MWDS Brave New World
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Major Works Data Sheet
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
Title: Brave New World
Author: Aldous Huxley
Date of Publication: 1932
Genre: Dystopian Literature
Biographical Information about the Author:
Aldous Huxley was a British writer born in Surrey, England on July 26, 1894. He studied science at Eton, but a problem with his eyes left him partially blind and he had to leave after three years. When it eventually improved he attended Oxford, receiving a degree in English Literature. Over the course of his life he wrote many books of all which ranged from topics of drugs and sex to religion and politics. In 1945, Huxley began experimenting with drugs, predominately LSD and mescaline. He died in California in 1963.
Historical Information:
The novel was heavily influenced by theories of eugenics, the idea that regulation of genetic traits would improve society. 1932 was also an influential time period in United States history because it was at the height of the depression and many other people at that time period were forced to reevaluate their lives in order of “survival of the fittest.”
Characteristics of the Genre:
Dystopian novels apply extreme elements of contemporary society and function as a warning against some modern trend. They usually warn against an oppressive regime or liberal thought by a supposedly utopian society and proving that perfection cannot exist.
Plot Summary:
The book begins with the Director of Hatcheries giving a tour of the :conditioning center” and “cloning” facilities. He introduces the Bokanovsky process of cloning and sleep teaching. Each person is put into a “caste” and then “conditioned” to fit into the role of that caste. Then Mustapha Mond, the World Controller of Western Europe, he explains the instability of the previous society and the improvements of the new society. He says the new society formed because an economic crisis that ensued after the
Major Works Data Sheet
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
Title: Brave New World
Author: Aldous Huxley
Date of Publication: 1932
Genre: Dystopian Literature
Biographical Information about the Author:
Aldous Huxley was a British writer born in Surrey, England on July 26, 1894. He studied science at Eton, but a problem with his eyes left him partially blind and he had to leave after three years. When it eventually improved he attended Oxford, receiving a degree in English Literature. Over the course of his life he wrote many books of all which ranged from topics of drugs and sex to religion and politics. In 1945, Huxley began experimenting with drugs, predominately LSD and mescaline. He died in California in 1963.
Historical Information:
The novel was heavily influenced by theories of eugenics, the idea that regulation of genetic traits would improve society. 1932 was also an influential time period in United States history because it was at the height of the depression and many other people at that time period were forced to reevaluate their lives in order of “survival of the fittest.”
Characteristics of the Genre:
Dystopian novels apply extreme elements of contemporary society and function as a warning against some modern trend. They usually warn against an oppressive regime or liberal thought by a supposedly utopian society and proving that perfection cannot exist.
Plot Summary:
The book begins with the Director of Hatcheries giving a tour of the :conditioning center” and “cloning” facilities. He introduces the Bokanovsky process of cloning and sleep teaching. Each person is put into a “caste” and then “conditioned” to fit into the role of that caste. Then Mustapha Mond, the World Controller of Western Europe, he explains the instability of the previous society and the improvements of the new society. He says the new society formed because an economic crisis that ensued after the