Comparison Of 1984 And Brave New World

Essay, Research Paper

A Brave New World is a story about Bernard Marx, who rejects his society because he

finds that he is not satisfied with living a controlled life. 1984 is a story about Winston who

finds forbidden love within the restrictions of his society. These books are both in the same

genre, so they can be easily compared and contrasted. The main similarities in the two pieces

are the topics of the novels, the endings of the books, the nature of the characters, the way

history is handled, and the role of science. There are many important differences between the

two novels. They are the way the societies perceive sex, the way the books are written, the role

of hypocrisy in the societies, the role of drugs in the societies, the way that the people are

controlled, the leaders in the two novels, and the message the author is portraying in each novel.

Although similarities do occur between A Brave New World and 1984, considering the fact that

they do deal with similar topics, there are definitely more differences than similarities.

First of all, the similarities of the two books are necessary to know before getting into the

complexity of the differences. The topic is the first, and most obvious similarity. The two

novels are both in the same genre of futuristic fiction. The endings of the books are similar

because they both end on a negative note. Bernard is sent to work in Iceland (which was

negative in his opinion) and Winston is taken to room 101, subjected to psychological treatment,

and then killed. The nature of the characters in each book are very similar. Winston and

Bernard are both rebels in an established system. The Savage and Helmhoz in Brave New World

are also similar to Winson because they are outcasts as well. In both books, history is changed to

fit the future, in order for the controller to maintain order. The controller must not only have

control over the present and the future, but the past as well. The role of science in both books is

extensive and complicated. In 1984, they have telescreens which are never turned off and in

Brave New World the people watch movies using the ?feelies?, which adds senses to a movie.

Next, there are numerous differences between the two novels. Firstly, sex is perceived

differently in both societies. In Brave New World, sex is used as a form of recreation and it is

accepted. The drug soma is used to prevent any great emotions and people are encouraged to be

promiscuous. However, in 1984, sex is considered to be disgusting and the party tried to kill any

desire or attraction from one person to another. There were organizations such as the Junior

Anti-Sex League which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes. Secondly, the way the

books are written are different. 1984 was written in first-person and was mostly narrated by the

main character?s internal dialogue, while Brave New World was written in third-person. This

illustrated different character views than 1984. The role of hypocrisy is different in the societies

because Brave New World brings it to a different extent. This is because the Ford in Brave New

World has a child himself, and the people in that society are conditioned to actually consider the

word parents as a curse word. In 1984 the hypocrisy is not brought to as great of a level as that.

Thirdly, the role of drugs is a great difference. Soma, the drug used in Brave New World, is

basically used to control everyone. Although the people do not know that they are even being

controlled. In 1984, drugs are used, but not to as big of an extent. What controls the people in

1984 is that they are not aware of the negative aspects of their situation and they are basically

scared to think negatively of their situation. This ties right into the next comparison, which is

how the people are controlled. Besides the drugs, in 1984 the people are constantly being

watched while in Brave New World the people are conditioned at a very young age. Next, the

leaders in the two novels differ. Big Brother is definitely more imposing than the Ford. Winston

fears Big brother while the citizens in Brave New World are always drugged so they don?t feel

fear of any kind. Lastly, the messages each author is trying to portray is different. Aldous

Huxley is expressing a fear that people will create a perfect world by getting rid of everything

that makes life worthwhile. Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning against the results of having a

totalitarian state and he is expressing more secret police paranoia.

In conclusion, these two books are similar and different in many ways. The differences

stand out more than the similarities do. However, these books do have one common similarity.

They both ask whether societies with stability, pacification, and uniformity are worth creating

and they prove by the endings they have proven that it is not worth creating. These books both

prove that in order for life to be worthwhile there needs to be challenges, problems, and pain.