Brave New World

Chap 5 Describe the transformation of Westminster Abbey. What was its original purpose? What sort of music was associated with the historical Westminster Abbey? What purpose does it now serve? Analyze the music that is now performed at the Abbey. How d

Describe the transformation of Westminster Abbey. What was its original purpose? What sort of music was associated with the historical Westminster Abbey? What purpose does it now serve? Analyze the music that is now performed at the Abbey. How does this transformation reflect the changed values of society?

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At Foster's apartment building, they eat before heading to the Westminster Abbey Cabaret. After taking several doses of soma, an experience described as "the warm, the richly coloured, the infinitely friendly world of soma-holiday," they dance to the synthetic music of "Calvin Stopes and His Sixteen Sexophonists" until the show ends. They return to Foster's apartment and prepare to sleep together. Even though the soma has put Lenina in a hypnotic state, she remembers to take her contraceptive drugs because years of hypnopaedic drills have "made the taking of these precautions almost as automatic and inevitable as blinking." Meanwhile, Bernard attends a Solidarity meeting, a community gathering where the people worship Ford for his ideas and try to merge themselves into a unified group. Bernard is almost late and feels embarrassed when a woman asks him which sport he played that afternoon, since Bernard has to admit that he does not usually play any games. The twelve people in his group take a seating arrangement around a circular table that alternates sexes. The service resembles the Eucharist in Christianity, but they consume soma rather than bread and wine. The goal is to unify the twelve people present into one person. The people sing until they feel Ford’s presence, and then they dance to the hymn "Orgy-porgy." Bernard fixates on Morgana, a woman whose unibrow distracts him so much that he cannot feel the same ecstasy as the other people and must pretend to be as caught up in the ceremony as the others. The service ends, and Bernard emerges feeling more self-conscious than ever before. I'm not sure what musc is played now.

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