Aldous Huxley: Ape and Essence - Handout
main characters
- Dr. Alfred Poole, a botanist
- Loola, a gravedigger
- the Chief, head of the state
- the Arch-Vicar, head of the church
background situation
- after the Third World War, a group of scientists comes to North America
- most parts of the earth are radioactively polluted
- Dr. Poole is kidnapped by three men during research on polluted plants
plot
- he is asked by the Chief to help the society because there is no industry
- soon he gets to know Loola and falls in love with her
- he often discusses with the Arch-Vicar about history and the reasons for the destruction of the world
- Poole learns about the state-controlled mating procedure and is disgusted by it
- at the end, he tries to escape to the community of the so-called "Hots" because a life in freedom is only possible there
'Ape' and 'Essence'
- 'Ape' symbolizes the early stages in the development of humanity
- 'Essence' means the underlying, fundamental nature
development of Alfred Poole
- at the beginning he had many problems with human contacts as if he had always lived behind a glass plate
- but once he knows Loola he learns quite quickly about love and gets familiar with that
- although he seems to adopt the behaviour of the society, he never shares the Arch-Vicar's opinion and in the end, he tries to escape