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Essay / The idea of a dystopian world in the novels Brave New World and 1984
A dystopia is an imagined place where everything is unpleasant or corrupt. It is the opposite of utopia; a perfect world. The idea of a dystopian world has always been a common topic in literature. By the second half of the 20th century, two strikingly different novels had come out, both predicting a totalitarian-type future that would be considered an ideal society. The first was Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, written in 1932, which tells the story of Bernard Marx, a man alone in his discontent with the genetically engineered and brainwashed future in which he lives and who wants to free himself from the promiscuity required of his society. The other was the 1949 novel written by George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which Winston Smith questions the ideals of the Party and Big Brother and falls in love with Julia, with whom he rebels against the government's strict rules while trying to stay hidden. the thought police and avoiding Room 101. While 1984 and Brave New World have different ideas about what the future holds, they both tackle the problems of a totalitarian government, the lives of those affected by government, language and promiscuity in a politically ideal world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayTotalitarianism is a system of government in which one political party takes control, does not grant tolerance or recognition to other groups and suppresses opposing politicians and opinions. . In the years 1984 and in Brave New World, a totalitarian government is present. In 1984, the country of Oceania is ruled by a totalitarian government known as the Party, led by Big Brother. One of the Party's main goals is to control the minds of its people. This is evidenced by the Party's slogan: "'He who controls the past,' said the Party slogan, 'controls the future: he who controls the present controls the past'" (Orwell 37). “The Party holds total power in the present, allowing it to control how the citizens of Oceania perceive the past. This is because every history book reflects the Party's way of thinking and it is forbidden to possess photographs or documents from its past, leaving most subjects with a hazy memory of what happened. actually happened. Fuzzy memories are beneficial to the Party, because the people of Oceania will believe anything the Party says. The Party achieves its high status by controlling the past. Indeed, people's memories cannot be proven. As Winston sits in the pub, he recalls: "And when memory failed and written records were falsified, when that happened, the Party's claim that it had improved the conditions of human life had to be accepted, because there was no other solution. there is, and never again can be, any standard against which it could be tested (Orwell 97). What the Party says is always right, no matter what anyone else thinks. This becomes clear when Winston looks at a children's story book with a portrait of Big Brother on the front: "In the end, the Party would announce that two and two make five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they would make this statement sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not only the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tactically denied by their philosophy (Orwell 83). » The Party's decision is always final and what it says is valid. The Party's philosophy allows them to control the minds of the people of Oceania,because everyone is too afraid to oppose them. The totalitarian administration led by the director of Brave New World is less sinister than that seen in 1984, however, there are some similarities. Like Airstrip One, World State also believes that the government should have full control. Mustapha Mond, the resident controller for Western Europe, justifies the government's positive stance by saying: "The wheels must turn steadily, but cannot Do not run without supervision. There must be men to care for them, men as steady as the wheels on their axles, men of sound mind, obedient men, steady in contentment (Huxley 36). The Controllers all believe that the government knows best, not individuals. With total government control, nothing can go wrong. The World State takes control of these people by making them believe they are in control. The opening lines reveal the state motto, “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY (Huxley 1).” Although there is community and stability in the state, there is almost no sense of identity. The individual ceases to exist because of the state's control over its people. This control easily falls to the World State because the lessons of the past are ignored and forgotten, like in 1984. Mustapha Mond alludes to this when he asks his citizens to ignore history and focus on the future : “you all remember, I suppose, that beautiful and inspired saying from Our Ford: History is rubbish (Huxley 29). » It is better for society to neglect the past. Indeed, if they did not do so, people would be less willing to participate in the advances made by science. The story is “layered” because it deals with human emotion, something that is no longer part of society in a totalitarian government. The effect of a destructive totalitarian government is the lasting impression it leaves on citizens. In 1984 and Brave New World, corrupt governments affect the lives of people living in society. In 1984, Winston and Julia are both against Big Brother and The Party, but they must pretend they are not or their lives will be in danger. This is brought up in the third chapter of book two where it says: “If you kept the little rules, you might break the big ones (Orwell 135). » Even though Julia spends the majority of her time attending conferences and demonstrations, distributing literature for the Junior Anti-Sex League, preparing banners for Hate Week and collecting for the savings campaign, she still doesn't approve of Big Brother or the Party. The way she rebels against them keeps her from being suspected of being against the Party. While Julia is able to rebel against the Party, many people fall under its power. Winston managed to persevere and stand above the Party's influence and tells Julia, "They can't get inside you." If you can feel that remaining human is worth it, even if it can have no results, you have beaten them” (Orwell 174). The Party has already made Winston accept the fact that death is inevitable. Having his own thoughts allows him to feel like he has already won, even though he knows he will never be able to defeat the Party and has accepted that. Winston has also accepted the fact that he can never be free. He knows that as long as he is alive, he will always be supervised by Big Brother. In his cell, Winston thinks that “to die hating them was freedom (Orwell 294). » Winston has so much hatred for Big Brother that he thinks the only way to be free is to pay the ultimate price. Even though few people know that he hated Big Brother, it would still be aaccomplishment for him if he died still hating him. Brave New World also focuses on the lives of those living in a totalitarian society and how it affects them. John, the son of the Director and Linda, grew up outside of the World State and hates living there, as he feels unable to adapt to society. Talking to Mustapha Mond, he says: “I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin (Huxley 211). The restrictive but secure society of the World State does not allow for the full human experience, which includes good times and bad. John wants to be able to have all these experiences, but with the way the Controllers run the World State, he is not allowed to do so. The totalitarian government of the World State has an effect on the lives of its citizens from a very young age. When they are babies, they are electrocuted for touching books or flowers. The director's reasoning is as follows: "They will grow up with what psychologists called an 'instinctual' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes conditioned in an unalterable way. They will be sheltered from books and botany all their lives” (Huxley 17). For the rest of their lives, these children will live in fear of books and flowers because the World State has not allowed them to appreciate them. Instead, the state makes these individuals live in fear of literature and nature, which has a permanent impact on their lives. Individuals living in the World State are forever trapped, because they have never experienced anything outside of the State. Bernard asks Lenina, "'Wouldn't you like to be free, Lenina (Huxley 79)?' » Bernard does not see Lenina as being free because she does not understand that she does not have the freedom to be anything other than happy. Like most people in the state, Lenina's life is corrupted because she believes herself to be free and happy only because she is told that she is. In 1984 and Brave New World, the importance of language is obvious. In 1984, "Newspeak" was invented, a reduction of the English language to a minimum. When describing his ex-wife to Julia, Winston says, "She was – do you know the Newspeak word 'well-thought-out'?" That is to say naturally orthodox, incapable of having a bad thought (Orwell 138)?' » The Party created Newspeak in order to make thoughtcrime impossible, as no one would be able to think anything negative, especially about the Party or Big Brother. "Well thought out" is another way of saying that someone can't think of something bad and is an example of one of the words created with Newspeak that makes something that should be negative sound like a thing positive. The Party uses this not only through Newspeak, but also through the use of doublethink, which involves accepting different beliefs simultaneously. At the beginning of the novel, doublethink is used to describe the different ministries, “The Ministry of Truth, which dealt with information, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which dealt with the war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order (Orwell 6). » This description of the ministry of Truth, the ministry of Peace and the ministry of Love is an example of the use of doublethink. The Ministry of Truth is nothing more than propaganda used to make the Party and Big Brother look good. The Ministry of Peace deals only with war, something which is not at all associated with peace and the Ministry of Love deals with crime and punishment. However, the language used to describe the three ministries gives the impression that they areactually better than they are. . The Party controls the language and constantly changes it. Syme warns Winston: “By 2050, probably sooner, all real knowledge of the ancient language will be gone. All the literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron – they will exist only in Newspeak versions, not only transformed into something different, but actually transformed into something contradictory to what they were (Orwell 56). The Party's manipulation of language will change the way everything is read. Things will no longer have the meaning they are supposed to because they have been changed to mean something purer. The Party does this in order to avoid thoughts of defiance. Language is greatly affected in Brave New World, primarily in the plays written by William Shakespeare. The works of Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers, are almost non-existent. Mustapha Mond is talking about historical events when he says, “'And a man called Shakespeare. You've never heard of him, of course (Huxley 44). People have never heard of Shakespeare before because the Controllers consider him dangerous to society. Indeed, it offers an alternative way of thinking, such as having freedom or knowing the truth. The meaning of the words “freedom” and “truth” are distorted. Citizens of the World State have no freedom and do not know the truth. This is why Shakespeare was banned from the World State; it symbolizes the human values that have been abandoned in the World State. While passing the school library with the headmistress and Dr. Gaffney, John asks if the young people read Shakespeare and Dr. Gaffney responds: "'Our library,' said Dr. Gaffney, 'only contains reference books. . If our young people need entertainment, they can get it at Feelies. We do not encourage them to indulge in solitary amusements (Huxley 142).' » Young people are not encouraged to read anything that is not in favor of the World State. Many people are also programmed to believe that everything the Controllers and the World State say is true. If they say everyone is happy, people will be happy, not because they are, but because they have been told they are. After John read Romeo and Juliet to Helmhotz, he remembers, “How Helmholtz had mocked Romeo and Juliet (Huxley 193). » Helmholtz mocks the play because it deals with real human emotions, something that Brave New World society lacks. Shakespeare is a master of true human emotions, however, no one understands what true human emotion is because the World State is opposed to people feeling true emotions. 1984 and Brave New World are also filled with promiscuity. In 1984, promiscuity was frowned upon. This is one of the problems Winston has with the Party. Chastity has been deeply ingrained in everyone by the Party, as sex is only used for procreative purposes as a duty to the Party. This is why prostitution is illegal in Airstrip One, however, Winston recounts in his diary a time he spent with a prostitute: "She threw herself on the bed, and immediately, without any sort of prerequisite, the crudest, most horrible way. as you can imagine, hiked up her skirt (Orwell 70). Although prostitution is illegal, Winston found himself frequenting prostitutes because his ex-wife, Kathrine, did not like having sex with him. She would only do it because it was her “duty” to the party to have a child. However, once she and Winston find out they can't have children, she is.