Essay Comparing Brave New World and The Giver

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Comparing Brave New World and The Giver

When one examines the similarities between Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Giver by Lois Lowry, they may be baffled. They may think that Lowry just did a run off of Huxley's highly successful masterpiece. The similarities are extraordinary, but so are their differences. Many aspects of these novels are almost identical while others are completely foreign to each other. Both of these novels feature structured societies, but the societies are not the same. In Brave New World, there are no families or definite partners, but neither society believes in love or true family. The Giver has no specific caste system, but the members of their community do not have control of their own future; that is left to the elders of the community. Lastly are Jonas and John. They are basically the main characters and both endure severe inner troubles, but are they similar enough to make the novels similar?

In Brave New World, there is definitely a caste system of community members. Each level of society keeps to themselves. They work and live according to how they were conditioned. They do not have a certain ordinance on manners or behavior; they are promiscuous and, for the most part, outgoing. The characters in Brave New World do not know the meaning of the word love. They do not have the slightest inkling of what it is like to have a family; the ideas of parents and childbirth repulse them. The Giver has a society that believes in having families for stability, but they do not believe in love. The word is broad and meaningless. When Jonas asked his parents if they loved him, they laughed and told him to be more specific because language is everything. Do they enjoy him? Yes....

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...ves, and to my interpretation, dies. Both John and Jonas were not mentally equipped to handle the situations they were confronted with.

While many may not observe the similarities or differences in Brave New World and The Giver, they are quite obvious. While one society is repulsed at the past, the other simply erases it from memory and it is never spoken of. Neither society believes in love or family, but there are subtle differences in their beliefs. While The Giver has no definite caste system, they have certain procedures for levels of society. John and Jonas are similar characters who are confronted with inner turmoil and find their own way out. Brave New World and The Giver are wonderful works of art that are extremely close in storylines. Whether one believes that they are similar or different, it must be said that the resemblances are almost scary.

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