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Mr. Eric Lister
English Department
Winchester High School
80 Skillings Road
Winchester, MA 01890
 
781.721.7020
College Prep‎ > ‎

Brave New World: "Savage Reservation"

Brave New World: Chapters Six and Seven:
 
 
Do Now: 10 Minutes.
 
1.  Create a google document with the following name:   Your Name   Brave New World Chapter Six and Seven  B Block
 
2.  Look at the objects Mr. Lister has brought to class and has put on the overhead projector.  Freewrite about any aspect of these artifacts/pictures that you find interesting. 
 
Newspaper Rock:
  
Taos Pueblo:                      
3.  Share the Document with Mr. Lister
 
 
 
4.  Look at the following passage carefully and write a formal paragraph that analyzes it like a formal essay:
 

THE MESA was like a ship becalmed in a strait of lion-coloured dust. The channel wound between precipitous banks, and slanting from one wall to the other across the valley ran a streak of green-the river and its fields. On the prow of that stone ship in the centre of the strait, and seemingly a part of it, a shaped and geometrical outcrop of the naked rock, stood the pueblo of Malpais. Block above block, each story smaller than the one below, the tall houses rose like stepped and amputated pyramids into the blue sky. At their feet lay a straggle of low buildings, a criss-cross of walls; and on three sides the precipices fell sheer into the plain. A few columns of smoke mounted perpendicularly into the windless air and were lost.

"Queer," said Lenina. "Very queer." It was her ordinary word of condemnation. "I don't like it. And I don't like that man." She pointed to the Indian guide who had been appointed to take them up to the pueblo. Her feeling was evidently reciprocated; the very back of the man, as he walked along before them, was hostile, sullenly contemptuous.

"Besides," she lowered her voice, "he smells."

Bernard did not attempt to deny it. They walked on.

Suddenly it was as though the whole air had come alive and were pulsing, pulsing with the indefatigable movement of blood. Up there, in Malpais, the drums were being beaten. Their feet fell in with the rhythm of that mysterious heart; they quickened their pace. Their path led them to the foot of the precipice. The sides of the great mesa ship towered over them, three hundred feet to the gunwale.

 
Here's an etext link to Huxley's Brave New World:
 
Here's a link to the Norton Anthology of Literature's writing supplement, Litweb:
 
 
 
To watch in full screen. Hit link below:
 
 
 

Brave New World

by

 

Aldous Huxley

 

 

General instructions:  Compose a 25 sentence, five paragraph, essay discussing one of the topics listed below.  Please use MLA formatting  and submit a thoroughly professional looking essay, one that you could use as a writing sample for your college applications. Even in this first draft you will be graded on three different criteria:

 

            1.  The neatness and professionalism of the paper.  Does the paper look like a

            college paper?  Does it follow all the conventions of MLA document style? Does

            it have an appropriate title?  

 

            2.  Grammar and style:  Is the paper readable? Does it use the conventions of

            standard academic English?  Is the tone correct? 

 

            3.  Ideas and Content:  Is this paper an argument?  Does it have a solid thesis?

            Do all the topic sentences work to prove the thesis?  Is all the evidence introduced

            properly?  Is all the analysis (commentary) useful and complete?

 

Despite the fact that this is a first draft, it should represent your best possible work with the most possible care.  Before we can even begin to approach how to improve your writing skills we must start at the zenith of your work.  Anything less than your best is unacceptable.

 

Why is this a 25 sentence paper instead of a three to five page paper?  Each sentence in a good paper does something important.   Whether it is the introduction, conclusion, or body paragraph, each sentence should make a conscious maneuver towards proving a very specific point and you should be able to justify your decisions.  There should never be an “I don’t know” moment in your written work; and this very short paper format (for the first draft) will keep you from making this mistake.

 

Remember each paragraph does the following:

  1. Makes a claim
  2. Introduces its evidence
  3. States the evidence accurately
  4. Analyzes the evidence fully
  5. Finishes the thought and provides a transition to the next idea

 

Due date:  Full draft due Wednesday, January 14

 

Paper Topics:

 

1.  Explore the implications of the word “savage” in BNW. 

 

Ideas to consider:  Why is John continually called the “Savage” (note the capital S) and what does this term mean?  Are there other aspects of savagery in the book the compete with or trump the idea of John as Savage?  Is one born a savage or turned into a savage?  Who is the most savage character in the text?

 

2.  Capitalism, consumer society and the assembly line seem to be near the center of this text.   “Oh, Ford!” save us all.  Write a paper that discusses what it means to replace God (any God of your choosing) with the creator of the assembly line and the Model T.

 

Ideas to consider:  Why are people bred to be consumers?   Why would one wear a golden T around one’s neck?   How much buying and selling do we actually see in the text?  What goods and services seem to be produced and consumed?  How does the reservation, as vacation destination, fit into this consumer society? 

 

3.  Sex, Drugs, Music and the Feelies:  Discuss how entertainment functions in the “utopian” society of the Brave New World.

 

Ideas to consider:  Why is Shakespeare so important?  What does Soma do to structure society?   How is music paired with propaganda?  How is sexuality divorced from its moral and reproductive capacities problematized by the text?

 

 

4.  Why does intelligence/education matter?  Compose a paper that discusses the pros and cons of intelligence. 

 

How do I write  five sentence introduction: The purpose of the introduction is to introduce (ha!) your thesis:

    1. Generally, the thesis is located at the last sentence in the introduction.

    2. The first sentence does what?:

            Some options:

                    a. introduces the book

                    b.  outside connection (dangerous, but can be useful)

                    c.  Start with an important quotation from the book

                    d.  State the central problem of the text. (Maybe your topic)

                    

                             

 

 

Ideas to consider:  Are smart people better or happier than those of limited intelligence in the text?   Who is the smartest main character in the book?  What is the burden of intelligence?  What is the debate about the various forms of education in the text (hypnopaedia vs. Shakespeare)?

A couple of writing links for you:
 
Jack Lynch on Getting an A on English Papers : A good all-around resource.
OWL MLA Help at Perdue University : Helpful in formatting papers.
Elements of Style, Professor Strunk : The best guide to mechanics. It is a classic.
University of North Carolina Writing Center : The differences between High School and College Writing.
Harvard University Writing Center Resources  :  This is how they tutor writing at Harvard. It might work for us.
How to write Analytical Paragraphs :  Even Community Colleges have much to teach.