MIRANDA
a hypertext of Huxley's Brave New World

Questions for Chapter XV

1) Note John Savage's repetition of Miranda's words "O brave new world" in this chapter - does the phrase mean something different to him than when he first says the words in chapter 8? Why?

2) What connections can you make between soma and modern psychiatric drugs? What are the various purposes of soma? Of modern drugs?

3) How does the historic soma and its use differ from the soma of BNW?

4) Why is John Savage so upset that the Deltas take soma?

5) John says: "Ill teach you; I'll make you be free whether you want to or not" when he tries to get the Deltas to reject soma. Is it possible to 'make' someone free? Why or why not? Are there any modern parallels to this attitude? What else can enslave people besides drugs?

6) Note that the riot of Deltas is subdued non-violently with a soma fog and soundtrack. How does this compare to crowd-control techniques used today? Would a soma vaporization be more effective than tear gas or pepper spray?