CliffsNotes on Huxley's Brave New World

by Charles Higgins

A description of a futuristic, controlled community with utopian overtones, Brave New World illustrates the results of failing to establish control over science. In this eerie, provocative novel, the characters are completely subdued and enslaved by a small ruling group that wields the power of science.

This concise supplement to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World helps students understand the overall structure of the novel, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 1999

Reviews

[Mahrous · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lost in the beginning of the original novel and left it for a while. Then I found these study notes series for students. It condensed the plot and the characters brilliantly and it encouraged me to complete the magnificent novel. I think I will use the "cliff notes" series again in the future.

[Debo]

I read this solely for the reason the book reprimanded me at least seven times to not read it for, but alas :D It made me want to read Brave New World for its themes and some specific dialogues, but did in no way take away from the horrified stance I have taken towards the plot and descriptions :D

[Nathan Ethridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this for fun. i don't have a HS English test... send help

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I confess, I cheated. I wanted to read this book, but I want to read a LOT of books, so I just read the cliff notes to see if this would be a book I would want to read in it's entiretiy later. It was a great story! Very interesting and very weird. Two different worlds are presented to show the danger of extremes. In the "new" world everything is clean and sanitary. There is no illness, old age, or even birth. Everyone is happy (due to drug use) and socially compliant. But there is no free will, no choices, no adventure, no love. In the "savage" world things are durty and animalistic, but people live and love and experience. It's an interesting look at Pleasure vs. Pain and Freedom vs. Safety. I will probably not read the real book after reading the cliff notes. A lot of the story seemed to center around sex. And although I like sex, I am not a fan of reading about it. A lot of the compare and contrast in the book involved how the two cultures veiwed sexual intamacy. The new world had made it casual, clean, safe, and everybody was doing it with everybody else and no one was getting pregnant. In the savage world things were more traditional in that it only occurred within relationships and was passionate and resulted in childbirth. In the end the savage hero kills himself because he is so ashamed and overwhelmed by his new world girlfriend's extreme sexual advanced towards him. Very interesting, but weird.

[Christy Willis]

needed to understand the book!!!