Social Control of “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• A Contrast Between Two Societies in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Superficial Reality of “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Advancement of Science and Its Effects on the Individual in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Social and Sexual Interaction in the “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Values of Society in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”
• A Review of the Dangers of Technology in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Moral Dilemmas in Our Society in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• An Analysis of the Futuristic London in the Novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Theme of Selfishness in a “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Implications of Having Adults Filled With Suggestions From the States in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Dystopian and Utopian Societies in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley and “1984” by George Orwell
• The Pursuit of Happiness in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• A Society of Drugs and Promiscuous Sexual Relations in a “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• Using Soma to Find Happiness and Pleasure in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Issue of Cloning as Described in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Role of Government and Technology in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Role of Technology in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Importance of Soma in Control of Social Stability in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• An Overview of the Construction of “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Portrayal of Community, Identity and Stability in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• The Use of Distortion in “Brave New World” By Aldous Huxley
• A Critique the Depiction of Role of Science in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• The Non-Existence of Individualism in the “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• An Analysis of the Advancement of Science in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• Utopia and Dystopia in the Futuristic Novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• How Does “Brave New World” Illustrate the Point of Happiness?
• Does “Brave New World” Suggest That We Should Seek Something Else in Life Rather Than Our Happiness?
• How Are Women’s Bodies and Reproduction Depicted Within “Brave New World”?
• What Are the Parallels Between “Brave New World” and Our World Today?
• How Does “Brave New World” Compare to Biology?
• What Does “Brave New World” Suggest Be Valuable?
• How Does “Brave New World” Resemble the 21st Century?
• Why Does John Reject the Civilization Represented in “Brave New World”?
• How Does “Brave New World” Reflect the Context in Which It Was Written?
• Why Would Shakespeare Not Work in Brave New World?
• How Does the Novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley Suggest That the Individual Will Be Treated in the Future?
• Will Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” Be Our Brave New World?
• How Far Have the Prophecies of “Brave New World” Come True?
• What Are Mustapha Mond’s Arguments Against Freedom in “Brave New World”?
• How Does Huxley’s “Brave New World” Portray Authority of Science and Technology on Society?
• Is John From “Brave New World” Really Freer Than the World State Members?
• How Would Plato and Sophists View the World of “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley?
• What Is Huxley’s Vision of a Utilitarian Society in “Brave New World”?
• How Does the “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley Compare to the Real World?
• Why Does Mustapha Mond Insist That Science Must Be Constrained in the Same Way That Art and Religion Are in “Brave New World”?
• How Does the “Brave New World” Fit Into the Six Characteristics of Malark’s Theory of Characteristics?
• What Traits of Humanity Does John Savage Represent in the “Brave New World”?
• Is Huxley’s Society in “Brave New World” Able to Suppress Religious Impulses Completely?
• In What Ways Does Huxley Moralize Sexuality in the “Brave New World”?
• Do You Believe That Huxley’s Blindness Influenced the Way He Viewed Society in “Brave New World”?
• Why Does John Savage Kill Himself at the End of the “Brave New World”?
• Do You Believe That Mustapha Mond Is the Antagonist of the “Brave New World”?
• Is “Brave New World” a Utopia or a Dystopia?
• What Is the Main Message of “Brave New World”?
• Can Happiness Be Reached Through Drugs Like “Soma” From “Brave New World”?
• Ethical Implications of Genetic Engineering in Brave New World
• Brave New World vs. 1984: A Comparison of Dystopian Societies
• The Critique of Consumerism and Mass Production in Brave New World
• The Theme of Dehumanization of Art and Creativity in a Technologically Advanced Society
• Psychological Manipulation and Mind Control in Brave New World
• How Gender and Sexuality Are Represented in Huxley’s Brave New World
• Religion and Spirituality in a Technological Utopia
• How Control and Surveillance in the World State Create the Illusion of Freedom
• The Impact of Conditioning and Sleep-Learning on Characters’ Behavior
• Huxley’s Vision of the Future: Predictions That Came True
• The Historical Events That Inspired Brave New World
• The Role of Soma in Maintaining Social Stability in the World State
• Satire and Social Commentary in Brave New World
• Savage Reservation’s Contrast with the World State’s Society
• Brave New World and Utopia: The Paradox of Perfection
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Brave New World

By aldous huxley.

• Brave New World Summary

The novel is set in A.F. 632, approximately seven centuries after the twentieth century. A.F. stands for the year of Ford, named for the great industrialist Henry Ford who refined mass production techniques for automobiles. World Controllers rule the world and ensure the stability of society through the creation of a five-tiered caste system. Alphas and Betas are at the top of the system and act as the scientists, politicians, and other top minds, while Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are at the bottom and represent the world's industrial working class. A drug called soma ensures that no one ever feels pain or remains unhappy, and members of every caste receive rations of the drug. Pre- and post-natal conditioning further ensures social stability.

Brave New World opens with the Director of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre giving a group of young students a tour of the facilities. An assembly line creates embryos using the latest advancements in science. The students view the various techniques for producing more babies and watch as the process segregates babies into various castes. After the babies are decanted from their bottles, they are conditioned through Neo-Pavlovian conditioning and hypnopaedia. In Neo-Pavlovian conditioning, babies enter a room filled with books and roses. When the babies approach the books or the roses, alarms and sirens sound, and the babies receive a small electric shock, which frightens them so that when they confront the same items for a second time, they recoil in fear. Hypnopaedia teaches babies and children while they are asleep by playing ethical phrases numerous times so that the phrases will become a subconscious part of each person.

The World Controller of Western Europe, His Fordship Mustapha Mond appears and gives the students a lecture about the way things used to be. Before the Utopian world order was established, he explains that people used to be parents and have children through live birth. This existence led to dirty homes with families where emotions got in the way of happiness and stability. The first world reformers tried to change things, but the old governments ignored them. War finally ensued, culminating in the use of anthrax bombs. After the so-called Nine Years' War, the world suffered through an economic crisis. Exhausted by their disastrous living conditions, people finally allowed the world reformers to seize control. The reformers soon eradicated religion, monogamy, and most other individualistic traits, and they stabilized society with the introduction of the caste system and the use of soma.

Bernard Marx is introduced as a short, dark haired Alpha who is believed to have accidentally received a dose of alcohol as a fetus on the assembly line. His coworkers dislike him and talk about him in derogatory tones. Bernard has a crush on Lenina Crowne , another Alpha, and she informs the reader that he asked her to go with him to the Savage Reservations several weeks earlier. Lenina has been dating Henry Foster for the past several months, but since long-term relationships are discouraged, she agrees to go with Bernard Marx to the Reservations.

Bernard goes to Tomakin, the Director, and gets the Director’s signature to enter the Reservations. The Director tells a story about how he went there twenty-five years earlier with a woman. During a storm, she became lost, and circumstances forced him to leave her there. The Director then realizes he should not have told Bernard this story and defensively begins to yell at him. Bernard leaves unruffled and goes to talk to his good friend Helmholtz Watson about his meeting with the Director.

Helmholtz Watson is an intellectually superior Alpha who has become disillusioned with the society. He is tired of his work, which consists of writing slogans and statements to inspire people. Helmholtz indicates that he is searching for a way of expressing something, but he still does not know what. He pities Bernard because he realizes that neither of them can completely fit into the society.

Bernard flies with Lenina to the Savage Reservations. While there he realizes he left a tap of perfume running in his room, and so he calls Helmholtz Watson to ask him to turn it off. Helmholtz tells him that the Director is about to transfer Bernard to Iceland because Bernard has been acting so antisocial lately.

Bernard and Lenina enter the compound and watch the Indians perform a ritualistic dance to ensure a good harvest. A young man named John approaches them and tells them about himself. He was born to a woman named Linda who had been left on the Reservation nearly twenty-five years earlier. John is anxious to learn all about the Utopian world. Linda turns out to be the woman that the Director took to the Reservation and left there. She was unable to leave because she became pregnant with John, and since the Utopian society finds the notion of live birth disgusting, mothers and children are taboo topics.

Bernard realizes that John and Linda could save him from a transfer to Iceland. He calls Mustapha Mond and receives approval to bring them back to London. When Bernard finally returns, he has to meet with the Director in public. The Director publicly shames him and informs Bernard that he must go to Iceland. Bernard laughs at this and introduces Linda and John. At the disclosure of his past, the Director is so humiliated that he resigns. Bernard becomes an overnight celebrity due to his affiliation with John Savage , whose good looks and mysterious past make him famous. Reveling in his sudden popularity, Bernard starts to date numerous women and becomes extremely arrogant.

Bernard eventually hosts a party with several prominent guests attending. John refuses to come and meet them, which embarrasses Bernard in front of his guests. The guests leave in a rage while Bernard struggles to make amends. John is happier afterwards because Bernard must be his friend again.

Helmholtz and John become very good friends. Helmholtz has gotten into trouble for writing a piece of poetry about being alone and then reading it to his students. John pulls out his ancient copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare and starts to read. The fiery passion of the language overwhelms Helmholtz, who realizes that this is what he has been trying to write.

Lenina has developed a crush on John the Savage, and she finally decides to go see him. After a few minutes, he tells her that he loves her. Lenina is very happy to hear this and strips naked in front of him in order to sleep with him. Immediately taken aback, John becomes extremely angry with her. Crying, "Strumpet!" he hits her and chases her into the bathroom. Fortunately for Lenina, a phone call interrupts John and he rushes off.

John goes to the hospital where Linda has finally succumbed to taking too much soma. While he tries to visit her, a large group of identical twins arrives for their death conditioning. They notice Linda and comment on how ugly she is. John furiously throws them away from her. He then talks to Linda, who starts asking for Pope , an Indian she lived with back on the Reservation. John wants her to recognize him and so he starts to shake her. She opens her eyes and sees him but at that moment, she chokes and passes away. John blames himself for her death. The young twins again interrupt him, and he silently leaves the room.

When he arrives downstairs, John sees several hundred identical twins waiting in line for their daily ration of soma. He passionately thinks that he can change the society and tells them to give up on the soma that is poisoning their minds. He grabs the soma rations and starts to throw the soma away. The Deltas get furious at this and start to attack him. Bernard and Helmholtz receive a phone call telling them to go to the hospital. When they arrive and find John in the middle of a mob, Helmholtz laughs and goes to join him. Bernard stays behind because he fears the consequences.

All three men are taken to meet Mustapha Mond who turns out to be an intellectual. He tells Bernard and Helmholtz that they must go to an island where other social outcasts are sent. The island is for people who have become more individualistic in their views and can no longer fit in with the larger society.

John and Mustapha engage in a long debate over why the society must have its current structure. John is upset by the regulation and banning of history, religion, and science. Mustapha tells him that the society’s design maximizes each person's happiness. History, religion, and science only serve to create emotions that destabilize society and thus lead to unhappiness. In order to ensure perfect stability, each person receives conditioning and learns to ignore things that would lead to instability. John continues protesting. The climax of the book comes when Mustapha tells John, "You are claiming the right to be unhappy." Mustapha then mentions a long list of mankind's ills and evils. John replies, "I claim them all."

Mustapha sends Bernard and Helmholtz away to an island, but refuses to allow John to leave. He tells John that he wants to continue the experiment a little longer. John runs away from London to an abandoned lighthouse on the outskirts of the city, where he sets up a small garden and builds bows and arrows. To alleviate his guilty conscience over Linda’s death, John makes a whip and hits himself with it. Some Deltas witness him in self-flagellation, and within three days, reporters show up to interview him. He manages to scare most of them away. However, one man catches John beating himself and films the entire event. Within a day hundreds of helicopters arrive, carrying people who want to see him beat himself. John cannot escape them all. Lenina and Henry Foster also arrive and when John sees Lenina, he starts to beat her with the whip. The crowd soon begins to chant “Orgy-porgy,” a sensual hymn used to generate a feeling of oneness. John loses himself within the crowd and wakes up the next day after taking soma and engaging in the sensual dance of the hymn. He is overwhelmed with guilt and self-hatred. That evening he is found dead in the lighthouse as he hangs from an archway.

Brave New World Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Brave New World is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is the purpose of depriving some embryos of adequate oxygen?

The world controller conditions the embryos so that the resulting children will fit into a desired category of people. Alphas are given more oxygen so that they develop into the intellectual and physical, except for Bernard, elite. People like...

chap 1 Explain the fertilization process used in Brave New World. How does the hatching and conditioning centre acquire the necessary ovum and spermatozoa?

Basically the hatching and conditioning centre is a place where people are genetically engineered. The students view various machines and techniques used to promote the production and conditioning of embryos. The scientists take an ovary, remove...

Summarize both sides of the debate that Mond and John have regarding God.

Mond explains that since society eradicated the fear of death and since science keeps everyone youthful until death, religion is unnecessary. He reads to John passages from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis and from a work by Cardinal...

Study Guide for Brave New World

Brave New World study guide contains a biography of Aldous Huxley, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Brave New World
• Brave New World Video
• Character List

Essays for Brave New World

Brave New World essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

• Methods of Control in 1984 and Brave New World
• Cloning in Brave New World
• God's Role in a Misery-Free Society
• Character Analysis: Brave New World
• Influences Behind Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451

Lesson Plan for Brave New World

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Brave New World
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Brave New World Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Brave New World

• Introduction

35 Brave New World Essay Topics

Table of Contents

Choosing the Right “Brave New World” Essay Topic

Selecting an intriguing essay topic on Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, “Brave New World,” can set the stage for your instructor’s first impression of your work. If the topic naturally piques your interest, writing becomes more effortless. Ideally, narrow down topics, as they tend to provide clearer direction. However, before you embark on writing, ensure you have an organized outline and adequate sources to support your essay.

Potential Essay Topics on “Brave New World”

• Character Discontentment: Explore why characters like Bernard and John are dissatisfied in society compared to others. Example .
• Realism of the Caste System: Analyze the book’s caste system – is it realistic or mere fiction?
• Sacrifices for Greater Good: Identify instances in the novel where citizens endure hardships for a more significant cause.
• Religion vs. Science: Using the plot of Brave New World , discuss the roles of religion and science in the novel’s society.
• John’s Uniqueness: Examine John’s differences from the rest of the nation’s people.
• Illusion of Contentment: Argue why such a government form would be detrimental, even if its citizens seem content.
• Perfection vs. Imperfection: Does the novel portray an ideal or flawed world?
• Dehumanization: Identify the techniques of dehumanization depicted in the story.
• Happiness vs. Reality: Delve into the question of whether a society can be genuinely happy and yet grounded in reality.
• Relevance Today: Discuss parallels between the book’s themes and today’s world. How has Huxley’s vision impacted our modern perspective?

Symbolism and Motifs in Beowulf

• The role of dragons in ancient literature and Beowulf.
• The significance of the mead hall and community bonding.
• Water’s symbolic role in Beowulf’s challenges and battles.
• The representation of light and darkness in the poem.
• The importance of armor and shields in the poem.

Historical and Cultural Context

• Beowulf’s relationship with historical Scandinavian events.
• How Beowulf reflects Anglo-Saxon values and beliefs.
• Paganism vs. Christianity in Beowulf.
• The societal structure and its influence on the narrative.
• The depiction of funeral rites and their significance.

Character Analyses

• Unferth’s role and contrast with Beowulf.
• The depiction of women: Wealhtheow and Grendel’s mother.
• King Hrothgar’s leadership vs. Beowulf’s heroism.
• The significance of Wiglaf and the idea of loyalty.
• Analyzing Aeschere’s importance to Hrothgar and the story.

Narrative Techniques and Literary Devices

• The role of the scop (bard) in Beowulf.
• The use of kennings and their impact on imagery.
• Alliteration and its rhythmic role in Beowulf.
• The function of epic similes in the poem.
• The influence of oral tradition on the narrative style.

Themes and Philosophies

• The concept of fate (wyrd) in Beowulf.
• The price of pride and its consequences.
• The exploration of mortality and legacy.
• The balance between courage and recklessness.
• Revenge as a driving force in Beowulf.

Comparative Analyses

• Beowulf and modern superheroes: parallels and contrasts.
• Comparing Beowulf to other epics like “The Iliad” or “Gilgamesh”.
• Beowulf and the Norse sagas: similarities and differences.
• The idea of the monstrous in Beowulf vs. other literature.
• Beowulf’s influence on Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”.

Broader Perspectives

• Beowulf’s relevance in the 21st century.
• The challenges and merits of translating Beowulf.
• How adaptations (like movies or novels) have interpreted Beowulf.
• The depiction of heroism in Beowulf vs. modern culture.
• The ethics and values presented in Beowulf and their applicability today.

In-depth Explorations

• The importance of loyalty and kinship in the poem.
• The nature of evil: Analyzing Grendel and his lineage.
• The concept of legacy in Beowulf’s final act.
• The depiction of aging and its impact on heroism.
• The influence of external forces, like God or fate, on characters’ decisions.

Beowulf’s Battles

• A detailed look into Beowulf’s battle with the dragon.
• Strategy and might: The takedown of Grendel.
• Psychological warfare: Beowulf vs. Grendel’s mother.
• The consequences and aftermath of each of Beowulf’s battles.
• The role of supernatural vs. human strength in Beowulf’s combat scenes.

Engaging Ideas to Explore

• Elements of Personality: Explore the personality traits emphasized in the World State.
• Sexuality and Roles: Examine the portrayal and significance of sexuality in the world state.
• Societal Conflicts: Identify and discuss the main conflicts present within the novel’s society.
• Marriage and Relationships: Dive into how relationships, especially marriage, are perceived and executed in this dystopian setting.
• Drugs and Contentment: Discuss the use of drugs in the society and their impact on achieving personal contentment.

Further Assistance

There’s a plethora of essay topics centered around “Brave New World.” If you struggle to pinpoint the perfect topic or formulating your essay, consider reaching out to professional platforms like writeondeadline.com for expert guidance.

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Brave New World Quotes – The Most Important Lines Explained

May 10, 2024

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a classic of dystopian literature. As a cultural touchstone, you’ve no doubt seen references to it in popular culture. It’s been adapted to no less than four TV movies, three radio broadcasts, and at least one theater production. (As a humorous aside, recall that Sandra Bullock’s character in Demolition Man – starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes – is named Lenina Huxley after the main character in Brave New World .) If you already know the basic plot of the book, this article will give you specific quotes from Brave New World to help you understand and analyze some of the important moments in the text. (if it’s been a while since you’ve read it, here ’s a chapter-by-chapter summary of Brave New World .)

All my quotes come from Project Gutenberg’s Brave New World . 

“O, brave new world, that has such people in it.” 

This is, by far, the most important quote of Huxley’s text. It provides both the title of the book and links the text to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. (If you’re interested, here’s a summary of The Tempest .) John recites these lines three times – once when Bernard offers to take him back to London, once when he sees numberless twins working in a factory, and then again after his mother’s death. Before we look at how this quote functions in Huxely’s novel, it’s worth taking a look at its original context.

Huxley’s Brave New World and Shakespeare’s The Tempest

In The Tempest, a magician named Prospero (formerly the Duke of Milan) lives on an island with his daughter Miranda. He escaped to this island 12 years previous as a result of his being deposed by his brother Antonio. When a boat carrying Antonio sails near the island, Prospero raises a terrible storm and transports Antonio and his son Ferdinand to the island to exact his revenge. Upon meeting Ferdinand and Antonio in Act 5, scene 1, Miranda declares, “O brave new world, that has such people in’t.” 

John and Miranda

The resonance between Miranda and John are clear. Like Miranda, John is naive and assumes the best about this “brave new world” and its inhabitants. More troubling is the fact that both Miranda and John are completely dependent on a guardian whose interests may not align with those of his charge. Prospero aims to marry off Miranda to reclaim his political power. Bernard uses John’s celebrity to get girls and hobnob with the alpha-plus elites he’s always (up to this point) disdained. We must not forget that when Miranda makes her declaration, Prospero replies, “’Tis new to thee.” Prospero, like Bernard, knows that his charge speaks from naive ignorance. 

Now that we know a bit about the original context, let’s look more closely at the quote in Brave New World. Though John first says the line when he’s talking to Bernard about going to London, his thoughts are actually on Lenina – “an angel in bottle-green viscose, lustrous with youth…benevolently smiling.” John then briefly panics, thinking that Bernard and Lenina might be married. When Bernard assures him that they are not, John repeats the line in full. 

Brave New World Quotes (Continued)

In this moment, the connection between John and Miranda is clearest. Like Miranda, John is struck by the beauty of the inhabitants of this “brave new world.” Bernard’s response to John is similar to Prospero’s response to Miranda. To John’s naive pronouncement, Bernard asks, “‘And, anyhow, hadn’t you better wait till you actually see the new world?’” While this quote certainly establishes John as a Shakspeare-reading savage (Shakespeare being banned in the World State), it also establishes his Miranda-like naivete and his dependence on his own Prospero (Bernard)

O, brave new world??? (barf!) 

The second time John marvels at this “brave new world” is markedly different. John is touring a factory that is staffed by several lower-caste Bokanovsky groups (effectively large groups of twins). At this moment, “by some malice of his memory,” John thinks of Miranda’s words. Then, to the surprise of everyone, John begins “violently retching, behind a clump of laurels, as though the solid earth had been a helicopter in an air pocket.”

There are at least two levels of significance to this moment. First and foremost, the repetition of this line illustrates John’s disillusionment with the new world. By repeating the same line with different affect (and reaction), the text shows the reader how John’s opinion of the new world has changed during his very brief time in London. Secondly, this moment shows John becoming aware of his own previous interpretation. John’s violent physical reaction is certainly due to his revulsion to the Bokanovsky twins. However, John is also reacting to a previous, naive version of himself. In other words, John looks back “by some malice of his memory” to a previous version of himself interpreting Shakespeare. Quite simply, John is reading himself reading. 

O, brave new world!!! (revolution!)

John utters this line for the last time after the death of Linda, his mother. John has exited the Park Lane Hospital for the dying and walks inadvertently into a crowd of Deltas waiting for their daily soma ration. Having just seen his mother die, John isn’t in a good place. As he looks at the identical faces of 160-odd Deltas, Miranda’s words “mocked him derisively.” But then something changes. Standing in the crowd of Deltas, Shakespeare’s words transmute into something aspirational. 

“‘O brave new world, O brave new world…’ In his mind, the singing words seemed to change their tone. They had mocked him through his misery and remorse, mocked him with how hideous a note of cynical derision! Fiendishly laughing, they had insisted on the low squalor, the nauseous ugliness of the nightmare. Now, suddenly, they trumpeted a call to arms. ‘O brave new world!’ Miranda was proclaiming the possibility of loveliness, the possibility of transforming even the nightmare into something fine and noble. ‘O brave new world!’ It was a challenge, a command.”

Suddenly, the quote has new power. When John was in the factory, the words were an ironic comment on the monstrosity of the economic caste system. Now they have a talismanic power that motivates John to action. 

“O, brave new world, that has such people in it.” (redux) 

There are certainly other important quotes in Huxley’s Brave New World (which I’ll discuss below), but this thrice-repeated invocation is crucial to understanding John’s transformation into a self-conscious being. When he first says it on the reservation, he is a passive receptor of received ideas about the “brave new world.” When he says it a second time, he is disgusted with his former naivete. However, when he says it for the final time, he has become capable of asserting novel meaning into the world. 

Is John a Miranda or a Caliban?

It’s clear that Shakespeare’s The Tempest allows John to assert his agency in Huxley’s text. Throughout the book, John is identified with Miranda, the source of “O brave new world.” However, near the end of the book, John begins to be identified with Caliban , the “savage” inhabitant of the island who Prospero dominates and enslaves. 

After the soma riot, John, Heimholtz, and Bernard are taken into custody and brought to Mustapha Mond to face judgment. When Mustapha asks John whether he likes civilization, John says no, though he does like “All that music in the air, for instance…’”. Mustapha then shocks John by quoting The Tempest back to him, saying “ ‘Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about my ears, and sometimes voices.’” The content of this quote is less important than the source. Up to this point, John has exclusively been aligned with Miranda. In a significant turn of events, the line that Mond quotes is spoken by Caliban, Prospero’s slave. 

What is important here is that, for the first time, Huxley’s text aligns John with someone besides Miranda. The line Mond quotes is spoken by Caliban as the latter is describing the island to his co-conspirators (they’re plotting to kill Prospero). In some ways this change of identification makes sense – like Caliban, John chafes at the restrictions of his new masters. (After all, he was just arrested throwing boxes of soma out the window.) 

At the same time, this new identification suggests an ambiguous fate for John. Caliban is the “savage” that lived on the island with his mother before the arrival of Prospero and Miranda. Therefore, it makes sense for John to be cast in that role. What is puzzling is that in The Tempest , Prospero returns to Milan and leaves the island to Caliban – a very different fate than awaits John. 

Other Quotes

“‘was and will make me ill,’ she quoted, ‘i take a gramme and only am.’”.

This is just one of the many hypnopædic lessons that Lenina recites during the book, but it’s particularly important because it shows how the World State understands time. (Recall that hypnopædic sayings are the snippets of moral instruction that are played thousands of times while children sleep. Others include: “The more stitches the less riches;” “Ending is better than mending; ending is better…;” and “A gramme [of soma] is better than a damn.”)

This particular lesson situates the individual in an eternal present (from which there is no escape). There can be no past or future in the World State. To admit the existence of time would necessitate a consideration of moral and ethical consequences. The citizens of the World State must be corralled into constant “nowness” so that there can be neither striving nor disappointment. (We see this same relationship to time when Mustapha Mond declares “‘You all remember…that beautiful and inspired saying of Our Ford’s: History is bunk.’” )

“‘I am free. Free to have the most wonderful time. Everybody’s happy nowadays.’”

This quote from Lenina Crowne encapsulates the ideology of the World State. Behind the World State’s definition of “freedom” lies a circumscribed understanding of what it means to be human. For Lenina and the other citizens of the World State, “freedom” means avoiding doubt, pain, and any form of struggle. For John, freedom means something very different. In the last lines of his conversation with Mustapha Mond, John declares, “‘But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” For John, true freedom is the right to experience the whole range of human emotions – including the right to be unhappy. 

Brave New World Quotes –  Wrapping Up

Huxley’s Brave New World presents an oft-prescient take on state oppression. In contrast to Orwell’s 1984 , Huxley presents a world that has pacified its citizens by rendering their lives completely and utterly “happy.” In a world increasingly obsessed with social media and the internet, it’s a vision that asks us what we’re willing to trade for stability. 

If you’ve found this analysis interesting, I’d encourage you to take a look at my analysis of other texts – 1984 , Hamlet , and The Great Gatsby . And if you think that literature and creative writing might be something you’d like to study at university, check out the best colleges for English and the best colleges for Creative Writing .

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Devon Wootten

Devon holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing & International Relations, an MFA in Poetry, and a PhD in Comparative Literature. For nearly a decade, he served as an assistant professor in the First-Year Seminar Program at Whitman College. Devon is a former Fulbright Scholar as well as a Writing & Composition Instructor of Record at the University of Iowa and Poetry Instructor of Record at the University of Montana. Most recently, Devon’s work has been published in Fugue , Bennington Review , and TYPO , among others. 

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Reflection: Dartmouth Essays That Worked

One writer looks back on her admissions process in light of the dartmouth’s new book, “50 dartmouth application essays that worked.”.

Five years ago, I began my Common Application essay with the following sentence: “To quote Ferris Bueller, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’ I don’t intend to miss my life.” Half a decade later, those words still ring true. 

Any college was taking a chance when they admitted a girl who quoted a film famous for encouraging students to play hooky. Not only did I open with this line, I hammered the point home as I described my disillusionment with valuing academic learning over personal experience — I was done running on the high school hamster wheel. When people ask me what essay got me into Dartmouth, I usually respond, “An essay about having a really fun summer.” While those words are true, there’s a deeper moral to the story — as incredible as Dartmouth’s academic resources are, and as academically rigorous as my high school had been, I wanted to learn outside of the classroom, to learn by doing, to learn from my friends. “As much as I value my academic identity and as far as my passion for learning goes, my interpersonal relationships teach me just as much,” I wrote.

I was honestly surprised when Dartmouth accepted me in April 2020. I had been deferred early decision, and the last student who had gotten into Dartmouth from my public Florida high school was a cross-country recruit in 2016. Like tens of thousands of high school seniors, I had the grades, test scores and extracurriculars, but I was full of self-doubt. I was also completely burnt out. Was I really “Ivy League material”? I certainly didn’t feel it. Looking over my statistics, I was just another data point. Not Ellie Anderson, but applicant 8,677. 

My “Why Dartmouth?”  and supplement essays allowed me to make my case. I crafted three versions of the former, and I could have kept going. I labored over my words carefully, drafting response after response, but it was challenging only having 250 words to respond, in some form, to a prompt that every Dartmouth applicant has read: “It is, Sir … a small college. And yet, there are those who love it!” Other than the encouraging words and flamboyant edits from my high school English teacher, I didn’t know if they were any good. Where to begin …

I would have loved to understand what makes an admissions essay compelling when I was in the throes of applying to college. Recently, The Dartmouth published “50 Dartmouth Application Essays That Worked,” a compilation of successful admissions essays. Looking through this collection, I felt like I was stepping back into my 17-year-old self. The selection includes essays featuring many of the qualities Dartmouth seems to be looking for in its students, or at least those I’ve found in my friends: compassion, curiosity, humility and a collaborative spirit. 

The book opens with essays about environment and nature before progressing to the expected categories: academic interest, arts, heritage, identity, sports and, of course, “miscellaneous.” 

A few stories grabbed me for their honesty, especially one that begins, “I have a complicated relationship with the truth.” I was hooked — it was real and raw. Her father suffers from bipolar disorder even though, to the outside world, nothing appears to be wrong. She has a secret too — she’s seeing a girl. How is one supposed to apply to college when their entire world is being torn apart, “standing in the middle of the bridge and setting fire to both ends,” as she says. But she learns a valuable lesson — to live her own truth, not anyone else’s. 

When I was applying to colleges, I was given the following advice: “Don’t make your admissions essay a sob story.” But this essay certainly isn’t a pity party, which proves you can be honest and address your difficulties in the span of a few hundred words. These kinds of essays instead place their writers’ most beautiful strengths and flaws on full display.

Another such essay begins, “My feet live in infamy.” Yes, you can write your Common Application essay about your gnarled and calloused feet. Although the story begins with an anecdote of “ugly” feet, it becomes so much more — a toe-centric reflection. As the writer’s skin became thicker, she found her voice as well. She comes out of her shell in high school, learning to speak up after several tumultuous adolescent years as an introvert. By the end, she’s finally ready to bear her infamous feet and use her voice.

A deep current of intellectual curiosity runs across the essays, too. I laughed when I read a story about an applicant playing Super Mario Bros on a childhood road trip. The writer makes an in-game blunder, sending Mario hurdling into a turtle. “It was then that the terrible realization that curled my six-year-old toes hit me: Mario would return to play again, but when I die, I will not,” they said. What could have been a decade-long existential spiral instead drove the writer to philosophy and math, where they found solace in understanding the world rather than cowering at the unknown. 

These writers are brave — both for sharing their stories to the black-box admissions panel and for allowing us readers a peek years later. On a campus where we often interact in passing “Hey, what’s up”-isms, reading the diverse selection of essays has grounded me once more in an understanding of what makes Dartmouth, Dartmouth. Students here are radically courageous in their quests for knowledge, acts of kindness and pursuits of greatness. In these essays, 650 words no longer looks limiting but becomes the etchings of a beautiful cohort.

After re-reading my own essay alongside those published, it struck me. As a 17-year-old sending off a piece of yourself to a nebulous online portal, it can be difficult to envision your future — your story is a moment in time caught in between all that you’ve been and all that you hope to become. I’m asking myself this question again as I look forward to my senior year at Dartmouth and re-read my ambitions and fears from the essay I penned in 2019. It’s been a lot of laughing at my naïvete, cringing at a heavy-handed application of adjectives and finding pride in my values.

Not only is this book a tool for Dartmouth applicants, but it’s a time capsule from the Class of 2023 to the Class of 2026, whose essays are included. This is who we were at 17. Looking back at my essay, so much has changed between now and then. How could it have not? But I see the seeds of who I’ve become in my essay, like an incantation: “I learn to understand others and to understand myself.”

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Captain America 4 release date, cast and all you need to know about Brave New World

Get ready for a new Captain America.

Captain America 4 cast: Who's in Captain America Brave New World?

Captain america 4 trailer: is there a trailer for captain america brave new world, captain america 4 plot: what will captain america brave new world be about.

Captain America 4 is coming our way next February , and we've now had our official first look at the new MCU movie.

Marvel released the first images from Captain America: Brave New World (following a name change from Captain America: New World Order ) in April 2024, teasing Anthony Mackie 's first solo movie as the new Captain America.

There are also some very exciting – and unexpected – MCU returns in store , as well as the debut of the legend that is Harrison Ford .

So as we wait for its arrival, here's all you need to know about Captain America: Brave New World .

Captain America 4 release date: When will Captain America Brave New World be released?

Following another release schedule shuffle in November 2023, Captain America: Brave New World will now be released in cinemas on February 14, 2025 .

That's a shift from July 26, 2024, which is now the release date for Deadpool and Wolverine , and a further move away from its originally-scheduled release of May 3, 2024.

The movie filmed between March and June 2023, with some reshoots set for this summer. According to Deadline , the reshoots – which are common practice for Marvel movies – will feature additional scenes written by Matthew Orton.

All we can do now is cross our fingers that there are no further delays.

Unsurprisingly, Anthony Mackie will be back as Sam Wilson, aka Captain America, in the new movie, but we did have to wait until August 2021 for official confirmation.

It was confirmed at the D23 Expo that he'll be joined by two familiar faces from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier : Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres (potentially a new Falcon?) and Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley.

The movie will also see the return of Tim Blake Nelson as Dr Samuel Sterns . The end of The Incredible Hulk saw him transforming into The Leader, and it seems he'll be a formidable foe for Cap.

"The Leader is a man who operates from intellect, and so it's great to have an adversary who is working with this incredible intellect to really, you know, put Sam through the wringer in this story," Onah told ComicBook.com .

Liv Tyler , also from The Incredible Hulk cast, will be reprising her role as Betty Ross.

Harrison Ford has replaced the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross for the new movie. "We were very sad when William Hurt passed, because he was very excited about the movie," producer Nate Moore told Empire magazine in May 2024.

"But we could not be luckier to have Harrison Ford stepping into those shoes and embracing what Bill did in the previous films, but taking the character in a new direction."

We'll also be seeing Shira Haas as Israeli superheroine Sabra, while Xosha Roquemore, Seth Rollins and Rosa Salazar have all been cast in undisclosed roles.

It's unclear yet if Sebastian Stan will be involved as Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier.

Bucky is going to be popping up in Thunderbolts* , which is released after Captain America: Brave New World in May 2025. That doesn't rule out an appearance in the new Cap movie, but we wouldn't expect it to be a major one if he was in it.

Mackie seemed to be hinting to Variety that Stan won't be in the movie. "I'm highly upset that they put Sebastian in a movie with Wyatt [Russell] and left me out. If Sebastian gets Wyatt, I should get Chris [Evans]," he joked.

The big question is whether Chris Evans would be back in some capacity as Steve Rogers, aka the former Captain America. It seems unlikely since he's probably dead in the MCU, but there were rumours of one more movie in January 2021 .

With the multiverse now established in the MCU, that does bring in the possibility of a different universe's Cap crossing over. Evans doesn't seem so sure though that he would ever return to the role .

"It was such a good run and I'm so happy with it. It's so precious to me. It would have to be perfect," he said in June 2022. "It just would be scary to rattle something that is, again, so, so dear to me. That role means so much to me. So, to revisit it, it would be a tall order."

He added in April 2023 : "As much as I'm connected to that role and love telling those stories and working with those people. It doesn't quite feel right, right now."

It also seems likely that we'll get more from Emily VanCamp 's Sharon Carter, now revealed to be the Power Broker , while Julia Louis-Dreyfus could be back as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Valentina will also be in Thunderbolts .

The first footage for Captain America 4 was debuted at CinemaCon in April 2024, but it was exclusive to that crowd and has yet to be released online.

It saw a meeting between Thaddeus Ross and Sam Wilson at the White House, before an old song triggers super-soldiers, including Isaiah Bradley, to attack the President (via EW ).

As for when we'll get to see it, Marvel has yet to confirm a trailer release, but perhaps it could be attached to the only MCU movie release of 2024: Deadpool 3 in July 2024.

Even though we've got an official title and release date, there's been no information released about the plot of Captain America: Brave New World .

Given the crossover cast, it seems it will definitely pick up from the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which left a few plot threads dangling.

There's the villainous turn of Sharon Carter , there's Zemo still alive in prison , and of course, Falcon-now-Cap's internal reckoning with what it means, as a Black man, to wear the stars-and-stripes suit.

Who the ultimate villain will be, what city will be destroyed, and whether any multiverse madness comes into play are all questions we can't answer yet. But we're sure that more details will arrive in due course.

In November 2021, Marvel producer Nate Moore teased a "fascinating" arc for Cap in the new movie. "I think he's not Steve Rogers and I think that's a good thing. Because to me, this new Cap is Rocky," he explained.

"He's going to be the underdog in any situation. He's not a super soldier. He's not a hundred years old. He doesn't have the Avengers. What happens [next] with this guy who announces publicly, without the support, 'I'm the new Captain America'.

"He's a guy with wings and a shield, but he is a guy. So, we're going to put him through the wringer and make him earn it, and see what happens when he is outweighed, outclassed, out-everything."

Onah also teased to ComicBook.com that the new movie will be about Sam Wilson working out how to be a leader.

"In this story, a big part of his journey is, how do you define that leadership? That's the thing he hasn't had to deal with just yet. As the Falcon, he was always there supporting the rest of the team, but now he's the man leading the team," he added.

In April 2024, Mackie compared the movie to a "grounded espionage action movie" and not about "aliens and airplanes coming through portals and shit".

"Even though I've been in so many of them and have seen it all now, the opportunity for Sam to really establish himself as a true action star and Avenger comes with this movie," he told EW .

Captain America: Brave New World is released in cinemas on February 14, 2025. The previous Captain America movies and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are available to watch on Disney+ .

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Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance journalist and film critic, and was previously Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. She loves Star Wars , coming-of-age stories, thrillers , and true crime. A born and raised New Yorker, she also loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.

Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor.  Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies , attending genre festivals around the world.   After moving to Digital Spy , initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.  

Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy  Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas . 

Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK. 

She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service .    During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.     Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor. 

.css-15yqwdi:before{top:0;width:100%;height:0.25rem;content:'';position:absolute;background-image:linear-gradient(to right,#51B3E0,#51B3E0 2.5rem,#E5ADAE 2.5rem,#E5ADAE 5rem,#E5E54F 5rem,#E5E54F 7.5rem,black 7.5rem,black);} Captain America

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Guest Essay

In Medicine, the Morally Unthinkable Too Easily Comes to Seem Normal

By Carl Elliott

Dr. Elliott teaches medical ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No,” from which this essay is adapted.

Here is the way I remember it: The year is 1985, and a few medical students are gathered around an operating table where an anesthetized woman has been prepared for surgery. The attending physician, a gynecologist, asks the group: “Has everyone felt a cervix? Here’s your chance.” One after another, we take turns inserting two gloved fingers into the unconscious woman’s vagina.

Had the woman consented to a pelvic exam? Did she understand that when the lights went dim she would be treated like a clinical practice dummy, her genitalia palpated by a succession of untrained hands? I don’t know. Like most medical students, I just did as I was told.

Last month the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance requiring written informed consent for pelvic exams and other intimate procedures performed under anesthesia. Much of the force behind the new requirement came from distressed medical students who saw these pelvic exams as wrong and summoned the courage to speak out.

Whether the guidance will actually change clinical practice I don’t know. Medical traditions are notoriously difficult to uproot, and academic medicine does not easily tolerate ethical dissent. I doubt the medical profession can be trusted to reform itself.

What is it that leads a rare individual to say no to practices that are deceptive, exploitative or harmful when everyone else thinks they are fine? For a long time I assumed that saying no was mainly an issue of moral courage. The relevant question was: If you are a witness to wrongdoing, will you be brave enough to speak out?

But then I started talking to insiders who had blown the whistle on abusive medical research. Soon I realized that I had overlooked the importance of moral perception. Before you decide to speak out about wrongdoing, you have to recognize it for what it is.

This is not as simple as it seems. Part of what makes medical training so unsettling is how often you are thrust into situations in which you don’t really know how to behave. Nothing in your life up to that point has prepared you to dissect a cadaver, perform a rectal exam or deliver a baby. Never before have you seen a psychotic patient involuntarily sedated and strapped to a bed or a brain-dead body wheeled out of a hospital room to have its organs harvested for transplantation. Your initial reaction is often a combination of revulsion, anxiety and self-consciousness.

To embark on a career in medicine is like moving to a foreign country where you do not understand the customs, rituals, manners or language. Your main concern on arrival is how to fit in and avoid causing offense. This is true even if the local customs seem backward or cruel. What’s more, this particular country has an authoritarian government and a rigid status hierarchy where dissent is not just discouraged but also punished. Living happily in this country requires convincing yourself that whatever discomfort you feel comes from your own ignorance and lack of experience. Over time, you learn how to assimilate. You may even come to laugh at how naïve you were when you first arrived.

A rare few people hang onto that discomfort and learn from it. When Michael Wilkins and William Bronston started working at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island as young doctors in the early 1970s, they found thousands of mentally disabled children condemned to the most horrific conditions imaginable: naked children rocking and moaning on concrete floors in puddles of their own urine; an overpowering stench of illness and filth; a research unit where children were deliberately infected with hepatitis A and B.

“It was truly an American concentration camp,” Dr. Bronston told me. Yet when he and Dr. Wilkins tried to enlist Willowbrook doctors and nurses to reform the institution, they were met with indifference or hostility. It seemed as if no one else on the medical staff could see what they saw. It was only when Dr. Wilkins went to a reporter and showed the world what was happening behind the Willowbrook walls that anything began to change.

When I asked Dr. Bronston how it was possible for doctors and nurses to work at Willowbrook without seeing it as a crime scene, he told me it began with the way the institution was structured and organized. “Medically secured, medically managed, doctor-validated,” he said. Medical professionals just accommodated themselves to the status quo. “You get with the program because that’s what you’re being hired to do,” he said.

One of the great mysteries of human behavior is how institutions create social worlds where unthinkable practices come to seem normal. This is as true of academic medical centers as it is of prisons and military units. When we are told about a horrific medical research scandal, we assume that we would see it just as the whistle-blower Peter Buxtun saw the Tuskegee syphilis study : an abuse so shocking that only a sociopath could fail to perceive it.

Yet it rarely happens this way. It took Mr. Buxtun seven years to convince others to see the abuses for what they were. It has taken other whistle-blowers even longer. Even when the outside world condemns a practice, medical institutions typically insist that the outsiders don’t really understand.

According to Irving Janis, a Yale psychologist who popularized the notion of groupthink, the forces of social conformity are especially powerful in organizations that are driven by a deep sense of moral purpose. If the aims of the organization are righteous, its members feel, it is wrong to put barriers in the way.

This observation helps explain why academic medicine not only defends researchers accused of wrongdoing but also sometimes rewards them. Many of the researchers responsible for the most notorious abuses in recent medical history — the Tuskegee syphilis study, the Willowbrook hepatitis studies, the Cincinnati radiation studies , the Holmesburg prison studies — were celebrated with professional accolades even after the abuses were first called out.

The culture of medicine is notoriously resistant to change. During the 1970s, it was thought that the solution to medical misconduct was formal education in ethics. Major academic medical centers began establishing bioethics centers and programs throughout the 1980s and ’90s, and today virtually every medical school in the country requires ethics training.

Yet it is debatable whether that training has had any effect. Many of the most egregious ethical abuses in recent decades have taken place in medical centers with prominent bioethics programs, such as the University of Pennsylvania , Duke University , Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University , as well as my own institution, the University of Minnesota .

One could be forgiven for concluding that the only way the culture of medicine will change is if changes are forced on it from the outside — by oversight bodies, legislators or litigators. For example, many states have responded to the controversy over pelvic exams by passing laws banning the practice unless the patient has explicitly given consent.

You may find it hard to understand how pelvic exams on unconscious women without their consent could seem like anything but a terrible invasion. Yet a central aim of medical training is to transform your sensibility. You are taught to steel yourself against your natural emotional reactions to death and disfigurement; to set aside your customary views about privacy and shame; to see the human body as a thing to be examined, tested and studied.

One danger of this transformation is that you will see your colleagues and superiors do horrible things and be afraid to speak up. But the more subtle danger is that you will no longer see what they are doing as horrible. You will just think: This is the way it is done.

Carl Elliott ( @FearLoathingBTX ) teaches medical ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No,” from which this essay is adapted.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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‘Spectateurs! ’ Debuts Trailer Ahead of Cannes Special Screenings Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

By Addie Morfoot

Addie Morfoot

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Arnaud Desplechin ‘s hybrid documentary “Spectateurs!” (“Filmlovers”) debuted a first trailer ahead of the film’s world premiere at Cannes on May 22.

The 88-minute docu is a love letter to cinema, inspired by Desplechin’s own discovery and passion for cinema.

Popular on Variety

The renowned French auteur told  Variety that “Spectateurs!” is an “infinitely personal essay.” A project that was “vast” and “multi-layered” that “needed to be told in hybrid form.”

“[Producers] Charles Gillibert and Romain Blondeau, who both knew how much the philosopher Stanley Cavell meant to me, asked if I’d like to make a documentary about film projection,” says Desplechin. “I told them I didn’t know how to make a documentary [about that topic], but that I might think about a hybrid form. I put a few ideas down on paper, and little by little the film began to take shape. It was easy to write because I kept coming back to my own thoughts about cinema that were in my head for over twenty years, so the writing poured out of me.”

The director made his English-language debut with “Jimmy P. (Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian),” which starred Guillermo del Toro in 2013. Desplechin’s first doc, “L’Aimée,” was released in 2007.

“Spectateurs!” is produced by CG Cinema, the Paris-based banner behind Leos Carax’s “Annette”, Arte France Cinema and Scala Films. Les Films du Losange will distribute the title in France and handle international sales.

“Spectateurs!” will world premiere Cannes in the Special Screenings section on May 22.

Watch the trailer below.

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