Comparing 1984 And Brave New World

Orwell successfully manipulates Winston physiologically through his use of technology and advancements in telescreens, control of history, and control of language. Within the society, Winston is among few who have memories of the past world. While Winston feels

“Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 2). This quote is from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. In this book, the society is controlled by an all powerful government that capsizes the people’s brain so that there is no independent thought. Citizens are constantly being watched and monitored while all they can do is support them and pour out hate to the enemy thinking the party is always right. Hope comes to a man named Winston, the protagonist, a lone man who secretly opposes the manipulation of the mind. After the plot unravels, Winston begins to show his opposition against the party. The party controls everything in the society and puts everything the way they want it to be, endlessly reminding people that they

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.

We all use cell phones to communicate with people all over the globe or even a few blocks away. Cell phones can be tracked and used to “watch” the public. Our government allows themselves to listen to everyone’s conversations. In the novel, the party uses telescreens to watch over the people and check up on them. The federal government has a system very similar to this through security cameras and other means of communication. Also, the party uses the thought police where the people cannot have any thoughts against Big Brother or against the party. Winston states, “Big Brother is watching you”, (Orwell 2) and then he looks down at the caption. There is no privacy and nowhere to run from the party because Big Brother (federal government) is watching them at

Brave New World and 1984 creates different outlooks on society. These novels make readers think and compare society now to what it could be or could even become. A society is a group of people living together in an organized style. What people think is a good form of society can differ. These novels do a good job giving different perspective of what could be and how society as a whole all connects depending on control, freedom and media.

Attention Getter: As the George Orwell writes in his book 1984, “Big Brother is watching you.”

Big Brother is the controlling dictator of Oceania, which is the totalitarian state that the Party bows total power to. Every citizen, is under persistent surveillance by the authorities, the Thought Police. The citizens are mainly being monitored by tele-screens. These screens operate both as televisions and security cameras. Tele-screens are located in every room that belongs to a Party member as well as public locations. People in Oceania are constantly reminded that “Big Brother is watching you.” Big Brother is described as a figure that will never die because he is the representation of the Party and is said to live as long as the Party lives.

If people give the government or leadership enough power, they will surely take it and try to make the most of it. People are letting these governments change the way they think, feel, see and act. They have a way to control what their community can see on the news and in advertisements. They are able to manipulate all of the people for their own good. As well as their own selfish reasons. Forcing the way a society acts as well as lives as a whole isn’t humane or even a realistic proposition on the government's part.

In 1984, Big Brother is a supreme leader who watches over those who live in Oceania. He is looked upon as an important figure and the citizens. They are under constant surveillance and cannot have their own independent thoughts or ideas. In every room there is a telescreen mounted on the wall with Big Brother observing the people. Winston describes, “the telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell book 1 chapter 1). If any citizens disagreed with the government or spoke poorly about the regulations, the thought police would come take them away. The thought police control the society and are in charge of making sure everyone agrees with Big Brother and the government. The people are thankful because this results in no arguments and the illusion of peace. This eerie concept is masked in the propaganda of a friendly face watching over you. They are told, “big brother is always watching you” (Orwell 3). This gives a more familial feel to the government, normalizing the system and making it harder to resist. This utopia uses the language of brotherly protection and truth to make everyone feel protected. 1984 is a dystopian society full of propaganda, misery, and manipulation. Although to the blind eye it may look as if it is a utopia, on

     1984 and Brave New World, written by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, respectively, are both books that reflect the authors vision of how society would end up at the course it was going at the time of the writing of the book. Both books were written more than fifty years ago, but far enough apart that society was going in a totally different direction at the time. There are many ways to compare these two books and point out the similarities. On certain, deep levels they are very much the same, while at first glance, on the surface, they are very different. One point that in some parts is the same and some very different, is the governments in each of these books method’s of control.

Utopia? Or dystopia? Well, in Brave New World and 1984 it’s an answer that most people would undoubtable agree on. The society in these books are easily described as a dystopian society. Brave New World and 1984 are two different books that have similar societies.

In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell, “Big Brother” is the face of the party in control of the dystopian society of Oceania. Big Brother plays the role of what might be considered the most important character in the novel; without this character, the government would have much less control over the public. It is because of Big Brother that Winston and Julia get themselves a private apartment, and it is also because of Big Brother that they get caught later in the novel. He is shown to be “larger than life” as Winston Smith is told that Big Brother exists as the embodiment of the party, and can never die. In a sense, Big Brother symbolizes the party

History has paved the road for what we call society today. Through the pleasant and harsh, the gains and losses, the victorious and the not so victorious, we as humanity have learned and risen up to overcome whatever is thrown our way. Thanks to our past, we are able to identify certain situations and quickly figure out how they should be addressed. History gives us knowledge. In societies all over the world today, governments and people embrace their history and culture, and continue to learn from their experiences. But what if we lived in a society where history is frowned upon? What if the society you lived in didn’t teach history, or even rewrote it? This is what it would be like to live in either Brave New World or 1984. The two books follow the lives of characters who perceive a unique outlook on life inside of authoritarian societies. These characters realize that there is either an absence of history or come to realize that the government controls and changes the history available to the people. This isn’t a coincidence. The simple fact that history is in some way regulated in both societies, tells us that this certain action is used to uphold the society. Furthermore, in both Brave New World and 1984, the act of controlling history, aids in maintaining their totalitarian societies.

Throughout the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the party led by Big Brother attempts to convey a utopian way of life. The party leaders have a

38.8 percent of people surveyed said that the comparisons that they had heard between America and 1984 and Brave New World have had no effect on their perception of their government, and 61.2 percent of people surveyed said that their perception was negatively affected by the comparisons (Appendix A). This suggests that these comparisons do not have an extremely strong impact on Americans’ perception of the government. In all of the articles previously mentioned, the authors used inflammatory and angry diction to try to push their opinions onto the reader, which suggested that the survey results should show that a lot more people would have their perceptions negatively affected by these comparisons, but the results showed otherwise, demonstrating the extent to which comparisons to either novel are relatively ineffective political rhetoric.