"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley compared to "1984" by George Orwell; Two Worlds Alike

Essay by DeniL814High School, 12th grade April 2006

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

The books "Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley and "1984", by George Orwell have a lot of things in common, although presented in different ways. Both present different warnings about the dangers of a totalitarian government. In "Brave New World", society honors Ford, where in 1984, they are loyal to Big Brother. In each book both governments have total control and power over the society.

One thing to look at is the books' views on relationships. In "Brave New World", people are encouraged to jump from person to person and have sex with everyone. No emotional relationships filled with love are formed. A different action is taken in "1984". The government says that sex is only to make children, not for pleasure. It is seen as a rebellion against the government, and people are tortured for it. The next thing in relationships is the family.

Families are looked upon as disgusting in "Brave New World". The use of the words mother or father are sneered at. The people cannot even imagine it. In "1984", there are basically no family ties. Children are brainwashed to spy on their parents, and even turn them in for thoughtcrime.

Both governments use some technique to limit thought of free will. In "Brave New World", the government uses hypnopaedic conditioning to engrave different things for them to say about the society and the government. When Lenina talks to Bernard, all she says is ramblings that the government as put into her head. Because of this, no person could ever say anything bad toward Ford or the government. 1984 is very similar. The Party actually makes up a whole language for the people to be able to speak. They call this Newspeak. The dictionary keeps getting...