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BRAVE NEW WORLD Test (PDF)

    This Brave New World Test contains 20 comprehension questions, 25 literary knowledge and analysis questions, 3 short response prompts, and an essay prompt. It is four pages when printed front and back.

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    • Recall and Comprehension (45 Brave New World multiple choice questions)
    • Literary Knowledge and Analysis  (45 Brave New World multiple choice questions)
    • Short Answer (20 prompts)
    • Extended Response  (10 prompts)

    Additional end-of-unit assessments from TeachNovels:

    Brave New World Test Items to Cut and Paste

    Brave New World Multiple Choice Questions

    1) The very beginning of Brave New World centers on a…

    • University lecture.
    • Man alone on an island.
    • Tour of a factory.
    • Secret meeting of the World State.

    2) How does the society teach children morality and values?

    • A pain implant punishes them.
    • Government-approved movies present proper role models.
    • The children are brainwashed while they sleep.
    • Trick question! Morality is no longer a concern.

    3) Which historical figure do the people of the society worship?

    • Zaphod Beeblebrox
    • Mazer Rackham
    • Benito Mussolini
    • Henry Ford

    4) Which choice is NOT a coping mechanism (a way to deal with emotions) used by citizens of the society?

    • Promiscuous sex (many partners)
    • Self-abuse (physical pain)
    • Drug use (soma)
    • Feely movies (escapism)

    5) What fact makes Bernard Marx feel insecure about himself?

    • He is physically small.
    • He thinks that his face is unattractive.
    • He has a speech impediment.
    • He believes that he is less intelligent than his peers.

    6) In what way are Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson alike?

    • They are both considered unattractive.
    • They feel like they do not fit in.
    • They have the same occupation.
    • They are both Gammas.

    7) What is Bernard Marx’s field of expertise?

    • Mechanical engineering
    • Psychology
    • Music (composition)
    • Historical research

    8) How did John come to live on the “Savage” Reservation?

    • He was left there as part of an experiment.
    • He escaped “civilization” to live there.
    • He was born there.
    • A helicopter crash strands him there.

    9) What fact shames the Director of the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre?

    • He falls in love with the “wrong” person.
    • He fathers a child.
    • Bernard catches him stealing from the company.
    • He is a fraud—he was born into a lower level of society.

    10) How do Linda and John come to leave the reservation?

    • Bernard sneaks them out illegally.
    • They escape by stealing other people’s documents. 
    • The leader of the “savages” demands that they leave.
    • Bernard gets permission to take them back to London.

    11) What is the official motto or slogan of the World State?

    • Community—Identity—Stability
    • Work—Consume—Enjoy
    • Joy for All, Misery for None
    • Strength through Unity, Unity through Faith

    12) Which of the following is a sacred symbol in Brave New World?

    • A circle made of smaller circles
    • A lightning bolt
    • The exclamation point
    • The letter T

    13) Which character fits best into the society of Brave New World?

    • Bernard Marx
    • Helmholtz Watson
    • Fanny Crowne
    • Linda Savage

    14) Which choice reflects a change caused by John and Linda’s arrival in London?

    • People start to question the World State government.
    • People are turning away from soma.
    • Bernard becomes popular.
    • Bonaparte and his followers decide that they will become “savage.”

    15) Which choice best represents the society’s views on family?

    • Your caste (level of society) is your family.
    • Your Bokanovsky group is your family.    
    • The idea of family is disgusting and wrong.
    • The World State is your family.

    16) How do the authorities handle the riot started by John Savage?

    • They use drugs to calm everyone down.
    • They decide to let the riot “run its course.”
    • They start beating and killing people.
    • Trick question! They cannot decide how to deal with it.

    17) Which choice is NOT a feature of life in Huxley’s imagined society?

    • Violent Passion Surrogate
    • Rigorous Morning Chant
    • Solidarity Service
    • Malthusian Drill

    18) Why does Mustapha Mond think it is a reward to be sent to an island?

    • The “savages” treat you as royalty.
    • The free-thinking individuals are there.
    • You are part of an exciting experiment.
    • You can get away from the crowded cities.

    19) Which character is glad to be exiled to an isolated island?

    • Helmholtz Watson
    • The DHC (Bernard’s former boss)
    • Bernard Marx
    • Lenina Crowne

    20) How does John Savage die?

    • He hangs himself.
    • A crowd beats him to death.
    • The World State has him electrocuted.
    • Trick question! John Savage lives!

    21) Brave New World is narrated from the point of view of…

    • Bernard Marx.
    • John Savage.
    • The World State leaders.
    • An unknown being.

    22) Which choice accurately describes the narration of Brave New World?

    • First-person, limited
    • First-person, omniscient
    • Third-person, omniscient
    • Second-person, limited

    23) Which choice is NOT an accurate genre for Brave New World?

    • Utopia Novel
    • Speculative Fiction
    • Dystopia Novel
    • Science Fiction

    24) Which choice is NOT an aspect of the novel’s historical context?

    • 1932
    • England
    • 2540 A.F.
    • Industrialization

    25) Dystopian fiction ALWAYS imagines…

    • A horrible life for humankind.
    • Scientific and technological advancements.
    • Violent, totalitarian governments.
    • Life in the distant future.

    26) The author’s use of word choice to help you visualize the events is called…

    • Figurative language.
    • Connotative language.
    • Imagery.
    • Sight words.

    27) Mustapha Mond occasionally includes Bible verses in his speech. This is an example of…

    • Symbolism.
    • Hyperbole.
    • Free verse.
    • Allusion.

    28) Huxley writes, “THE MESA was like a ship becalmed in a strait of lion-coloured dust.” This is an example of…

    • Hyperbole.
    • Personification.
    • Figurative language.
    • Irony.

    29) Which of these has the greatest symbolic importance in Brave New World?

    • Helicopters
    • The hospital
    • A bottle
    • A faucet

    30) Which choice is NOT an aspect of imagery?

    • Key words (connotations)
    • Source materials
    • Sensory language
    • Figurative language

    31) The story of how the baby factory works is best described as…

    • Allegorical.
    • Philosophical.
    • Rhetorical.
    • Reciprocal.

    32) The phrase “brave new world” originates from…

    • Plato’s Republic.
    • The New Testament of the Bible.
    • Dante’s Inferno.
    • Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

    33) John’s repeated use of the phrase “brave new world” shifts from being…

    • Enthusiastic to ironic.
    • Ironic to enthusiastic.
    • Accusatory to sympathetic.
    • Sympathetic to accusatory.

    34) The narrative structure of Brave New World is surprising in that…

    • The narrator decides to get personally involved in the story.
    • Huxley starts at the ending of the plot and works backwards.
    • He changes the protagonist half-way through.
    • The point of view is different for each chapter.

    35) The excerpt below BEST demonstrates which literary element?

    … sultry darkness into which the students now followed him was visible and crimson, like the darkness of closed eyes on a summer’s afternoon. The bulging flanks of row on receding row and tier above tier of bottles glinted with innumerable rubies, and among the rubies moved the dim red spectres of men and women with purple eyes and all the symptoms of lupus. The hum and rattle of machinery faintly stirred the air.

    • Imagery
    • Parallel construction
    • Frame tale
    • Internal conflict

    36) Which symbolic element is LEAST associated with the character of John Savage?

    • A volume of Shakespeare
    • The abandoned lighthouse
    • Henry Ford’s Model T
    • A bottle of soma

    37) The use of shocks and blasting noises on babies relates to the principles of…

    • Classical conditioning.
    • Hypnopedia.
    • Solidarity Service.
    • Brain-imaging.

    38) Huxley uses literary allusions to create a connection between…

    • Mustapha Mond and Adolf Hitler.
    • John Savage and John the Baptist.
    • Lenina Crowne and Cleopatra.
    • Bernard Marx and Don Quixote.

    39) Based on Brave New World, which societal development was LEAST concerning to Huxley?

    • Genetic science
    • Religious extremism
    • Consumerism
    • Psychological manipulation

    40) The excerpt below BEST relates to the literary element of…

    Helmholtz only laughed. “I feel,” he said, after a silence, “as though I were just beginning to have something to write about. As though I were beginning to be able to use that power I feel I’ve got inside me–that extra, latent power. Something seems to be coming to me.” In spite of all his troubles, he seemed … profoundly happy.

    • Allusion.
    • Sound devices.
    • Internal conflict.
    • Flashback.

    41) Which of these characters is LEAST moved by the works of Shakespeare?

    • Helmholtz Watson
    • Mustapha Mond
    • John Savage
    • Bernard Marx

    42) What is the term for persuasion that advances an argument or point of view without concern for fairness or objectivity?

    • Classical appeal
    • Propaganda
    • Diversionary debate
    • Slander

    43) Based on the narrator’s tone, we can conclude that the narrator…

    • Does not approve of the new society.
    • Approves of the new society.
    • Despises all the main characters.
    • Appreciates and cares for all the main characters.

    44) Which of the following does NOT have major symbolic importance in BNW?

    • The abandoned lighthouse
    • Fountains and waterfalls
    • Conveyor belts and machinery
    • Bottles

    45) Which choice is NOT a theme communicated by Brave New World?

    • Freedom should not be traded for stability.
    • Purpose is more important than pleasure.
    • The human spirit is impossible to control.
    • The developments of today may have unintended consequences.

    Brave New World Short Answer Prompts

    46) What pattern does the naming of people in the Brave New World society reflect? What is Huxley’s purpose in naming the characters this way?

    47) Think about the historical context in which Huxley wrote Brave New World. Explain how the speculations of the novel reflect ONE issue from Huxley’s real world.

    48) Analyze this excerpt from Chapter 16 in terms of theme development:

    “It’s an absurdity. An Alpha-decanted, Alpha-conditioned man would go mad if he had to do Epsilon Semi-Moron work–go mad, or start smashing things up. Alphas can be completely socialized–but only on condition that you make them do Alpha work. Only an Epsilon… His conditioning has laid down rails along which he’s got to run. He can’t help himself; he’s foredoomed. Even after decanting, he’s still inside a bottle–an invisible bottle of infantile and embryonic fixations. …”

    Brave New World Test Extended Response

    Identify the TWO main source materials to which Huxley alludes in Brave New World.  How does he create connections to the source materials and what do these connections accomplish? Organize your essay body by having one body section for each of the two source materials.

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