Philosophy
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is more relevant today than George Orwell's 1984. Although both of the two totalitarian societies are based on plausible premises, the Utopia depicted in Brave New World still has a chance of appearing today, while the Big Brother-dominated society created by Orwell, being based to some extent on the totalitarian societies that existed at the time of the book's inception, is simply obsolete.
Brave New World remains more believable in modern times because the events that led up to the creation of Huxley's Utopia have the greater chance of occurring tomorrow. In both novels, the birth of the totalitarian society is brought on by a catastrophic war that involves the entire world. However, in 1984, the war is in the process of being fought, giving the reader the impression that somewhere in the world, there is still a non-totalitarian government which could defeat Orwell's nightmarish police state. In Brave New World, the war that preceded the creation of Utopia has long since passed; it often appears as though Utopia has always existed.
This war makes Brave New World much more believable than Big Brother, especially since it seems more likely to occur when the world is at peace. Also, the war depicted by Brave New World contains technology that seems particularly significant in modern times. Biological weapons have become a more common part of military arsenals in recent years; readers of Brave New World have more reason to believe that its version of the war that starts the rise of totalitarianism could happen today.
Finally, 1984 contains a historical basis that detracts from its ability to remain relevant in any time period. However, it is easily inferred from both the nature of Big Brother and the era in which the novel was written that the nation or political group which started the global conflict is Communist or Communist-controlled (in at least one instance, a character refers to another as "Comrade"). The threat from totalitarian Communist governments was a major concern to Orwell. Huxley's Utopia has no historical basis to ground it in a particular era; therefore, it is more likely than Big Brother to occur in the present.
The society depicted in Brave New World is more likely to appear in modern times because it is easier for a civilization to be taken over from the inside out than by the external power suggested by Orwell. In 1984, the evil regime appeared from the outside, took over, and is now waiting to crush any opposition to its rule using weapons, mind-control instruments, and Thought Police. The government that runs the Brave New World needs none of these; it never has to suppress opposition because there can be none. The Bernard Marxes and Lenina Crownes that populate Utopia never want to resist the rules of society; thanks to the breeding and conditioning techniques of their government, they are ignorant, docile sheep.
Furthermore, unlike Big Brother, Utopia does not take the pleasures of life away from people; it lets them have so much pleasure that it becomes people's only concern, thus making existence trivial and pointless. Whatever purpose the Utopians' existence might have had is drowned in a sea of "orgy porgies", mind-calming soma tablets, and Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy games; moreover, the Utopians like life that way. Big Brother uses torture to subdue those who might oppose it, but Utopia controls people by showering them with pleasure, which is ultimately more effective because pleasure-based control makes the victim want to feel good by submitting to it.
Utopia, the future society depicted in Huxley's Brave New World, is more universal and more relevant to modern society than 1984's Big Brother. While both Utopia and Big Brother are equally plausible versions of a future society, the two were brought into existence by different preceding events. Also, Big Brother has a faint historical basis: Orwell meant for it to reflect the totalitarianism of the communist governments that existed in his era. Huxley gives no indication in Brave New World whether Utopia echoes a particular totalitarian society in real history, allowing it to remain plausible in an era when the brutal Communist regimes that existed in Orwell's time are virtually gone. Finally, Big Brother ensures its dominance by inflicting pain on dissidents while Utopia uses pleasure. Utopia, therefore, would stay in power more easily because pleasure is a more effective method of control than pain.
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Kyler Robinson The Republic of Plato, 1984 and Brave New World are three books containing a common outlook on social systems and social organization. While all literary works have some sort of social system as a background in which they are set, the social...
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- Perfection Is A Point Of View
The Novels 1984, Brave New World, and The Republic of Plato all are considered masterpieces and/or classics in our world. These novels draw the reader in using a new and interesting plot which at the time of publishing made each novel revolutionary in...
- Where Plato And Two 21st Century Authors Differ
There are some startling similarities between The Republic of Plato, 1984, and Brave New World. At the most basic level all three are describing the perfect society in which the population is collectively working towards a common goal. Unlike Socrates,...
- Aldous Huxley Lecture..."the Ultimate Revolution--a Blueprint To Enslave The Masses"
Aldous Huxley gave this speech to a Berkley audience, in which he admits that his novels such as "Brave New World" were not just fiction, but real blueprints for types of controlled and enslaved societies. A shocking look at the results of the Fabian...
Philosophy
Brave New World or 1984 More Relevant Today?
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is more relevant today than George Orwell's 1984. Although both of the two totalitarian societies are based on plausible premises, the Utopia depicted in Brave New World still has a chance of appearing today, while the Big Brother-dominated society created by Orwell, being based to some extent on the totalitarian societies that existed at the time of the book's inception, is simply obsolete.
Brave New World remains more believable in modern times because the events that led up to the creation of Huxley's Utopia have the greater chance of occurring tomorrow. In both novels, the birth of the totalitarian society is brought on by a catastrophic war that involves the entire world. However, in 1984, the war is in the process of being fought, giving the reader the impression that somewhere in the world, there is still a non-totalitarian government which could defeat Orwell's nightmarish police state. In Brave New World, the war that preceded the creation of Utopia has long since passed; it often appears as though Utopia has always existed.
This war makes Brave New World much more believable than Big Brother, especially since it seems more likely to occur when the world is at peace. Also, the war depicted by Brave New World contains technology that seems particularly significant in modern times. Biological weapons have become a more common part of military arsenals in recent years; readers of Brave New World have more reason to believe that its version of the war that starts the rise of totalitarianism could happen today.
Finally, 1984 contains a historical basis that detracts from its ability to remain relevant in any time period. However, it is easily inferred from both the nature of Big Brother and the era in which the novel was written that the nation or political group which started the global conflict is Communist or Communist-controlled (in at least one instance, a character refers to another as "Comrade"). The threat from totalitarian Communist governments was a major concern to Orwell. Huxley's Utopia has no historical basis to ground it in a particular era; therefore, it is more likely than Big Brother to occur in the present.
The society depicted in Brave New World is more likely to appear in modern times because it is easier for a civilization to be taken over from the inside out than by the external power suggested by Orwell. In 1984, the evil regime appeared from the outside, took over, and is now waiting to crush any opposition to its rule using weapons, mind-control instruments, and Thought Police. The government that runs the Brave New World needs none of these; it never has to suppress opposition because there can be none. The Bernard Marxes and Lenina Crownes that populate Utopia never want to resist the rules of society; thanks to the breeding and conditioning techniques of their government, they are ignorant, docile sheep.
Furthermore, unlike Big Brother, Utopia does not take the pleasures of life away from people; it lets them have so much pleasure that it becomes people's only concern, thus making existence trivial and pointless. Whatever purpose the Utopians' existence might have had is drowned in a sea of "orgy porgies", mind-calming soma tablets, and Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy games; moreover, the Utopians like life that way. Big Brother uses torture to subdue those who might oppose it, but Utopia controls people by showering them with pleasure, which is ultimately more effective because pleasure-based control makes the victim want to feel good by submitting to it.
Utopia, the future society depicted in Huxley's Brave New World, is more universal and more relevant to modern society than 1984's Big Brother. While both Utopia and Big Brother are equally plausible versions of a future society, the two were brought into existence by different preceding events. Also, Big Brother has a faint historical basis: Orwell meant for it to reflect the totalitarianism of the communist governments that existed in his era. Huxley gives no indication in Brave New World whether Utopia echoes a particular totalitarian society in real history, allowing it to remain plausible in an era when the brutal Communist regimes that existed in Orwell's time are virtually gone. Finally, Big Brother ensures its dominance by inflicting pain on dissidents while Utopia uses pleasure. Utopia, therefore, would stay in power more easily because pleasure is a more effective method of control than pain.
- But What About The Women?
Kyler Robinson The Republic of Plato, 1984 and Brave New World are three books containing a common outlook on social systems and social organization. While all literary works have some sort of social system as a background in which they are set, the social...
- The Outcast Actant
In the texts Brave New World, The Republic of Plato, and 1984, there exists a common actant, or character role, of an enlightened individual. This enlightened individual provides the means necessary to dissect the workings of their world?s government...
- Perfection Is A Point Of View
The Novels 1984, Brave New World, and The Republic of Plato all are considered masterpieces and/or classics in our world. These novels draw the reader in using a new and interesting plot which at the time of publishing made each novel revolutionary in...
- Where Plato And Two 21st Century Authors Differ
There are some startling similarities between The Republic of Plato, 1984, and Brave New World. At the most basic level all three are describing the perfect society in which the population is collectively working towards a common goal. Unlike Socrates,...
- Aldous Huxley Lecture..."the Ultimate Revolution--a Blueprint To Enslave The Masses"
Aldous Huxley gave this speech to a Berkley audience, in which he admits that his novels such as "Brave New World" were not just fiction, but real blueprints for types of controlled and enslaved societies. A shocking look at the results of the Fabian...