Humans : Humans Are Humans

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orewell’s 1984 were both composed surrounding times of war in the twentieth century. The authors were alarmed by what they saw in society and began to write novels depicting the severe outcomes and possiblities of civilizaton if it continued down its path. Although the two books are very different, they both address many of the same issues and principles.

Totalitarianism diminishes the idea of individuality and destroys all chances of self-improvement, and human’s natural hunger for knowledge. In George Orwell’s famous novel, “1984”, totalitarianism is clearly seen in the exaggerated control of the state over every single citizen, everyday, everywhere. Totalitarianism can also be seen in the book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, in which humans are synthetically made and conditioned for their predestinated purpose on earth. The lack of individualism will lead a community towards a dystopia in which freedom is vanished by the uncontrolled power of the state.

How does our past define us? What does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of life? George Orwell’s 1984 considers such questions through a harsh, depressing viewpoint by putting an average man like Winston Smith into an environment where every single act and thought is monitored. Through this perspective Orwell creates a dystopian future which is unique: not a zombie-infected world or the Wasteland, but a future that could happen without us even realising it. A future where the destruction of the truth, the removal of human dreams, emotions and privacy, completely and utterly destroys the very meaning of life itself.

The world that is overrun with tyranny creates the capacity for people to be forced to live in inhumane conditions. This often involves a leader who silences people by restricting their power and limiting them to a lifestyle that is unsatisfactory compared to the elite in society. Through the novel 1984 and short story 2081, authors George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut introduce readers to the idea of inhumanity by means of mentally incapacitating citizens and holding them at equal rankings through means of oppression.

Imagine a world where you are not allowed to be yourself. Imagine a world where morality was abolished and science dominated all aspect of life. Imagine being told what to do with your body, your sexuality. Imagine a world where you are so heavily controlled, even your thoughts are not your own. Imagine not being able to recognize your own emotions that lie inside you. Imagine being taught to rely on prescriptions drugs to cope with not being able to express what you feel inside. Imagine being so heavily controlled, you are oblivious to the veil over your eyes. Aldous Huxley portrays a fantastic peak into our future by conveying

In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological

Having been a somewhat of an outsider in his life, physically and mentally, Aldous Huxley used what others thought as his oddities to create complex works. His large stature and creative individuality is expressed in the characters of his novel, Brave New World. In crafting such characters as Lenina, John, Linda, Bernard, and Helmholtz, not to mention the entire world he created in the text itself, Huxley incorporated some of his humanities into those of his characters. Contrastly, he removed the same humanities from the society as a whole to seem perfect. This, the essence and value of being human, is the great meaning of Brave New World. The presence and lack of human nature in the novel exemplifies the words of literary theorist Edward Said: “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Huxley’s characters reflect the “rift” in their jarred reaction to new environments and lifestyles, as well as the remnant of individuality various characters maintain in a brave new world.

Humanity is the state of being humane, just, and beneficial to humans as a whole. Having a sense of humanity during trying times is crucial and can either make or break the situation. In the novels Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernières and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, characters perform acts that allow them to progress through hard times. The characters demonstrate that they want not only a future for themselves but also a future for others, even if they are enemies. By having a sense of humanity they realize that in the end they are all human and where they live and who they fight for does not matter.

The eminent 20th century psychologist, Erich Fromm in his “Afterword” to 1984 asks: “Can human nature be changed in such a way that man will forget his longing for freedom, for dignity, for integrity, for love – that is to say, can man forget that he is human? Or does human nature have a dynamism which will react to the violation of these basic needs by attempting to change an inhumane society into a humane one? (318) In 1984 by George Orwell, human nature is depicted as an illusion. Every single aspect of human thought and behavior, from speech to facial expression, is controlled and manipulated by the Party; the Party defines “humanity”. Rebels (people that commit

As man has progressed through the ages, there has been, essentially, one purpose. That purpose is to arrive at a utopian society, where everyone is happy, disease is nonexistent, and strife, anger, or sadness is unheard of. Only happiness exists. But when confronted with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, we come to realize that this is not, in fact, what the human soul really craves. In fact, Utopian societies are much worse than those of today. In a utopian society, the individual, who among others composes the society, is lost in the melting pot of semblance and world of uninterest. The theme of Huxley's Brave New World is community, identity, and stability. Each of these three themes represents what a Brave New World society needs

Several conflicting frames of mind have played defining roles in shaping humanity throughout the twentieth century. Philosophical optimism of a bright future held by humanity in general was taken advantage of by the promise of a better life through sacrifice of individuality to the state. In the books Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 clear opposition to these subtle entrapments was voiced in similarly convincing ways. They first all established, to varying degrees of balance, the atmosphere and seductiveness of the “utopia” and the fear of the consequences of acting in the non-prescribed way through character development. A single character is alienated because of their inability to conform – often in protest to the forced

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World introduces us to a futuristic technological world where monogamy is shunned, science is used in order to maintain stability, and society is divided by 5 castes consisting of alphas(highest), betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons(lowest). In the Brave New World, the author demonstrates how society mandates people’s beliefs using many characters throughout the novel.

Dystopian novels have become more common over the last century; each ranging from one extreme society to the next. A dystopia, “A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control,”[1] through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, criticizes about current trends, societal norms, or political systems. The society in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is divided in a caste system, in which humans are not individuals, do not have the opportunity to be individuals, and never experience true happiness. These characteristics of the reading point towards a well-structured

As human beings, there are distinct characteristics that separate us from feral animals; the ability to create, to appreciate art, to curiously question the world and most importantly to sympathize for our kind. However, when that exact nature is stripped from us, we tend to become mindless, restricted, cold, and degraded as an entire race. This is the setting of George Orwell’s last book, 1984. A world where human thought is limited, war and poverty lie on every street corner, and one cannot trust nobody or nothing. It is all due to the one reigning political entity, the Ingsoc Party, who imposes complete power over all aspects of life for all citizens. There is no creative or intellectual thought, no art, culture or history, and no

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a future that seems happy and stable on the surface, but when you dig deeper you realize that it is not so bright at all. People almost autonomously fall in line to do what they have been taught to do through constant conditioning and hypnopædia. Neil Postman’s argument that Huxley’s book is becoming more relevant than George Orwell’s 1984 is partly true. Huxley’s vision of the future is not only partly true, but it is only the beginning of what is to come.