Brave New World Vs 1984

In the dystopian novels, Brave New World and 1984, the written language is seen as a threat to both governing bodies because it allows humans to express themselves. In Brave New World, novels that describe emotions and creative thoughts are kept away from the public, while in 1984, writing down one’s thoughts can be considered a crime against the Party. Literature allows the characters to gain knowledge about themselves, giving them a chance to rebel against the uniformity and conformity that dictates their lives. Throughout both novels, the protagonists rebel against their governments through the acts of reading and writing. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, literature allows people to think for themselves and create their own unique thoughts,
The Party, which is the governing body of Oceania, constantly attempts to limit words through “newspeak” where they shorten and completely erase words from existence so that the people of Oceania do not have the ability to truly express themselves. Syme, a coworker of Winston in the Ministry of Truth, states that the shortening and elimination of words is “‘a beautiful thing’”, adding that “‘in the final version of Newspeak there'll be nothing else. In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words – in reality, only one word. Don't you see the beauty of that, Winston?’” (Orwell 52). The Party strives to limit its citizens the opportunity to use language as a medium for individuality. Syme later adds that “‘the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought…In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it”, further reinforcing the Party’s beliefs (52). Also, when Winston begins writing in the journal he bought from Mr. Charrington’s shop, he understands the gravity of his actions, writing that “thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime IS death” (28). The simple act of writing is considered a crime against the Party because it allows a person to truly express their thoughts and not what the Party wants them to think. In the