Listen & Learn: Brave New World

Learn about a dystopian novel that “predicted the future”

Pre-listening vocabulary

• dystopia: an imaginary world where there is a lot of injustice, oppression, and social control
• cloning: the process of copying a person’s genes to create another identical person
• class: a social group that a person belongs to, especially one that determines how much money or power they have
• utopia: an imaginary world where people are happy and the causes of pain and suffering have been solved
• parody: a work that imitates another work, especially in a humorous way
• pessimistic: believing that the future is likely to be bad or upsetting
• classic: a book that has stayed popular and relevant over a long period of time

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:10 — 3.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

Brave New World is a 1932 novel by English writer Aldous Huxley. The novel is set in a version of London, England in a future dystopian called the World State. In the World State, the businessman Henry Ford has become a figure. The World State tries to keep its citizens happy with technology and drugs. It uses cloning technology to produce children. These children are genetically selected for a specific class and role within society. Huxley’s work was influenced by the of utopian fiction, which was very popular at the time. Many utopian novels described futures where technology had solved all human . Huxley thought this was an impossible and even dangerous idea. Brave New World began specifically as a parody of the utopian novels of H. G. Wells. Early reviews of Brave New World were often . Readers at the time thought it was disturbing and pessimistic. Over time, it became a classic of dystopian fiction, especially as technology grew and changed.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Brave New World is set in a future version of
   a. London
   b. New York
   c. Paris
   
2. The real historical person who is a religious figure in Brave New World‘s World State is
   a. Winston Churchill
   b. Henry Ford
   c. H. G. Wells
   
3. Brave New World began as a parody of
   a. science fiction
   b. pulp fiction
   c. utopian fiction

Discussion/essay questions

1. It is often said that dystopian books “predict the future.” People have claimed this about Brave New World, as well as other dystopian novels like Nineteen Eighty–Four and The Handmaid’s Tale. Why do you think this is? Have you read any older dystopian books that feel very important now? Have you read any newer dystopian books that you think will become important in the future?

Transcript

Brave New World is a 1932 novel by English writer Aldous Huxley. The novel is set in a version of London, England in a future dystopian society called the World State. In the World State, the businessman Henry Ford has become a religious figure. The World State tries to keep its citizens happy with technology and drugs. It uses cloning technology to produce children. These children are genetically selected for a specific class and role within society. Huxley’s work was influenced by the genre of utopian fiction, which was very popular at the time. Many utopian novels described futures where technology had solved all human problems. Huxley thought this was an impossible and even dangerous idea. Brave New World began specifically as a parody of the utopian novels of H. G. Wells. Early reviews of Brave New World were often negative. Readers at the time thought it was disturbing and pessimistic. Over time, it became a classic of dystopian fiction, especially as technology grew and changed.

Answers to comprehension questions

1a 2b 3c

See also and compare

• 1984 by George Orwell