Brave New World
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Reading and Writing Workshop

Reading the Future: A Critical Reading and Writing Workshop on Brave New World
Overview
​This workshop explores the themes, characters, and cultural impact of Brave New World, pairing each session with a thematically related public domain work. Students will engage in critical reading, analytical writing, and creative exercises that examine dystopian literature, freedom, technology, conformity, and censorship.

Session 1: Introduction to Dystopian Literature

• Focus: What is dystopia? What makes Brave New World unique?
• Reading: Introduction & Chapters 1–2 of Brave New World
• Public Domain Pairing:
  "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (1909)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17321
• Writing Activity: Compare the role of technology in the two societies. Which dystopia seems more plausible? Why?

Session 2: Conditioning and the Loss of Individuality

• Focus: Social engineering, conditioning, and identity
• Reading: Chapters 3–5
• Public Domain Pairing:
  "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16643
• Writing Activity: How would Emerson respond to the World State? Write a journal entry in his voice critiquing it.

Session 3: Happiness, Freedom, and Control

• Focus: The illusion of happiness and the price of stability
• Reading: Chapters 6–9
• Public Domain Pairing:
  "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill (1859)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34901
• Writing Activity: Use Mill’s ideas to argue whether the citizens in Brave New World are truly free.

Session 4: The Savage Reservation and Cultural Contrast

• Focus: The contrast between "civilization" and the "savage"
• Reading: Chapters 10–13
• Public Domain Pairing:
  "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau (1849)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71
• Writing Activity: Analyze John’s rebellion through the lens of Thoreau’s philosophy.

Session 5: Religion, Sacrifice, and Human Suffering

• Focus: The role of religion and the suppression of suffering
• Reading: Chapters 14–16
• Public Domain Pairing:
  The Bhagavad Gita (translated by Edwin Arnold, 1885)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2388
• Writing Activity: Compare the Gita’s view on suffering and duty with John’s final choices.

Session 6: The World Controller and Philosophical Justification

• Focus: Mustapha Mond’s arguments for sacrificing truth for stability
• Reading: Chapter 17
• Public Domain Pairing:
  The Republic by Plato (c. 380 BCE) – Book VII (The Allegory of the Cave)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1497
• Writing Activity: Is Mustapha Mond the philosopher-king Plato envisioned? Why or why not?

Session 7: Tragic Endings and Human Dignity

• Focus: John’s isolation and the novel’s final critique of society
• Reading: Chapter 18 (final)
• Public Domain Pairing:
  Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (translated by E.H. Plumptre)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31
• Writing Activity: Write a comparative analysis of John and Oedipus as tragic heroes.

Session 8: Censorship and the Banning of Brave New World

• Focus: Historical censorship, controversy, and modern relevance
• Reading: Selected news articles or summaries on challenges to Brave New World
• Public Domain Pairing:
  Areopagitica by John Milton (1644)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/608
• Discussion: Why has Brave New World been banned or challenged (e.g., sexual content, drug use, anti-religious themes)? What are the implications of banning such a book?
• Writing Activity: Write a persuasive essay either defending or opposing the banning of Brave New World in schools.