Compare_and_Contrast_the_Ways_in_Which_Both_Governments_Keeps_Control_and_Maintains_Power_(Brave_New_World_and_1984)_Mark__6

Compare and contrast the ways in which each government keeps control and maintains power. Explain how and why each regime came into being and evaluate their relative success This essay question asks me to do quite a few things. It asks me to “compare and contrast” the ways in which both governments of both novels came to power, it asks how these governments maintain power and control and it asks about the relative success of both futuristic societies. In 1984 the society that Orwell paints came into existence by very different circumstances to that of Huxley’s. In 1984 the government that exists is known as the “party”. The use of “party” would suggest that they were once a large political party (not full controllers). Once this political party grew in power, they started to play dirty and do things like eliminating opposition and controlling the people using fear and violence. The way in which the party came to power is translucent over message that Orwell was trying to give with this book. In Orwell’s time the second world war had come to a close, but it came to a close after the realisation of the way life could be like if we lived in a totalitarian state. There is a special link between the way in which Hitler in world war two came to power, and the way the “party” came to power. They both came to power by force, foul play and by the complete elimination of rival parties and counter opinions. Huxley’s society however came into existence by very different means. The mark at which the progression into brave new world started was at the beginning of the industrial age, the age of ford. Ford was the first person to introduce manufacturing into society, and this book is based on the evolution this from the industrial age. As science and technology increases exponentially, people realise that there is no need for us to live miserable lives. We can create a society where everything works in harmony, and everyone is happy in their hierarchical position. This is done through technology (designer babies for specific jobs) and conditioning when children are born. So this society came into being with very little resistance. People would marvel at the chance of having drugs that can exchange the cycle of pain and pleasure for pleasure and pleasure. The society came into being as the next logical step for humanity, with technology and science people do not need the god we do to give them happiness. So in this sense both societies came into existence by very different means. The “1984” society is a depiction of what could happen if extreme fascism were to come into power, where as “brave new world” is a depiction of a society where technology and science has taken over and caused us to become inhuman. Both societies use different ways of controlling the people. In “1984” there is a more militaristic, oppressive, violent and dictatorial form of control. In this society people are not conditioned formally, they just have every aspect of their lives controlled. From birth they are fed mass propaganda and lies that glorify big brother and the party. There are tele-screens in each house to monitor people and observe suspicious behaviour (suspicious behaviour could be the smallest thing like writing in a journal), There are helicopters the fly past your windows to view what you are doing, even the people around you cannot be trusted because they will hand you into the party if you are suspicious. People’s basic needs are limited; there are hardly any luxuries in this society. People are kept in a droned sense of reality where they live to work for the party. They are kept in this state by their lack of luxury and by the food and alcohol that is their only option to consume. The way in which people are controlled in brave new world has some similarities, but is for the most part different. People in this society are genetically modified and conditioned from birth. They are creations made to perform specific purposes in life. Society is more like a computer game where you can create the people the way you want them. Everyone is contempt and happy in society, so there is rarely a cause for resisting against it. Because after all it would be resisting against feeling good. It is a society built on pleasure, and this pleasure controls the people. The pleasure comes in the form of sex, and soma, which is a drug that will take away the pain and emotions of life’s “negative” experiences. There are similarities with the two novels because even though the ways in which they are controlled differ, they are being controlled, as opposed to having free will. But the society in brave new world is a much more laid back society. People are allowed to enjoy them selves, they are allowed to go where they want, they are allowed to have sex, they are allowed to eat as they please, where as 1984 they simply aren’t. In terms of their relative success, I have the opinion that it depends on the many different creatable definitions of success. I will take success to mean the accomplishment of the ideal society (different for each book), that each the “party” and the “brave new world” wish to achieve. In 1984 the ideal society is one that has complete control of the people. Its ideal is that every person would serve the party and give their lives for the part. It bases its self on primitive principals of control like “war is peace” and “ignorance is strength”. I don’t think that this society succeeds in its objectives. The society is shown in the book to be unable to completely break the human spirit. Even though Winston loves big brother at the end, how many other Winston’s are there, and will they keep coming into existence' Also the proletarian district is not so tightly controlled, so they do not have complete control. Where as in brave new world I think that the ways of controlling people are much more sophisticated. Instead of primitively pushing for control and forcing ideas upon people, society has evolved with technology and science to a place where people are controlled in the form of mental conditioning and drugs. The world seems to function better, it seems more well thought through and logical. Where as 1984 is based on a more unorganised and high maintenance way of controlling people. All in all I think that the brave new world is a more successful depiction of success. In conclusion, both societies are different and similar at the same time. They are both similar in the way that they condition and brainwash people into belief of things that aren’t true (by our standards today). The difference is in the way they do it.