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A Brave New World is a story about Bernard Marx, who rejects his society because he finds that he is not satisfied with living a controlled life. 1984 is a story about Winston who finds forbidden love within the restrictions of his society. These books are both in the same genre, so they can be easily compared and contrasted. The main similarities in the two pieces are the topics of the novels, the endings of the books, the nature of the characters, the way history is handled, and the role of science. There are many important differences between the two novels. They are the way the societies perceive sex, the way the books are written, the role of hypocrisy in the societies, the role of drugs in the societies, the way that the people are controlled, the leaders in the two novels, and the message the author is portraying in each novel. Although similarities do occur between A Brave New World and 1984, considering the fact that they do deal with similar topics, there are definitely more differences than similarities.
First of all, the similarities of the two books are necessary to know before getting into the complexity of the differences. The topic is the first, and most obvious similarity. The two novels are both in the same genre of futuristic fiction. The endings of the books are similar because they both end on a negative note.
Bernard is sent to work in Iceland (which was negative in his opinion) and Winston is taken to room 101, subjected to psychological treatment, and then killed. The nature of the characters in each book are very similar. Winston and Bernard are both rebels in an established system. The Savage and Helmhoz in Brave New World are also similar to Winston because they are outcasts as well. In both books, history is changed to fit the future, in order for the controller to maintain order. The controller must not only have control over the present and the future, but the past as well.
The role of science in both books is extensive and complicated. In 1984, they have tele screens which are never turned off and in Brave New World the people watch movies using the feeling, which adds senses to a movie. Next, there are numerous differences between the two novels. Firstly, sex is perceived differently in both societies. In Brave New World, sex is used as a form of recreation and it is accepted.
The drug soma is used to prevent any great emotions and people are encouraged to be promiscuous. However, in 1984, sex is considered to be disgusting and the party tried to kill any desire or attraction from one person to another. There were organizations such as the Junior Anti-Sex League which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes. Secondly, the way the books are written are different. 1984 was written in first-person and was mostly narrated by the main characters internal dialogue, while Brave New World was written in third-person. This illustrated different character views than 1984. The role of hypocrisy is different in the societies because Brave New World brings it to a different extent.
This is because the Ford in Brave New World has a child himself, and the people in that society are conditioned to actually consider the word parents as a curse word. In 1984 the hypocrisy is not brought to as great of a level as that. Thirdly, the role of drugs is a great difference. Soma, the drug used in Brave New World, is basically used to control everyone. Although the people do not know that they are even being controlled. In 1984, drugs are used, but not to as big of an extent.
What controls the people in 1984 is that they are not aware of the negative aspects of their situation and they are basically scared to think negatively of their situation. This ties right into the next comparison, which is how the people are controlled. Besides the drugs, in 1984 the people are constantly being watched while in Brave New World the people are conditioned at a very young age. Next, the leaders in the two novels differ. Big Brother is definitely more imposing than the Ford.
Winston fears Big brother while the citizens in Brave New World are always drugged so they dont feel fear of any kind. Lastly, the messages each author is trying to portray is different. Aldous Huxley is expressing a fear that people will create a perfect world by getting rid of everything that makes life worthwhile. Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning against the results of having a totalitarian state and he is expressing more secret police paranoia. In conclusion, these two books are similar and different in many ways.
The differences stand out more than the similarities do. However, these books do have one common similarity. They both ask whether societies with stability, pacification, and uniformity are worth creating and they prove by the endings they have proven that it is not worth creating. These books both prove that in order for life to be worthwhile there needs to be challenges, problems, and pain.
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Research essay sample on Comparison Of 1984 And Brave New World
