Preview

Divergent or Alike: Comparing Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1095 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Divergent or Alike: Comparing Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984
Future Predictions…Anyone? Although many similarities exist between Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984, they are more divergent than alike. A Brave New World is a novel about the struggle of Bernard Marx, who rejects the tenants of his society when he discovers that he is not truly happy. 1984 is the story of Winston who finds forbidden love within the hypocrisy of his society. In both cases, the main characters are in quiet rebellions against their government, which are eventually found to be unsuccessful. Huxley wrote A Brave New World in the third person so that the reader could be allotted a more comprehensive view of the activities he presents. His characters are shallow and cartoon-like in order to better reflect the society in which they are entrapped. In this society, traditional notions of love and what ideally should result have long been disregarded and despised, "Mother, monogamy, romance. High spurts the fountain; fierce and foamy the wild jet. The urge has but a single outlet". The comparison to a wild jet is intended to demonstrate the inherent dangers of these activities. Many of the "Brave New World's" social norms are intended to "save" its citizens from anything unpleasant by depriving them of the opportunity to miss anything overly pleasant. The society values, "A COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY," take the place of everything else in a combined effort. Soma, the magical ultimate drug is what keeps the population from revolting. "What you need is a gramme of soma...All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects". The drug is at the forefront of their daily lives supposedly providing freedom from life's every problem. The drug is used as a form of recreation, like sex, and its use is encouraged at any opportunity, especially when great emotions begin to arise. They are conditioned to accept soma to calm and pacify them should they begin to feel anything too intensely. The conditioning also
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dystopian Authors: Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury

    • 975 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dystopian Authors: Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury

    However before the two novels can be thoroughly compared a brief background of both will be useful. Written in 1953, “Fahrenheit 451” is an American novel set in a war torn twenty fourth century where the ironically named “Firemen” control the outlawing of books through extremely violent methods. The narrative follows the protagonist Guy Montang, on his journey from Fireman to the unlikely leader of a group of galvanised intellectual exiles, as his world is overturned by nuclear war. On the other hand “Brave New World” was written earlier in 1932, and is set on the other side of the Atlantic in AD 2540. In this future world the planet has been unified under a “free” world state, eradicating both the need and purpose of war. Although similar to “Fahrenheit 451” in the fact that books to have been banned, a far more diverse range of oppressive techniques are exhibited in Huxley’s novel, ranging from the Bokanovsky process, where embryos are divided to create an identical population, to sleep learning where children are taught to obey the intricate class system of this highly “developed” world. Unlike “Fahrenheit 451”, there are far more characters with each…

    • 975 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Brave New World Compared to 1984 Essay Example
    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Brave New World Compared to 1984 Essay Example

    A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has many of the same basic ideas as 1984 by George Orwell, but the two are more different than alike. In both books a totalitarian government is in complete control of the people, but A Brave New World shows a more positive side of this type of government than does 1984. 1984 doesn't show any good things that have come out of having this form of government, and is a warning of what can happen if people stop thinking for themselves and don't question the government.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dystopian Themes In 1984 And Brave New World
    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page

    Dystopian Themes In 1984 And Brave New World

    Although the modern dystopian novel and dystopian works of the early 20th century may share many of the same principles and components, the overall purposes behind them are poles apart. The popular novel, The Hunger Games and its sequels can be considered prototypical of our contemporary dystopian themes that emphasize; the act of rebellion against a state of oppression, the power that comes with being motivated by love, the presence of hope and the triumph of the protagonist over a totalitarian regime. George Orwell and Alex Huxley—authors of 1984 and Brave New World respectively—did not write stories that inspired resistance. They used allegory to pinpoint the faults in society and prophesy the end of human intelligence and freedom. Orwell…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Similarities Between Brave New World And George Orwell's 1984
    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Similarities Between Brave New World And George Orwell's 1984

    Examining Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984, there are some accurate depictions of public discourse in 1984, but Huxley’s novel includes more relevant examples. Postman bounds the idea of television, a cherished part of our life, as the means of self-destruction in accordance to Huxley’s views. Postman’s assertion of the more accurate Brave New World is evident in freedom, technology and the media.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1984 And Brave New World Comparative Essay
    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1984 And Brave New World Comparative Essay

    Children in many stories are depicted as small and insignificant, but in 1984 and Brave New World they are much more. The governments in both books realized that the power lies within the kids. Both governments figured out that if they could control the children they would control the future. Both governments went about gaining their power in slightly different ways, but each method was very powerful. The children in both Brave New World and 1984 are taught their belief systems by their government, but the children who live in 1984 are much more of a danger to those living in their society.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'

    In the book "Brave New World" the author Aldous Huxley wrote about a world different from our own. This world shows that their is not only one way of functioning in a society, in fact the way the World State runs and the way we run are different. For example In their world everyone is bread from labs to be the same and have no unique qualities while in our world we are born from our mothers womb and have individual unique qualities like some are smarter than others or faster than the rest. In their world they breed people from embryos and modify them to fit in within certain social classes like for instance the lowest social class are the elipison who's main work criteria is based on physical labor and need no forms of intellectual thinking. While on the other hand Alphas are the most superior and are taught almost everything that…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Dystopia In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dystopia In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    There were many so-called “prophetic” dystopian novels released throughout the 20th century: Orwell’s 1984, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar, etc.. These books certainly have their moments of divination, but even casual readers see that western governments are not going down the path of totalitarian control, book burning, or mind control. However, one dystopian novel does stand in the minds of readers out as having frighteningly accurate predictions: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. On an initial read, Huxley’s novel sounds incredible prophetic. Readers attempt to draw parallels between every aspect of the novel and the real world - the decline of religion, drug use, open sexuality, government control, mass conformity,…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Meaning Behind Brave New World Essay Example
    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Meaning Behind Brave New World Essay Example

    Of all the works that Aldous Huxley has produced the most intriguing and philosophical one would have to be Brave New World. Throughout his carrier Huxley has written many satirical novels about the flaws of society but none can compare the symbolism and depth that this novel presents. As the above quote suggests the citizens of this futuristic society known as the World State chose to live a life of hedonism devoid of emotions and beliefs rather than suffer any pain. Both Huxley's focus on the tragic flaws of this society and satirical development of the utopian scheme, lead us to believe the hypocrisy of such a utopian state. Furthermore there are many parallels that can be drawn between our way of life and the society portrayed in the book; these parallels include soma, hynopaedic messages and sex. Huxley uses this parallelism to warn us that the path that our society is taking will lead us to damnation.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dystopian Society In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dystopian Society In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    Although the novel, “Brave New World”, encourages sexual intercourse, drug use, and opposes any form of family, and religion it should be kept in the high school curriculum because these are our worst features of our world drawn out and exaggerated, and humanity seems to be moving closer to Huxley’s dystopian vision.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Manipulation In Brave New World
    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Manipulation In Brave New World

    In 1932, Aldous Huxley wrote a book entitled Brave New World. It was a novel of a dystopian future where persuasion and science were effectively combined to control the population. Huxley warns his readers about the problems associated with the advancements of subconscious persuasion techniques because he saw people becoming susceptible to them during the Age of Television Addiction. He critiques this by setting a character contest between John the Savage and Mustapha Mond, which reveals the characters opposing values between freedom and social stability. The novel argues that stability can be achieved through subconscious manipulation, but is not morally suitable.…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    Like oil to machines, in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, soma is essential for survival. In this dystopia, the society's stability derives from drug use. "And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears--that's what soma is."Huxley’s normality in Brave New World is different than social norms of today. However, in the world which Huxley portrays, substance abuse may seem unethical but it is practiced in our community the same. Drugs, in general, have become an escape for people's problems for countless years. Whether they know the consequences which drugs lead, they still continue for that one high. Soma cured the hassles of human emotion and engineered the people to act as robots, but there was imperfection in its perfection: no free will. The average Joe in our society that may be trying to defeat a personal demon might feel the same as a Delta in The World State. Given a simple solution for a problem more complicated then itself. From this, it is inevitable that chaos…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Brave New World Analysis
    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Brave New World Analysis

    In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are both about dystopian societies where the government is corrupted. Both novels are similar due to both conveying the government as corrupted in a satirical way. Also, both books purposes are to portray the possibility, to what might happen to a society where a government has too much power, and how far the government will go to maintain total control and totalitarianism. Both novels also convey gender roles where women are portrayed as the manipulators. 1984 is about a man who has come to a realization of his existence and questioning of the world he’s living in. In the Brave New World is about a man who is about a man name Bernard who brings a man named John to “World…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Modern Society In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Modern Society In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    In the fictional society, soma is prescribed to almost every single person. On Lenina and Bernards’ date, they had to meet the Warden and “when the Warden started booming, she [Lenina] had inconspicuously swallowed half a gramme of soma, with the result that she could now sit, serenely not listening, thinking of nothing at all, but with her large blue eyes fixed on the Warden's face in an expression of rapt attention" (Huxley 47). Lenina had consciously taken a dose of soma because she had recognized that she was going to be bored and then concluded that the answer to her problem was to take drugs. The citizens had been conditioned to make these type of decisions. Like in Brave New World, modern society prescribes drugs to make the lives of the elderly easier to live. In reality, “antipsychotic drugs are overprescribed for older men and women with dementia”, reports the U.S Government Accountability Office in a Week article. In the same article, Time notes that “the use of antipsychotic drugs may increase the risk of death for dementia patients”. This implies that doctors and care takers are over prescribing drugs to the elderly to have more control over them so they are easier to manage. In Brave New World, the citizens are also given drugs that make their lives better, in a sense, but shorten their life span. In modern society, drugs, that are prescribed to a large group of people, may…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Brave Censored New World: Analysis of Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World
    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Brave Censored New World: Analysis of Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World

    It is obvious why someone who believes in censorship might choose to object to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This ‘new world’ is built on sexual promiscuity, abolition of family, racism, and drug abuse in the most literal sense. A world which takes the positive aspects of Western society such as technological advances and individualism and turns it into a rigid caste system, in which the members of each caste are mass produced to the specifications of assembly line uniformity.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    "The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was greatest before there was any civilization."…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More