"1984" and "Brave New World"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how both George Orwell in "1984" and Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World" depict visions of Utopian societies which might actually be labeled dystopian because they do not work to create a better world at all. It shows how these two novels show the dangers of carrying ideas that might be questionable in our own time into full fruition in the future. Orwell knew that Stalinism was a threat and shaping a whole society around it was not going to improve it. Similarly, allowing science full rein in Brave New World would make social engineering a threat as well. It examines how both novels show concerns with the same essential issues of freedom versus totalitarianism and bring into question the very idea of government, which in both cases is shown to tend toward easy solutions and simplified controls over the people.

From the Paper:

"Orwell been talking for more than a decade about making political writing into an art. For Orwell, the first step toward changing the world was to understand it. The novel supports the vitality of the past and of tradition, while the structure of the novel is shaped by the historical background of the time in which Orwell lived. Orwell was directly involved in the such events of his time as the battles of socialism against capitalism and of both against Stalinism. He lived for a time among the working class in the north of England, including those who were long-term unemployed. He volunteered to fight for Republican Spain. After he returned to England from Burma, he became passionate about changing the conditions facing those at the lower end of the economic and social scale, and he set out to join them to tell their story."

More papers on "1984" and "Brave New World":

• Analytical Essay # 144055 : "Insanity in "1984" and "Brave New World'"
• Comparison Essay # 90158 : "Orwell's '1984' and Huxley's 'Brave New World'"
• Book Review # 114211 : "Brave New World" vs. "1984"

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