1. What do you think are the three most important factors in your life that affect what your value system is? Why do you think each of these are important?2. Are all value systems (of all people) equally acceptable?3. Are you a person with a strong sense of what you believe to be clearly right and wrong, or do you see a lot of gray area in many issues?4. Do you expect that your morals will change in any way over the course of your life. If they do, what will cause them to change?5. How acceptable do you feel it is to impress YOUR value system on others?



The moral compass is crafted by a variety of important factors. Family plays a large role in the process, because a majority of your early life is spent with them. Forming the foundation for your compass to lie on. Your social status gives you an opinion on society based on how other people treat you. Location and culture also plays a big role in morality, because of different social stigmas in different geographical areas. Persons morals differ person to person, but are sometimes unacceptable. Examples include Stalin, Hitler, Robert Picton, and Charles Manson. These are extremes that don't need explanation of why what they're doing is wrong. My views on issues are based on competent research, and accurate statistics. If these don't exist it is not worth discussing until they do.If they didn't you would be judging based on heresy. A shift in your moral poles may happen during the course of your life through the influence of people close to you.

The various references to famous figures throughout the book has made me wonder why he chose to use the figures that he used. Henry Ford is the first figure alluded to in the novel. He used this character as the messiah of the World State. Ford was used, because of his massive advancement in the industrial sector: the assembly line. The book parallels this when The Director excitedly states,"Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines!". 96 also has a symbolical significance, because of its vertical mirrored inverse symmetry. Another character the author alludes to Mendel and his work with sugar snap peas by using the name Podsnap for the inventor of a new hatching technique. Bokonovsky, an obviously Russian sounding name is the second technique mentioned by Huxley. It represents the sameness of the Brave New World society with the relation between Russia and their recent change to communism. Lenin, a Russian leader around the beginning of communism in Russia, is alluded to in a feminized version of his name: Lenina. The burial rites given by the society are not very kind, and quite careless of the transition to an afterlife. Making me think that religion has changed a lot in this new time. They burn the bodies and give it no second thought, thus accustomizing them to the ineveitability of death. Peoples death also gives out life in the form of phosphorous. Symbolizing that people never really die they only change form.

Women gossip more than men.

2 hours a day is spent gossiping on average.

Gossip spreads information you wouldn't find in regular conversation.

Gossip can be good.

Too much gossip or bad gossip is not good.



Gossip can be a destructive weapon or a useful tool in shaping peoples morality.



Did you hear about...? Is the all too common question found within many peoples social repertoire. Gossip, like fat, is good in moderate portions, but overindulging can lead to unhealthy immoral gluttony. Information can be spread through a variety of different channels; gossip being one of them. The information spread through gossip often contains ethically questionable material, which helps people develop their moral standards by learning what information to take for face value and what to discard. The learning of a persons character is a way where gossip can be used to judge how a person acts and how you should speak with them. But, on the otherhand the information is often "derogatory, unconfirmed information". This brings up the question of a persons emotional response to this information being told to others. It could be argued that if they didn't want these types of things said about them they shouldn't be engaging in questionable activities. Even though the rumours started are frequently untrue they can be damaging to a persons reputation. In which case it would be suggested to squelch and ignore these rumours and continue living your life. Gossip has 2 subsets: rumours and information. Rumours being unconfirmed information and information being true facts about a person. Rumours are the bad type, while information is the useful type. Rumours should be kept down while information should be spread actively.