Indeed, the best works of literature are those which are of relevance to our lives today. Through their relevance, these novels continue to persist and endure on. Through their relevance, we can better comprehend the messages, the themes, and the ideas that are imbued in them. Rather than literature being contradictory and in conflict with the truth and unpleasant reality of daily life, it becomes a weapon through which we can be educated about the existential crises facing our world today. In fact, the statement above could not be more far and distant from the reality of literature today. It is fatally flawed. Literature, whilst at the surface, seems whimsical and amusing is, at its very core, a medium through which we are enlightened …show more content…
The main freedom that is taken away across the genre is the freedom of speech/expression. In Orwell’s 1984, the Party, who rule over the continent of Oceania, essentially abolish the freedom which people have through the implementation of the ‘thoughtpolice.’ Citizens of Oceania are mentally conditioned to believe that, “thoughtcrime does not entail death; it is death.” Thinking indifferently, not necessarily in disagreement, to what the Party thinks is out of the question and simply taboo. As a result, citizens are forced to believe oxymoronic statements that comprise the Party’s slogan: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Similarly, in Huxley’s Brave New World, freedom is restricted by controlling one’s emotions. In this capitalistic society, the ‘World Controllers’ endorse citizens to consume ‘soma’ - a hallucinogenic drug. By taking “2 or 3 gramme tablets, anybody can be virtuous now.” Freedom is restricted as well in that citizens aren’t free to choose/dictate the course of their lives. They are categorised into classes and specifically engineered for a purpose. In both novels, the drive for an authoritarian regime/suppression of emotions is derived from the fear of conflict, the fear of instability that comes with freedom. Both the Party and the World Controllers have created a world stripped of individual thought and expression. For it is through uniformity that variety and, therefore, conflict can be avoided. The positive outcomes
Dystopian DevicesWhen writing a novel, authors use distinct literary devices to aid in making the genre of their story apparent to their reader. Specifically, many use these literary devices to draw attention to details that establish a dystopian genre. A dystopia is somewhere where people lead dehumanized and fearful lives (Merriam-Webster). Furthermore, in dystopian societies, propaganda, societal oppression, and totalitarian control often elicit fear and obedience. An example of this is the novel 1984 written by George Orwell. This novel contains ambiguous symbols such as Big Brother, the Godlike ruler of Oceania. Aspects such as this contribute to the nature of dystopian genres. After analyzing concepts such as the all knowing Big Brother and the telescreens that are required by the government, the reader notices dystopian aspects. Accordingly, the setting of the city and symbols in everyday life expand the readers view of dystopian aspects. Orwell uses literary devices such as setting, symbolism, and euphemisms in order to portray a dystopian genre through the use of Big Brother, the city Oceania and its citizens, and other concepts in the novel. The government in 1984 controls its population by creating a setting where no one has the freedom to act without a someone watching them. The government does this by requiring all citizens of the Party to own a telescreen. By monitoring the activities of members of the party, the government can keep citizens obedient and
Throughout all of time, literature has played an important role in people’s lives. Books are more than just stories to laugh at, cry with, or fall asleep to, but books can teach. Books can teach a person a simple task such as baking cookies or an extremely complex one such as solving for the derivative of a trigonometric path and its parabolic motion. Whatever the subject, whomever the reader, books can teach people many lessons. One of the most important lessons that a book can teach a reader is a lesson about himself, about the difficulties of life, and about living a good life. As time has passed, so has literature itself. Older books focused on historical events, fictional poetry, and important figures; however, books now have evolved to
Dystopian literature presents a chilling and depressing view of the future in which society itself is generally the antagonist of the story and seems to work against the protagonist’s aims and desires. Dystopian literature explores the many problems within our society and uses them to create a dark and nightmare world, in which squalor, poverty or oppression are present. It acts as a cautionary tale for readers and brings to light the many flaws in humanity, which makes it impossible for a perfect society to ever exist.
In the United States of America , the people have their freedom and that's what people are used to but in the book 1984 by George Orwell, readers see how life is for the characters with little to no freedom. Freedom is not having thoughts, actions, and speech restricted unlike in 1984 where people are constantly watched. George Orwell shows a different reality where the people have their lives controlled by Big Brother, the government, and they live in fear for the littlest things. In 1984 by George Orwell characters do not have freedom since they are all way being watched,The government limits the people knowledge, and any little thing that the government does not like can be a crime.
The books 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are both connected in the way society controls people. Both these books illustrate control over their citizens through government intervention. People are constantly being watched either by telescreens or neighbors in 1984 while there is no privacy in Brave New World at all. In 1984, children are in a league of youth spies and send people to jail because they look suspicious. Brave New World’s children are created to be controlled for the sake of society. Sex is bad in 1984 because it promotes the idea of pleasure or selfish needs while Brave New World embraces sex to promote happiness. 1984 and Brave New World both control the people of society through privacy, sex, and children.
In an age where the printed novel has been somewhat on the decline, and the necessity of readable fiction has almost faded into obscurity. I believe that literature still harbours a crucial part within our society; from the very foundations of most theatrical adaptations, to preserving the culture and encapsulating the feelings of generations past. In this case literature cements itself as one of the most decisive elements of our civilisation, and combining it with history makes it become a testament to who we are as people, as well as the conservation of both our progression and degradation. I have always enjoyed reading literature, from reading J.R.R Tolkien’s classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy within my childhood, to perhaps more sophisticated,
Literature is a multidimensional world full of characters, plots, and the like that has brought consistent light to to an otherwise habitually dark world. Whether discussing serious or delightful aspects of the human condition, literature never ceases to teach mankind something of merit. For example, in Voltaire’s Candide, the author discusses existential subjects throughout the novel by using humorous yet tragic events to teach and entertain his audience about the intellectual depth of the human race.
In a way, literature offers one of the least harmful ways to feel all these emotions at once “by simply turning a page instead of turning our lives upside down” (Meyer 1). If we are given this opportunity to prepare for the worst, we should take advantage of it and treat literature with utmost respect rather than replace it with other subjects to fit in with our generation.
In both novels, the control of personal freedom is seen as abnormal. The people of Oceania in 1984 are essentially raised by their government, the Party. The Party controls what everyone says and thinks to the point where no one can think for themselves, and doing so is a punishable crime. The people are conditioned in their everyday life through telescreens, or giant televisions in their houses and all around their workplaces, to believe anything the Party says, including altered facts and records of the past. A slogan of the the Party is, “Who controls the past controls the future; Who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 248). Individuality is nonexistent in this society. Almost nobody realizes that they do not possess any personal freedom because their idea of personal freedom is what the government has conditioned them to think. Their thoughts are not their own thoughts,
Fictional and Non Fictional Dystopias highlight how familiarity plays a big role in why characters are numb to the unfair circumstances that come with living in their communities. Individuals in Winston’s community are prime examples of how familiarity switches the dynamic of a community, especially for a traditional household. “You’re a thought-criminal! I’ll vaporize you, I’ll send you to the salt mines!It was somehow slightly frightening like the gamboling of tiger cubs which will soon grow up into man-eaters...It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their children” (23-24 Orwell). Due to the fact that many allow Big Brother and his teachings to blind their better judgment. Citizens become adapted to the idea of not
Dystopian novels are fictional works of literature describing falling, failing worlds, with many recurring themes, which parallel modern times in troubling ways. The idea of dystopian literature comes from Sir Thomas More’s novel Utopia, even though the words are complete opposites. A dystopia is “an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly.” (dystopia, Merriam-Webster) Many of these books share common themes, such as rebellious protagonists, lack of individualism, abundance of violence, and intensified social problems.
I think that dystopian novels are so popular because in dystopian novels everything is so
Voltaire (1694), a French writer who escape to England because of his political satirical works which criticized the French empire at that time. In England, he was introduced to many members of ‘the literary and scientific elite’ (Fraser, 172). He was well acquainted with Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel. Then he was influenced by Swift’s satiric method of writing and particularly the dystopian. Voltaire’s practical influence by Swift was embodied in his novel. He died shortly after returning to Paris in 1778.
Brave New World and 1984 were both inspired by totalitarian regimes of their time, with a significant emphasis on Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. Both George Orwell and Aldous Huxley attempted to warn society of the damage that can occur as a result of embracing and widely supporting totalitarian regimes. In the real world, there has been a non-stop global effort to find the perfect society, often referred to as a utopia. Many authors have taken this as an opportunity to create novels based on a utopian community and provide the steps they believe must be followed to achieve this end-goal. On the opposing side, novels like Brave New World and 1984 were produced by authors who did not believe in the route we were going, and used their novels to portray this “utopian” society as undesirable and merely a state of manipulation and control, producing a “dystopian” society. Orwell attempts to show a society controlled by hate, manipulation, and control through media (Fear). Huxley uses government and advanced science as a way to control their self-proclaimed “perfect” society (Pleasure). 1984 relies on hate and violence as the factor that molds their community, while Brave New World's focus is on bringing general non-stop utilitarianism happiness.
Literature is one of the most important element of our life these days as it often portrays our background and original identity which may be lost or even forgotten due to the fast pace of our daily activities and newly invented technologies. Literature is a way in which we can capture and interpret what has happened and is happening to us personally and to the world as a whole. For example, literature can teach us about the past and the present and even about the future, laughter, love, about remembering and forgetting something. It can also attempt to disprove other ideas or attempt to find the truth. Literature serves as a way to enrich our minds and at the same time, it is also able to present a way to improve the world not only through the beauty of its presence but also through the ideas and tangible possibilities it possesses. Moreover, the uncertainty of a