when you need the possible topics to examine and expand into inquiry questions:
-the role of religion in society
-the role of science in society
-the role of individualism in society
-god and humankind and their relationship to one another
-instiling morality and values in society
- significance of consumerism
- caste system
-role or use of shakespeare
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Can you give us any further ideas as to what you need? When you asked this before, you got two answers, one from me. Are those the kinds of answers you want, but you want more? Or would you like a different sort of question than the one I gave. Let me know so I'll have a better chance of helping you in the way that you need...
In his foreword to Brave New World, Aldous Huxley writes,
the love of servitude cannot be established except as the result of a deep, personal revolution in human minds and bodies.
This statement is central to the novel's theme, as also stated by Huxley in this foreword:
The them of Brave New World is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals.
Therefore, with these two statements of the author, Aldous Huxley, in mind, the loss of individualism seems at the heart of his novel. For, without great individuals to lead a nation, there is no great nation, at least no great free nation.
In the history of the United States and of Great Britain, where Huxley is from, the role of great individuals has been of paramount importance. Surely, then, there should be much material from which you can glean ideas. (Besides, how relevant is this today!)
I agree with #3 - the loss of individualism seems to go to the heart of this novel. As a work of dystopian fiction, it paints a terrifying and shocking image of what the world of tomorrow could look like. Interestingly, in their attempts to create a "perfect" society, what has to be lost, apparently, is the freedom which we all so cherish and love. According to Mond, this is because human freedom generates war and suffering. There is ample scope for you to think through these issues and use it to generate an essay question.
You might want to go with the role/use of Shakespeare to lead to a discussion of the relationship between "reality" and the language that we use to explore this reality. It is very clear that the citizens of BNW have been deprived of the language they need to describe things like love, faith, loyalty etc. Unlikely as it may seem, Shakespeare has given the Savage the ability to think/speak about these things and he finds it difficult to understand why the citizens seem unaware that they even exist.
This theme is similar to what Orwell is doing in 1984 where "Newspeak" prevents us from speaking about anything that really matters --- except in the officially approved version of language.
Remind you of politically correct speech ....
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