1984 And Brave New World Comparative Analysis

In 1984, written by George Orwell, and Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, relationships are centered around romance, which inflicts contrasting feelings, thoughts, and emotions amongst the characters. However; in both novels’, romantic relationships are set to achieve one goal: a centralization of power within a society. Both novels have a head of all this power within their society and each head has structured or has influenced their society to follow their rules on how to live life so that they can increase their own power. In 1984 and Brave New World, the representation of a romantic relationship, through varying techniques such as marriage, sex, and family relations, is used as a method to centralize power because of the lack of true passion and to keep stability and continuity within a society.

In 1984 and Brave New World,

marriage is depicted and discussed in different ways, such as in 1984 marriage is only for the purpose of producing children and in Brave New World marriage is only there for sex, which ultimately displays their definition of marriage which is lack of love between partners.

For instance, in 1984 Winston is discussing the use marriage within the Party and how Katherine (whom he was married to) only wanted to create children in their marriage and not have meaningful sex. Winston says, “The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like

having an enema. This again was never put into plain words, but in an indirect way it was rubbed into every Party member from childhood onward,.”(Orwell 65). “She had two names for it. One was ‘making a baby’, and the other was ‘our duty to the Party’,” (Orwell 67). The Party influences people from a young age itself to believe that marriage is only used for creating children to serve the Party. Orwell wrote that the marriage was only to “beget children for the service of the Party”. Orwell contrasts the meaning of marriage and sex and shows how the Party depicts sex as a crime. To echo this, Orwell said that sex was looked as a “disgusting minor operation”. Using the word disgusting shows how frowned upon sex was and pairing disgusting with minor shows how the Party preached that sex should not be on everyone’s mind rather there are more important things to focus on. When Winston informs the readers how Katherine felt about their marriage, he echoes the previous quote on what marriage truly means. Katherine devotion to the Party and her feelings of making babies is all she and Winston should be doing shows the reader that marriage isn’t a love partnership but it is rather a business relationship with the Party. In Brave New World, the Director orders a child to have sex and then further explains to a group of children about the differences between the past and present society. The Director says, “Run away now and see if you can find another little boy to play with.” “Erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal (there was a roar of laughter); and not only abnormal, actually immoral (no!): and had therefore been rigorously suppressed.” (Huxley 32). When the Director directs a child to leave and find “another little boy to play with”, the reader can assume that Huxley is representing partnerships and marriage as irrelevant and the sole purpose during their days is to have sex. Huxley shows that marriage isn’t necessary. He rather shows that sex isn’t supposed to be “abnormal” or “immoral” but it should be a common practice. To echo this, Huxley writes the group of children listening to the Director saying “no!”. The exasperated tone of the children, indicated by the exclamation point, shows the shock the children had to hear that their past society rebutted sex. The Director coneys here that marriage isn’t a common and shouldn’t be a common practice like sex should. But through the quotes in 1984 and Brave New World, the authors intend to convey that marriage’s sole purpose is to increase the power of the the society's leaders, in this case the Party and the Director. The quotes show that both leaders as appealing and influencing the society to get on board with their beliefs and ways of living life, in this case marriage.

In 1984 and Brave New World, sex is represented as a pawn in a relationship in order to successfully achieve an end goal of manipulation and the removal of affection in sex. For example, in 1984 Orwell describes Winston having sex with Julia and later, O’Brien explains how Julia manipulated Winston. Orwell wrote, “She had clasped her arms about his neck, she was calling him darling, precious one, loved one. He had pulled her down onto the ground, she was utterly unresisting, he could do what he liked to her,” (Orwell 120) “She betrayed you, Winston. Immediately-unreservedly. All her rebelliousness, her deceit, her folly.,” (Orwell 259). Julia, here, used sex as a way to manipulate Winston to join or at least consider joining the Party. In the first quote, the reader can assume that Julia and Winston are having true compassionate feelings for each other, which is represented through their sex. The author echoes this by saying that Julia called Winston “darling” and “loved one” and Winston in response felt “he could do what he like to her”. This shows how there was a presumed mutual love between the two. However; Julia’s “deceit”, “her folly” proves her manipulation of Winston. The sex they have proves to be meaningless sex which involves no real affection and compassion between the two. Orwell reiterates this when he wrote “She betrayed you, Winston”. This proves how Julia used sex almost like a pawn in chess, a sacrifice. In Brave New World, Lenina and Fanny have a conversation discussing who Lenina should have sex with next. Huxley writes, “He patted me on the behind this afternoon,’ said Lenina. ‘There you see!’ Fanny was triumphant. ‘That shows what he stands for. The strictest conventionality.” (Huxley 42). Sex in this society is regarded as a common practice, almost like an everyday chore that must get done. When Fanny reacts to Lenina saying the Director had “patted her on the behind” by saying “There you see!”, the reader can assume the normality this is considered within the society. Lenina lack of a negative perception on the Director shows how sex is nothing other than a tool that is in place to achieve a common practice. The author echoes by having Fanny say that the Director stands for the “strictest conventionality”. The word conventionality shows that sex is merely in place to be there and have sex which shows that love between two people when having sex in this society is non-existent and therefore used to maximize the Director’s power. Through both novels, the authors both convey the same theme that sex is used to increase one’s power.

In 1984 and Brave New World, family relations are presented as a gimmick in order to achieve the end goal of increasing one’s own power through deception. For example, O’Brien is asking Winston a series of questions as an initiation into the “Brotherhood” a rebellious group of the Party when in reality Winston realizes O’Brien is part of the Party. Orwell writes, “The Brotherhood, we call it. You will never learn much more about the Brotherhood than that it exists and that you belong to it.” “You are prepared to commit murder?” “You are prepared to cheat, to forge… to do anything that is likely to cause demoralization and weaken the power of the Party?” (Orwell 171-172). “He was the tormentor, he was the protector, he was the inquisitor, he was the friend,” (Orwell 244). By using words like “we call it” O’Brien uses deception to deceive Winston into believing he belongs to this family and that he should be part of the cause. To reiterate this, O’Brien said that Winston “belongs to it”. This gives Winston the false sense of hope that O’Brien intends Winston to have. However; O’Brien displays his deception when Winston labels O’Brien as a member of the Party. Winston uses words like “tormentor” to describe how O’Brien acts within in the Party and “protector” to symbolize O’Brien as the leader. The reader can see O’Brien’s deception when Winston says that he was “the friend”. Using “friend” tells the reader that O’Brien manipulated Winston into the Party to increase and strengthen his own power. In Brave New World, the Director is explaining to a boy how family was downgraded in their society. “In brief,” the Director summed up, “the parents were the father and the mother.” The smut that was really science fell with a crash into the boy's eye-avoiding silence. “Mother,” he repeated loudly rubbing in the science; and, leaning back in his chair, “These,” he said gravely, “are unpleasant facts; I know it. But then most historical facts are unpleasant.” (“For you must remember that in those days of gross viviparous reproduction, children were always brought up by their parents and not in State Conditioning Centres.”) (Huxley 24). When the boy labels the idea that parents were the father and mother as “smut that was science”, the reader can assume that family and family ideas were disapproved by the society. To echo this the boy relates the idea as being an “unpleasant fact”. This shows how the idea causes tension within him and the fact is hard to see being a reality. Also, the idea of family and fathers and mothers were referred to as “gross viviparous reproduction”. This relates to the idea that family is something of an afterthought and something that should never be practiced. The reader can really see the societies deception when referring to children being brought up by parents in the past and not in current societal conditions. This shows how the “State” wants to abolish and attack the meaning of family to increase its own power.
Societies can be different in many ways, however in the cases of 1984 and Brave New World there are two authors trying to show their societies in similar ways.

Throughout both novels themes of marriage, sex, and family is constantly depicted. But both authors intend to convey the larger hidden theme which is that these subthemes are used to help exemplify the power the head’s of both societies have through the manipulation and abuse of this power on the society

itself.