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Brave new world by aldous huxley modern day essay
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Brave new world aldous huixley essay
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A Brave New World vs. 1984
There are many similarities and differences between Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984. With my analysis of both novels, I have come to the conclusion that they are not as alike as you would believe. A Brave New World is a novel about the struggle of John, 'the savage,' who rejects the society of the Brave New World when and discovers that he could never be truly happy there. 1984 is a novel about Winston, who finds forbidden love within a society that is not aloud to love. In both novels the main character struggles with his society and government to change, which ends up in disaster.
Huxley wrote A Brave New World in 1931 in England. A Brave New World is an excellent demonstration of how the advancement of technology could ultimately lead to downfall and a controlled society. In this consumer based society, the traditional ideal of love and what reproduction have long been disregarded and despised, "Mother, monogamy, romance. High spurts the fountain; fierce and foamy the wild jet. The urge has but a single outlet" (Huxley 41). The comparison to a wild jet is intended to show the dangers of these activities. Many of the Brave New World's social norms are intended to "save" its citizens from anything unpleasant by depriving them of the opportunity to experience emotions and to have their own morals and beliefs.
The Brave New World's society values, "Community, Identity, Stability," (Huxley 1) are most important. Soma, the magical ultimate drug is what keeps the population from revolting. "What you need is a gramme of soma... All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects" (page 15). The drug is most important to the people of the society as it is supposed to keep them from some of the tougher aspects of life, like disappointment and sadness. The drug is used as a form of recreation, with people often taking Soma Holidays,' and its use is encouraged at any opportunity, especially when great emotions, like sadness or love begin to arise. The people of the society are conditioned to take the soma to calm them.
As analyzed by social critic Neil Postman, Huxley's vision of the future, portrayed in the novel Brave New World, holds far more relevance to present day society than that of Orwell's classic 1984. Huxley's vision was simple: it was a vision of a trivial society, drowned in a sea of pleasure and ignorant of knowledge and pain, slightly resembling the world of today. In society today, knowledge is no longer appreciated as it has been in past cultures, in turn causing a deficiency in intelligence and will to learn. Also, as envisioned by Huxley, mind altering substances are becoming of greater availability and distribution as technology advances. These drugs allow society to escape from the problems of life instead of dealing with reality. With divorce rates higher than ever in the past few decades, it has become evident that lust has ruined the society's sexual covenants. People are indulging in their sexual motives; lust runs rampant, thus strong, long-lasting relationships are becoming a rarity.
In Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley and 1984 written by George Orwell the dystopian societies depend on technology to create a totalitarian society. Brave New World is a sequel to 1984, because Brave New World is an established dystopian society which uses technology in a much more pleasureable way, whereas in 1984 the technology is used in a much more aggressive manner. The technology used in both novels aids both governments in creating a totalitarian society, technology helps the government take control over all citizens, influence all of the peoples actions, and determine the people’s emotions. In 1984 technology inflicts fear and pain, whereas Brave New World promotes happiness and pleasure.
The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of life's little mishaps and also serves as an escape as well as entertainment. The people of this futuristic society use it in every aspect of their lives and depend on it for very many reasons. Although this drug appears to be an escape on the surface, soma is truly a control device used by the government to keep everyone enslaved in set positions.
According to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World both predicted that society would eventually be governed by a global totalitarian system; however, the key difference between both their predictions is the method by which society’s cognizance would be undermined. Orwell claimed that contemporary society would be controlled by overt modes of policing and supervising the social hierarchy, whereas Huxley stated that society’s infatuation with entertainment and superficial pleasure alone would be enough for the government to have absolute control over the public. Unfortunately, today’s society is not an Animal Farm. All jokes aside, Postman’s assertion of Huxley’s theory, “what
Huxley effectively uses distortion in Brave New World in his depiction of Soma as a replacement for religion. Soma is a rationed narcotic that is emphasized by the government to help the people escape from their problems. The people of Utopia have become dependent on the drug to keep them in a constant state of pleasure. In their "perfect" society there is no escape from happiness. The primary example of the degrading effects of Soma is Linda. Brought back from the Savage Reservation after being left behind pregnant, Linda faced many moral and ethical dilemmas she chose to avoid. Her addiction to Soma, which is looked upon as a good thing by everyone except John, brings about the terrible end to her life in which she was in a state of constant delusion. Soma, as Mustapha Mond puts it, is "Christianity without tears" (244). Soma, in effect, is the key to social stability in Utopia. Soma prevents uprisings, saves revolutions and suppresses emotions. Although Huxley's distortion of religion is powerful, there are other strong arguments in the book.
In the article excerpt, social critic Neil Postman describes two dystopian novels: George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Postman compares which novel is more relevant to today’s society, and leans more towards Brave New World. When both novels are compared side by side, it is evident that Huxley’s world is indeed more relative to modern day civilization.
In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, Huxley uses symbols to create meaning and to get his agenda across. The use of sex and reproduction, and Shakespearian writing and religious texts, as symbols in the novel help to push Huxley’s agenda that total government control is devastating, and the inner human drive to be an individual can never be suppressed. Also, the fact that the novel was written in 1931 shows that Huxley was attacking the newly forming Socialist nations.
One major issue that helps maintain social stability in Brave New World is sex. It is thought of as normal for people to be completely open with their sexual nature. It is typical for children to run around naked during recess playing games that are sexual and sometimes homosexual in nature. Every adult is encouraged to sleep with as many different partners as possible. This outlook on sexual nature is quite different from actual accepted views. Today, sex is most widely accepted as a private, romantic event that should take place between monogamous couples. Because sex is a natural need of the human body, people of Huxley’s society feel pleased by being open with their sexuality. Indulging in their sexual pleasures eases their minds and keeps them from questioning the level of freedom they have.
The main goal of Brave New World’s society is to create a balance social stability, and happy individuals. To create such a world; feelings, passions, and relationships are nonexistent. No one has parents, children, or lover. Instead, everyone belongs to anyone. There is no emotional attachment; nothing is valued, only physical interaction. When one feels negative emotions, that society cannot control, such as humiliation and stress, a drug called soma is taken to feel content and impassive again. Great works of literature, such as Shakespeare, religious texts, and art are forbidden in the society because it can cause passion and curiosity beyond what they have been programmed to know. Even science is suppressed for it searches for truth, and according to the novel, truth gets in the way of happiness. ( ) While one can evaluate the novel and view all who are a part of the ...
...t can be so traumatic that we choose not to leave our fragile emotions into hands of others. After all of these setbacks, we are more willing to settle for just pure sex. This is in hopes that it will be stress-free and painless. What we don’t know is that commitment-free relationships come with many consequences. Brave New World shows how escaping pain, especially in terms of relationships, can actually cause greater suffering. By the World State essentially forcing these relationships on their citizens, they are also depriving them of vital immunity to suffering. They are being deprived of the wisdom that is accompanied by heartbreak. The consequences that Aldous Huxley was warning about are extraordinarily relevant to the contemporary American society.
In most countries in our world, society has experienced technological advances to the point of being able to accomplish what Huxley envisioned. In contrast to Huxley’s vision, the moral standards of most nations allow all humans to enjoy basic human rights that embrace family, personal relationships, and individualism. Today’s society is able to comprehend how with the technological advances Huxley’s world could be a reality, but with the privilege of a democratic society, civilization would not allow the medical intervention for reproduction, the conditioning for happiness and consumerism. Work Cited "Brave New World by Aldous Huxley : Barron's Notes" Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: Barron's Notes. N.p., n.d. Web.
This dream of forming and maintaining a utopian society was immortalized in two novels dealing with the same basic ideas, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Both of these novels deal with the lives of main characters that inadvertently become subversives in a totalitarian government. These two books differ greatly however with the manner in which the government controls the population and the strictness of the measures taken to maintain this stability. This essay with compare and contrast the message and tone of each novel as well as consider whether the utopia is a positive or negative one.
This Perfect Day belongs to the genre of "dystopian" or anti-utopian novels, like Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. Yet it is more satisfying than either. This Perfect Day is probably Ira Levin's greatest work of his career. Levin's work, despite being written in 1970, is very plausible having realistic technology, such as scanners and computers which watch over the entire family, the entire population of the world. This novel could be used to show the dangers of a Utopian society as well as being full of anti-Communist and anti-racist sentiment. This Perfect Day also displays the feeling that communist and segregated institutions can be defeated, as the protagonist Chip over powers the "family" and their vile Uni Comp as well as rising above the segregated community he reaches after fleeing the family. This work could best be placed in an area of the curriculum where it is the students job to learn that although everyone might not be equal, nor should they be, they are still human and deserve to be treated with the respect and kindness we would expect to be treated with. This work could be used in conjunction with other works of literature that display the same ideals against communism and discrimination as well as a lack of compassion for others. Other works that could be used in cohorts with Levin's This Perfect Day, are Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and even the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both of these novels show the dangers of trying to create a Utopian society and the chaos it causes. In Harrison Bergeron, handicapping has become an American institution and it is the governments responsibility to make sure that everyone is equal in every way which ends up causing chaos and rebellion. The Handmaid's Tale shows the dangers of when an extreme group takes over the United States after a nuclear holocaust, with women being placed in a submissive role to men, only being used to reproduce. This Perfect Day could also be used in a section with novels such as Uncle Tom's Cabin which portray the evils of racism and discrimination, just as the land where Chip ends up after escaping the family, is very racist and segregated. He is forced to endure the taunts and tortures of the folks who had fought Uni from the beginning, yet he rises above these bounds to return and destroy Uni Comp, thereby destroying the family.
Firstly, the authors of both book is portraying that the more the people know less and are kept busy, the less the act of rebellion. The books are both layed out with one format, destruction of inner conflict and inner peace. Also in the book 1984 shows us that the people are kept under surveillance. That also portrays in brave new world, that everyone is being watched. Winston stated that the proles are the last hope and until they are conscious, they can never rebel(1984 page 60, George Orwell).
There are lots of ways to compare 1984 by George Orwell to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. They both have to do with very futuristic ideas. I noticed that they both had basically the same character structure. In 1984, there is the leading lady Julia, and in Brave New World, there is Lenina Crowne.