Compare and Contrast 1984-Brave New World

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orewell’s 1984 were both composed surrounding times of war in the twentieth century. The authors were alarmed by what they saw in society and began to write novels depicting the severe outcomes and possiblities of civilizaton if it continued down its path. Although the two books are very different, they both address many of the same issues and principles.

George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a novel, it is a warning to a potential dystopian society of the future. Written in 1949, Orwell envisioned a totalitarian government under the figurehead Big Brother. In this totalitarian society, every thought and action is carefully examined for any sign of rebellion against the ruling party. Emotion has been abolished and love is nonexistent; an entire new language is being drafted to reduce human thought to the bare minimum. In a society such as the one portrayed in 1984, one is hardly human. In George Orwell’s 1984, the party uses fear, oppression, and propaganda to strip the people of their humanity.

     1984 and Brave New World, written by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, respectively, are both books that reflect the authors vision of how society would end up at the course it was going at the time of the writing of the book. Both books were written more than fifty years ago, but far enough apart that society was going in a totally different direction at the time. There are many ways to compare these two books and point out the similarities. On certain, deep levels they are very much the same, while at first glance, on the surface, they are very different. One point that in some parts is the same and some very different, is the governments in each of these books method’s of control.

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

Soma is the answer to all of life's problems and is invented in an attempt to distract society from worry, tension, and pain. The drug is rationed by the government and is normally consumed after a hard day's work. In this utopian society, people choose to "know no pain" (Clareson 238). Instead of suffering, people fill their days with the mindless acts they were predestined to perform. At the end of each day, everyone gathers in crowded distribution rooms and waits eagerly to receive the one thing that truly makes the day worthwhile, which is his or her ration of soma (Huxley 215). This valuable drug goes beyond the literal meaning in which it is being used and becomes the one thing that everyone really lives for. The idea in the novel is that pleasure is the most powerful motivator (Clareson 238). So by giving the masses pleasure, the directors keep the world running smoothly. The directors also eliminate the time between desire and fulfillment, so one cannot help but take the quick fix of soma rather than using logic to figure out his or her problems. It is the mass' motivator and problem solver, and brings the people all the great moods and feelings that they could possible ask for because of its hypnotic power to relax the mind (Meerloo 236). Unfortunately, when the futuristic people take this drug, they eventually

Soma is a hallucinogen that whenever someone takes it, they instantly become happy and more carefree. The characters use this drug as an escape from the world. They don’t want to feel pain or sadness, they constantly want to feel the need of being joyful and happy. The government uses soma as a way to gain social stability. “‘Stability,’ said the Controller, ‘stability. No civilization without stability. No social stability without individual stability’” (Huxley, 42). Stability is a major role that is needed in this kind of society. Without stability, the society will be in shambles. However, so many people in the community loves soma, because many people constantly become distressed with topics they aren’t used to. For example, when two characters named Lenina and Bernard go to a Reservation, Lenina says, “‘But it’s terrible,’ Lenina whispered. ‘It’s awful. We ought not to have come here.’ She felt in her pocket for her soma--only to discover that, by some unprecedented oversight, she had left the bottle” (Huxley, 111). Soma has become addicted throughout the community, and people can’t go one moment out of their norm. Lenina goes on saying, “‘Oh, I wish I had my soma’” (Huxley, 116). Lenina is constantly wanted soma whenever she pinpoints something wrong than her norm. This is because she was conditioned to feel this way. “‘A gramme in time saves nine,’ said Lenina, producing a bright treasure of sleep-taught wisdom” (Huxley, 89). The term ‘sleep-taught wisdom’ is meaning that she remembers this from hypnopaedia, and with the use of ‘bright treasure’, she thinks that the government is always right. However, the government is controlling the community and Lenina portrays the perfect character who believes that the government is always

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s most famous novel, and other similar pieces of literature, focus on a dystopian society where “progress” no longer benefits the the people. Instead, it oppresses them, they are subjugated to the will of the society for the benefit of those at the top of that social system. Those whose only goal is to perpetuate themselves. Individuals within that system whose actions and beliefs match the will of the society are know as being orthodox, while those who don’t fit into the rigid hierarchy established by the society are considered outsiders, who must be forced back into line. Huxley saw this occurring in his society and it has grown even more dramatic today. In order to illustrate his pessimistic thoughts on the trends of society, Huxley created a series of outsiders, primarily Bernard Marx, Mustafa Mond, Helmholtz Watson, John the Savage, and Linda, and uses them to demonstrate how the system uses various methods, chiefly, conditioning and the power of institutions to force the outsiders back into Orthodoxy even to the expense of their lives.

In the Sci-fi futuristic novel “Brave New World”, published in 1932, Aldous Huxley introduces the idea of the utopian society, achieved through technological advancement in biology and chemistry, such as cloning and the use of controlled substances. In his novel, the government succeeds in attaining stability using extreme forms of control, such as sleep teaching, known as conditioning, antidepressant drugs – soma and a strict social caste system. This paper will analyze the relevance of control of society versus individual freedom and happiness to our society through examining how Huxley uses character development and conflict. In the “Brave New World”, Control of society is used to enforce

In chapters 4-6 of Brave New World, Huxley reveals more of the plot and the experiences of the characters. During chapter 4, we learn more about Bernard Marx and why he is considered an outcast: “The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects(Huxley 65).” This made me feel pity towards Bernard because it shows how he does not fit the ideal profile of an Alpha therefore he is not treated as one. Later in this section, Bernard is trying to explain his reasoning to Lenina, who continuously repeats phrases from her hypnopaedia. I found this normal based on her conditioning; however, I found it interesting how Bernard only responded with how many repetitions of the phrase was in the hypnopaedia course.

In Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley predicts a future, like no other, where truth is trumped by happiness. The people in the World State are ignorant of the truth. They mistake the truth as happiness. This ignorance leads them to believe that a tablet called soma is used “to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient” (Huxley 213). Through drugs and conditioning, the government has kept the World State uninformed of the truth. Being controlled by the government, people in the World State do not know society is built upon lies. Throughout this novel, John, Bernard, and Helmholtz, go through this Dystopia lifestyle being a savage, a misfit and too intellectual for the society they are born or

As man has progressed through the ages, there has been, essentially, one purpose. That purpose is to arrive at a utopian society, where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, or sadness is unheard of. Only happiness exists. But when confronted with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, we come to realize that this is not, in fact, what the human soul really craves. In fact, Utopian societies are much worse than those of today. In a utopian society, the individual, who among others composes the society, is lost in the melting pot of semblance and world of uninterest. The theme of Huxley's Brave New World is community, identity, and stability. Each of these three themes represents what a Brave New World society needs

Two classic novels, 1984 written by George Orwell and Brave New World penned by Aldous Huxley both possess similar topics and themes. In both novels societies are striving for a utopia, or a perfect society. These novels also take place in societies with versions of totalitarian governments, which is a government that rules by coercion. Not only are the topics similar, but in both novels a rebellious character is the protagonist; Winston Smith from 1984 and John the Savage in Brave New World. Another parallel in the books are the tactics that the government uses to instill fear and power over the citizens. A common theme expressed in Orwell’s novel 1984 and Huxley’s novel Brave New World is that government uses

     As I read Brave New World and 1984, I noticed how some of Aldous Huxley and

The novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell, each setup societies in which the government has almost complete control of the people. One of the most effective ways of gaining the loyalty of a society is to gain the loyalty of the youth. In Brave New World, the government does this by raising the children itself. Children are produced by the government and spend their young lives learning by hypnopædia, or sleep-teaching. On the other hand, in 1984, children are still raised by their parents, but they are taught by the government to distrust them. Overall, in both novels the children are cultivated by the government to be their ideal citizens, but while Brave New World does this by making sure that they have a direct and single line to the child’s mind, in 1984 they instead influence the children that loyalty to the government is the best possible choice rather than thinking for themselves, and in the end, it is shown that both of these processes are effective.