Ideology In Brave New World

Ideology or Freedom?

What would you give for happiness? For safety? What if I told you that you had to give up your freedom or what you believe? Would you take that deal? This is one of the most important questions posed by Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both of these books take place in a London that seems outlandish but really isn’t so different from our own. Brave New World is set in a futuristic society with a strict social structure, decided by biology, that determines everything about a person’s life. 1984 is set in more contemporary times in an authoritarian society controlled by a powerful elite that keeps the masses in check. Both of these stories look at the importance of ideology

All members of the party have to wear blue overalls (2), which is the uniform of the party. Party members are expected to volunteer their time and recreation centers while their children are meant to take part in the Party Youth League. The family is one of the few areas where the party allows for someone to be an individual but even this is greatly diluted. Marriages must be approved so that the party can make sure that spouses do not truly love each other and that these relationships are only for producing more children for the party. The Party Youth Leagues brainwash children to put the party first over their families and their parents. Winston’s neighbor Tom Parsons is an idealist who strongly supports the party, willingly giving up his thought to whatever the party decides, but his downfall turns out to be his children. Instead of being disappointed that his child betrayed him, Parsons says that “in fact I am proud of her” (208). Ingsoc is so effective in destroying individualism that the party is able to train kids to spy on and rat on their own parents. This is a sign of a society that is very much controlled by the elite where the idea of free will has become so convoluted as to be turned on its head. The party also uses telescreens and mics to constantly spy on its citizens to root out any thought crime. Thought crime is a major part of the party’s ideology. It is any idea that goes against the party, Big Brother or any narrative that the party has put forward. This, along with the Ministry of Love, is the most important way that individuality has been stamped out. Instead of individuality just being seen as something bad, it has become completely criminalized to the point where one can be put to death for having the slightest thought against the