New Readings for "Brave New World" and "That Hideous Strength"

Online readings

Now that we have finished the 'great debate' - which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way - you can move on to your next shorter study for unit 4. The title is:

Examine how both novels deal with the relationship between the individual and society (1250-1500 words).

To enhance your work on AO3 (different readers), you could consider referring to any of the readings below. Click on the link to go to the reading, download then read and annotate to select suitable quotations/ideas you could use:

Main Themes in Brave New World by Mireia Ferrandis Pradas, 2000.

Brave New World: A Defense of Paradise-Engineering? by Dave Pearce, 1998.

Brave New World: The Cost of Stability by Ricky Gehlhaus, Jr., 1998. See also the pages about Huxley at somaweb.org.

Don't foget about:

Apocalyptic Themes in "That Hideous Strength" by Marisa White.

Homework

Chose one reading and prepare notes on it for next week.

Shorter Coursework Piece 1: The Treatment of Scientific Progress in Both Novels

A summary of coursework information including tasks, assessment objectives and marks is available to download here.

You can access the mark scheme in more detail from Edexcel here.

Examples of further critical readings about That Hideous Strength and Brave New World can be found in the side-bars to the left. You may be interested in:

• Apocalyptic Themes in "That Hideous Strength" by Marisa White
• "Brave New World" an Essay by Leon Kass

You should make sure you complete reading Howard's The Miserific Vision and that you have planned similarities and differences based on the theme.

Begin drafting your ideas remembering to include an evaluation of contexts and other readers' opinions about the novels.

Good luck.

You can always email me for help or post an SOS here!

Image: Old isn't as bad as it looks!

The Miserific Vision: Further steps in coursework preparation

Our focus this week will be upon some further key scenes from That Hideous Strength and Brave New World. We will also look at using Tom Howard's chapter "The Miserific Vision" about That Hideous Strength as your third and critical text in your coursework.

Further key scenes from Brave New World

With a partner, identify what you believe to be the five most significant scenes from Brave New World after chapter 2.

Choose one to present in detail to the class. You should include:

• Characters
• Main incidents
• Themes suggested
• Links to coursework theme ('scientific progress')
• Links to That Hideous Strength

The Ending of That Hideous Strength

Discuss together which three episodes seem to you most important in the ending of Lewis' novel?

Be prepared to explain why.

"The Miserific Vision" by Tom Howard

Assuming you have read and annotated Howard's essay, work together to select 5-10 key quotations that you might use in your coursework. Remember that the theme is 'scientific progress'.

Be prepared to explain the significance of Howard's quotations.

Homework

At this point, you should begin to draft ideas for your first piece of coursework.

The two original titles are:

1. Compare the treatment of scientific progress in C. S. Lewis'That Hideous Strength and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1250-1500 words).
2. Examine how all three novels deal with the relationship between the individual and society (1250-1500 words).

The assessment objectives are:

1. Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.
2. Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meaning in literary texts.
3. Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.
4. Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Compare means similarities and differences.

Good luck!

Brave New World and The Abolition of Man

This week we will focus on Brave New World and comparison with That Hideous Strength that focuses on your first coursework assignment.

The novels' openings

What similarities and differences between the openings of the novels did you find?

Compare with a partner.

The Conditioners

In his The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis wrote:

"if any one age really attains, by eugenics and scientific education, the power to make its descendants what it pleases, all men who live after it are the patients of that power...the man-moulders of the new age will be armed with the powers of an omnicompetent state and an irresistible scientific technique: we shall get at last a race of conditioners who really can cut out all posterity in what shape they please."

1. How do the planners in the Central London Hatchery "predestine and condition" (page 10) in Brave New World?
2. What techniques do they use in chapter 2 with babies?

Scientific Progress in Brave New World and That Hideous Strength

Mind Map similarities and differences between how scientific progress is presented in both novels.

Homework

1. Complete the mind map comparing the novels. Add quotations and references to contexts that could be important.
2. Find out about 'operant conditioning', B. F. Skinner and Behaviourism (Psychology students should have a head start here!). How does it apply to Brave New World?

Image: B. F. Skinner

Merlin, Ransom and the Central London Hatchery

THS Chapter12 review: Wet and Windy Nights

We will begin by reviewing this chapter. What do we learn from this chapter about

• Merlin
• The Macrobes
• That Hideous Strength

Chapters 13 -14

Discuss and take notes on what we further learn in these chapters about

• Merlin
• The Director Ransom
• What it is that opposes the NICE

What has happened to Jane and Mark at this point in the novel?

Brave New World: Studying the opening

We will finish this week by looking briefly at the opening of Huxley's Brave New World. In particular we will look at how he creates a convincing picture of the Central London Hatchery. in chapter 1.

Homework: Lewis' use of language (AO 2)

Find examples of Lewis' language from the novel. Look in particular for:

• metaphor
• simile
• colourful or vivid description
• invented words or terms (e. g. eldila)
• scientific vocabulary and phrases
• pseudo-scientific vocabulary or phrases
• literary references (e.g. Romance of the Rose, p. 72)
• dialogue to create character
• Biblical or Christian references
• symbols

Make notes on page numbers and examples with an idea of why and how Lewis uses them.

That Hideous Strength: The Conflict Gets Nearer

Chapter 10: The Saracen's Head

Make a brief summary of this chapter.

Chapter 11: Mark and Dr Dimble (pages 296-305)

What does the conversation between Mark and Dimble reveal about each character and each 'side'?

Coursework Theme: Scientific Progress in That Hideous Strength

Begin a mind-map on how scientific progress is portrayed in the novel and what it is set against. Find quotations about the NICE and about St Anne's that would support your ideas.

Homework

1. Complete any outstanding written work.
2. Complete the notes on scientific progress.
3. Summarise chapter 12 "Wet and Windy Nights".

Image: Human stem cells

"That Hideous Strength" Chapter 7: On Marriage, Love and Obedience

Contexts

You will present your ideas on 4 contextual aspects of our novels:

• Eugenics in the twentieth century- Margaret Sanger
• Ideologies of the inhuman - Nazism and the Master Race
• The Sex Planners - Alfred Kinsey
• The Use of Propaganda

The Pendragon

Referring closely to chapter 7, discuss and take notes on these questions:

1. How has Jane come to be at St Anne's again in this chapter?
2. What does Miss Ironwood tell Jane about the Director before she meets him?
3. What impression does this create for the reader?
4. What further impressions of the Director do we get from the descriptions on pages 188-190?
5. What do we learn about Jane's views on marriage from her conversation with the Director?
6. How does it differ from the Director's views?
7. What does the Director mean when he says "you...have lost love because you never attempted obedience?" (195)
8. What "four Janes" return to Edgestow by train after this meeting (199ff)?
9. What happens to Jane on her return ?
10. How does Jane get back to St Anne's and why is this significant?

Homework: Moonlight at Belbury

Re-read chapter 8 and make notes on what more we learn about the NICE and its intentions in creating "the New Man".

Image: Eugenicist Margaret Sanger.

Unit 4 coursework tasks: The Miserific Vision

The Miserific Vision

All three texts you are studying - That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - present to greater or lesser degrees nightmarish visions of not just the world but the future of our society.

You will complete two shorter tasks for your coursework based on these texts:

1. Compare the treatment of scientific progress in C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1250-1500 words).


2. Examine how all three novels deal with the relationship between the individual and society (1250-1500 words).

Assessment Objectives

For unit 4 Reflections in Literary Studies you will be expected to produce a coursework folder of between 2500 and 3000 words maximum that meets the four assessment objectives:

• Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meaning in literary texts.
• Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.
• Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

The folder is marked out of 80 and is worth 40% of the A2 marks.

Don't forget that you are expected to read secondary sources, carry out some of your own research on the novels and provide a bibliography with each piece of coursework.

The word count must stick strictly to those given and each page of your coursework must have a word count at the bottom.

Image: from Dante's Inferno illustrated by Gustave Dore.

Elasticity and the NICE in "That Hideous Strength"

This week we will further our exploration of themes in That Hideous Strength and study chapter 5 called "Elasticity".

Presentations

In your group, present your theme to the class.

"Elasticity"

Working with chapter 5, explore the following questions:

1. What happens between Mark and Wither, the Deputy Director of the NICE in this chapter?
2. Why does this frustrate Mark?
3. How does the Fairy attempt to get Mark further interested in the NICE?
4. How is the question of propaganda presented in this chapter through the Fairy?
5. Why would the NICE wish to use propaganda to further their goals?
6. What is the significance of the two letters in this chapter?
7. Who does Jane have lunch with, where and why?
8. What further information is revealed about St Anne's in this chapter?
9. What is Jane's reaction to being invited to join St Anne's and why does she react this way?
10. What role does the weather and setting have in this chapter?

Essay: The Goals of the NICE

Summarise what seem to be the goals of the NICE. Refer especially to chapter 2.

Homework: Complete essay to at least 600 words. Hand in 29th September 2009.

Image: Elasticity.

Themes in "That Hideous Strength"

Timeline and Themes in Chapters 1-4

We will be concentrating on establishing a timeline for chapters 1-4 of Lewis' novel, then on themes that are revealed in this part of the narrative.

There are several key themes in the novel, including:

• Men, women and marriage
• Scientific Progress
• Tradition and Modernity
• The Arthurian Legends
• Authority and Freedom
• Magic and the Supernatural

In small groups, prepare a presentation about a theme that interests you. This should include an A4 handout.

Homework

Summarise how Lewis establishes your chosen theme in chapters 1-4 of the novel. You will find helpful commentary on chapters 1-4 here.

Unit 4: Belbury and St Anne's in "That Hideous Strength"

Belbury

Belbury is the home of the NICE in Lewis' novel. It is where much of the narrative is set and where Mark Studdock is inducted into the philosophy and aims of the NICE. Starting with Chapter 3, make notes on:

• What people Mark meets at Belbury
• What kinds of conversations he has
• What he learns or doesn't learn about the NICE
• Who the key people there are and what they seem to be like
• What the purpose of NICE seems to be
• How the weather is associated carefully with Belbury, for example in chapter 6 and why this is

St Anne's-on-the-hill

This old house is where Jane Studdock first meets Miss Hardcastle and Dr Ransom, the Pendragon. Starting with the end of chapter 2 and then chapter 3, make notes on

• Lewis' descriptions of St Anne's in chapters 2 and 3 and what we learn from them
• How the place seems to affect Jane
• Who she meets there and what they are like and how they offer to help her

Comparing Belbury and St Anne's

Both places and the people in them represent two conflicting worldviews for Lewis. Both places are presented carefully to encourage the reader to compare them.

Make a comparison chart showing similarities and differences between them. For example, both places have a 'Head' but in each case they are very different.

Homework

1. Complete the comparison chart
2. Choose one character from Belbury and one from St Anne's that you could compare. Make notes about them for the next lesson.
3. If you haven't, you shoud be reading Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four

Image: Likeness of St Anne's

Shadowlands: Where love meets literature and life

I hope that you have been reading That Hideous Strength and are enjoying the experience! This is the last lesson of the year/term so I would like to focus further on the life of C. S. Lewis:

Shadowlands

We will watch the film about C. S. Lewis later life with Joy Davidman in E1. It is called Shadowlands and stars Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.

Homework

1. Reading That Hideous Strength, Brave New World and if you have time Nineteen Eight-Four our study texts.
2. Background research about Lewis and Huxley and the novels' contexts.
3. Gather display items about C. S. Lewis for E1 to put up next term - photos, book covers, summaries or That Hideous Strength or other Lewis works, biographical material, quotations from the novel and anything else!

Unit 4 coursework: The Miserific Vision

The Opening of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

Today we will begin studying That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis. I will supply you with the opening sections of the first chapter if you don't have a text yet. The opening of the novel introduces the reader to Jane Studdock, wife of Mark Studdock. Both are the main characters in the novel.

Jane and Mark are recently married; Jane is working on a doctoral thesis about John Donne and Mark is a sociologist who belongs to Bracton College in Edgestow where they live. We also meet Mark in conversation with a colleague Curry on the way to the college and then are introduced by the narrator to Bragdon Wood, a mysterious and ancient woodland located next to Bracton College.

After reading, discuss and answer these questions:

1. How is Jane Studdock presented to the reader in the first section?
2. What is her attitude towards marriage and being married?
3. What is Jane's dream about and how is it presented?
4. Why does Jane abandon her thesis and go out?
5. What does Mark's conversation with Curry tell us about them both?
6. What is the 'inner ring' Mark seems so keen on?
7. Who is Lord Feverstone?
8. How is Bragdon Wood introduced to the reader by the narrator?
9. What people and events seem to be associated with Bragdon Wood?
10. What kind of atmosphere does the narrator create through his description of the Wood?

I will also be giving out two secondary sources: One by Walter Hooper about the novel from the monumental C. S. Lewis Companion and Guide that he edited and the other by Thomas Howard. Hooper is Lewis' main editor and probably the world's foremost authority on Lewis's work; Thomas Howard lectures in English Literature in the USA and has written widely on Lewis and his contemporaries.

Essay Planning

How does Lewis introduce the reader to his two main characters in the opening of That Hideous Strength? Consider how the opening establishes them in relation to each other and to their interest, work and environments (800 words).

Work together to plan ideas you could include in your writing.

Coursework Information

For unit 4 Reflections in Literary Studies you will be expected to produce a coursework folder of between 2500 and 3000 words maximum that meets the four assessment objectives:

1. Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.


2. Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meaning in literary texts.


3. Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.


4. Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Your folder will consist of two studies, each referring to more than one text studied in the unit. We will base these on That Hideous Strength as the main text. The folder is marked out of 80 and is worth 40% of the A2 marks.

You should read all the texts, including secondary sources I give you to prepare properly for this coursework.

I will also be taking you for part of Unit 3 Interpretations of Prose and Poetry to help you prepare for the Unseen part of the examination which is worth 60% of the A2 marks.

Homework

1. Get your texts!
2. Essay writing about the opening of That Hideous Strength.

Image: Ancient English Woodland (Bragdon Wood).