Comparative_Essay__Dystopian_Novels

The dystopian novels of the 1900’s have left a significant mark on literature and imaginations of readers worldwide. Our world in the future is a vast mystery that has been portrayed in various ways over the past centuries – from futuristic technology to powerful dictatorships; we’ve all seen one example or another. Both George Orwell’s, 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, are key pieces of literature, ranked high on the list of dystopian novels, that portray societies who have been emptied of a sense of history and are overwhelmed with propaganda (Varricchio). Though their messages are similar – the “excellence of the individual [is] the loss of their individuality,” their concepts are completely unique (Patridge). Orwell depicts a society ruled by the powerful, mind-controlling “Party” who overloads its people with propaganda. In contrast, Huxley’s society is pre-conditioned to be content with their social roles and follow the rules of society obediently, and though equally ignorant as Orwell’s society, they are blissfully uninformed about the history of their culture. As Orwell and Huxley dive into the future of totalitarian regime and mass human reproduction, they give the reader dramatic, vivid descriptions of the future from a third-person perspective – effectively bring the story to life in our imaginations. Both Orwell and Huxley focus the attention around a main character, the protagonist, facing internal rebellion against their society and coincidentally, both characters face similar conflicts – threat from their government, a passionate, yet unattainable love affair, and ultimately, their final stand against conformity. In 1984, Winston, lives in a cold, barren world where a telescreen monitors his every movement at every moment of the day. He is aware of the contradictions in his society and conscious of the rules he should obey and though he does it in submission – he understands that it is something he must do to survive. He expresses a great distaste for the gritty landscape of London, the celibacy of all the women and the preposterous dedication of citizens to the Party beliefs. Similarly, Bernard Marx in Brave New World consciously understands that the behavior of his society is purely based off of preconditioning. He refuses to participate in their activities or take their “happy drugs” and like Winston, also conveys his disgust towards the people that surround him. Because both characters clearly demonstrate an intellectual rebellion towards their society and act out in their own ways, they begin to draw negative attention from their rigid governments. Despite the fact that these governments have a common goal, to create a utopia by dictatorship, the basis of their beliefs is drastically different. Orwell’s “Party” exhibits tyrannical behavior and communist-like enforcements, conditioning its society by using force (Bloom). The consequences, if not the fear alone of living under the “watchful eyes of ‘Big Brother,’” range from 5 years in an imprisonment camp to torture and death. Huxley’s government of Brave New World has a more passive approach, rather than using force or fear – they exile all “non-conforming citizens” to Iceland where they can be free to express themselves without “contaminating” others. These two rather opposite approaches are both for the purpose of maintaining the homeostasis of their society, where both Winston and Bernard appear to be threats. Furthermore, the two novels portray radically different “standpoints” on intimacy and desire. Though both main characters experience feelings of lust and passion, the complications in their affairs vary greatly with the conditioning in their society. Winston expresses his feelings towards women throughout the novel as if it were sinful. He describes his physical attraction to them, his bitter separation from his first wife, and later, his intimate affair with Julie. Winston’s dilemma lies in the law, where desire is a “thoughtcrime” and forbidden in order for the totalitarian regimes to maintain control over society’s feelings. Sexual acts in general are “looked on as slightly disgusting… [and] the only purpose of marriage to beget children for the service of the Party” (Orwell 65). Their fear is ultimately that “sexual hungers will reemerge as the catalyst for rebellious tendencies” (Horan). In order to enforce these policies, the telescreen acts as an around-the-clock monitoring system to detect any irregular, personal feelings. This, however, does not hinder Winston from forming a relationship with Julia, a woman clearly as mindset on rebellion as he was. Their secret love affair is eventually what exposes them to the “thought police,” but for the first time in Winston’s life, his own reservations regarding the Party are overcome by his sense of living and his desire to be loved (Bloom). He understands that by just feeling what he does, he is already dead and they make that acknowledgement together in their final moments. Ironically enough, in Brave New World, Huxley’s imaginary society is obsessively promiscuous – conditioned with phrases like “Every one belongs to everyone else” at a young age to promote erotic interaction amongst society (Huxley 43). Society in Huxley’s novel can be described as more robotic and less inquisitive than an individual may be in Orwellian society. The goal of their government isn’t to eliminate the desire for sexual feelings – they’ve already preprogrammed and conditioned people to be what they are and to be content with their social caste. What they want to prevent is the “unconditioning” of these beliefs as a result of loyalty or allegiance of any kind. Therefore, participating in anything of permanence is strongly frowned upon, and marriage, families and procreation are simply concepts of the past, with no relevance in the “Fordian society” that Huxley portrays – other than causing uncomfortable or confusing feelings. In actuality, “normal” behavior in Brave New World would be to sleep with as many individuals as possible. Exempt from these beliefs is Bernard Marx, who finds the idea of “arresting [his] impulses” and waiting to have sexual intercourse is far more stimulating than acting “like infants” and simply going to bed (Huxley 94). His affections from early on in the novel are aimed towards Lenina, who is described to be quite beautiful and popular, yet when he is finally alone with her – he becomes extremely disappointed in her lack of desire to understand more than what she was conditioned with. Though he has deep sentiments for her, he understands that her role will not change. Unfortunately, both characters reach their demise and with them, the hope for humanity in each novel seems to dwindle. Both Winston and Bernard represent possibly the “last man standing” in their society, the last hope of a voice willing to speak out against the conformity and rigidness they are forced to comply with. They both undergo the worst consequence of what their government can do to those that do not conform. Winston painfully endures the torture of being “reconditioned” to whole-heartedly obey the Party. From electric shocks, to the threat of being devoured by rats (his worst fear in life), he is forced to release all feelings of rebellion, individuality, and even love. According to his torturer, O’Brien, a friend who was in reality a member of the “thought police,” the purpose of the tormenting interrogation process was not just to force him to obey them, but to “convert him, capture his inner mind and reshape him” (Orwell 255). Winston tolerates severe persecution, abuse and deterioration while still maintaining his conviction – he hated “Big Brother.” The brutality of it all finally breaks Winston in a moment of helplessness, where he betrays his love, Julia, by begging O’Brien to torture her and not him. This is the final success of the Party, breaking the only loyalty Winston had in his life. By breaking Winston and converting him to the love of Big Brother, the last man in Europe is destroyed (Fitzpatrick). Less dramatically, Bernard’s suspicious behavior leads to multiple threats from his superior to relocate him to Iceland. Being exiled from society is detrimental in Bernard’s eyes, which is contradictory behavior to his feelings towards his world, but regardless – it isn’t until he brings home a “savage” from the Indian Reservation that his peculiar behavior gets him exiled. Not quite as heroic in his beliefs, Bernard feels awkward in his society and simply wants a more stimulating connection with the people around him. After being told that he is going to be sent away, he immediately surrenders his opposition and sarcastic tone throughout the novel and begins to plead for “another chance.” Though even the “Fordship” believes exile to Iceland is not much of a punishment at all, considering it is simply a place to express independent ideas, Bernard’s beliefs ultimately result in him being cast out of their society. The futuristic depictions of our humanity shine light on similarities in our societies today. With drastic improvements in scientific studies and our history of dictatorship, it may not be hard for some to believe that our world may lead to horrific situations like 1984 and Brave New World. In every story, the protagonist faces a conflict or a situation, and in these novels, they proved to be unsuccessful in overcoming the power of their dictatorship. I believe Orwell and Huxley wrote these novels not to portray a heroic tale with a happy ending, but to bring attention to the world in which we live now with extreme situations, to always remember our liberties and to treasure them above everything else. Works Cited 1. Varricchio, Mario. “Power of Images/Images of Power in Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four.” Utopian Studies. ( 1999): p98. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 November 2009. 2. Fitzpatrick, Kathleen. “An overview of 1984.” Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resource Center from Gale. Web. 16 November 2009. 3. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin Books, Ltd, 1949. Print. 4. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1932. Print. 5. Horan, Thomas. “Revolutions from the waist downwards: desire as rebellion in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, George Orwell's 1984, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.” Extrapolation. (2007): p314. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 November 2009. 6. Bloom Harold. “Summary and Analysis.” Bloom's Guides. (2004): p21-42. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 November 2009. 7. Patridge, Alice. “Relative Theory of Good in ‘Brave New World’ and ‘1984’.” National Council of Teachers. (1967): 9p. EBSCO Host. Web. 14 November 2009. 8. Firchow, Peter E. “Firchow on ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Brave New World Revisted.’ Bloom’s Notes: Brave New World. (1996): p. 83-85. Literary Resource Center. Web. 15 November 2009.