Group D     'Plot, characters, narrative perspective'

by Anna & Anja

Structure of the novel      

Plot 

You can find a well-structured and clearly arranged overview of the novel's plot on the following page: huxley.net 

Setting

-          the novel is set in the year 632 after Ford in the future, in which the values “Community, Identity, Stability” are  predominant

-          the story takes place in London:

 ∙ Hatching and Conditioning Centre

 ∙ Hospital for the Dying

 ∙ in several flats and offices ( f. ex. in Mustapha Mond's office and in John's flat)

 ∙ city of London

-          moreover the Indio-Reservation “Malpais” in New Mexico, where Bernard and Lenina spend their holiday and meet John and Linda, plays an important role in the novel

Narrative technique:

the novel is told by an omniscient narrator:

-                    he relates his story from an unlimited point of view

-                    he knows everything about the characters including their thoughts and feelings

--> the reader is able to feel with different persons and feels involved in the  action

-                    the technique reaches an extreme in chapter 3 because the scene often changes between action  outside and action inside the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre

--> consequently a chaotic and vivid atmosphere is created

Although the story is told from different points of view the reader doesn't learn a lot about people's behaviour and relationships because only flat characters are used; this is because “Brave New World“ is a NOVEL OF IDEAS. 

-                    on the one hand the author uses a lot of funny puns and describes amusing situations ( f. ex. chapter 3: a teacher wants to bring a child that doesn't want to play sexual games with other children to a psychologist because he thinks this behaviour is wrong)

-                    on the other hand the author describes “Brave New World” as a Dystopia, using a satirical and ironical tone ( f. ex. chapter 5: the situation in the cinema)

-                    but in some passages he also uses serious and normal language to emphasize serious and deep questions about the Utopian world ( f. ex. Bernard, who criticizes the lost identity and the use of soma)  

 A.H.'s criticism with regard to his own plot in `Brave New World`

-                    he criticizes the fact that John the Savage has only the chance to live in an Indio-Reservation or in the Utopian world instead of having the chance to live in a “normal world”

-                    he points out that John seems to be too intelligent and rational for a man who grew up in an uncivilized society; especially all the Shakespeare quotations in his mind seem to be exaggerated

-                    it is striking that the novel contains no reference to atomic energy, because it had been a popular issue years before the book was written

Our personal thoughts about the novel

-                    the novel is logically developed

-                    the author appeals to the reader's imagination, so that the reader is able to create a very clear and detailed picture of the situation in the Utopian world in his mind

-                    with his novel the author makes the reader aware of the conflicts within society

Admittedly after reading this novel you have to think about the use of technology and science and about human cloning and genetic engineering because year by year we see more and more of the prophetic elements in `Brave New World` becoming reality.

Narrative technique

omniscient narrator

flat characters

novel of ideas

funny puns    in contrast to     serious language

satirical and ironical tone