George Orwell also took influence from authors who were active in his own lifetime, such as English author Aldous Huxley. Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four most commonly gets compared to Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, which was originally published in 1932, seventeen years before Orwell published his own anti-totalitarian work. Comparable to Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World is a dystopian novel in which a political agenda is discussed via a fabricated government. However, while similarities can be drawn, the two differ in their content. In Brave New World, Huxley’s fictional society is controlled by drugs and efforts to distract its citizens who are immersed in a world of technology that could only have been dreamed of at the …show more content…
When read in the past, most would say that the world more closely resembled the existence of A Brave New World, save some specific countries where dictators hold the power in government. In the United States, at least, that point of view has changed in some people’s eyes. After the 2016 election of Donald Trump (or, possibly, during the campaign season), aspects of the United States started to change from Brave New World to Nineteen Eighty-Four. One of the most prevalent themes in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the alteration of facts; Winston struggles with the fact that he, nor anyone else, really knows what is authentically true and what has been fabricated by Big Brother and the Party to make themselves look better and given to the citizens to believe. This can be related to the fact that Donald Trump makes up blatant lies when evidence to the truth can easily be found and brought to light. When he is called out for his lies, however, he claims the truth to be “fake news” or calls “alternative facts” confusing the naive public into knot knowing what is real and what he has manufactured out of his own imagination for them to …show more content…
In the same fashion that he took influence from the writings of other authors before him, authors in the generations after him have done the same. Margaret Atwood, whose novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) has sparked political interest in its recent resurgence much as Orwell’s works have, was inspired by Orwell’s ideologies, mainly those represented in Animal Farm. As previously mentioned, Orwell is no novice at creating dystopian societies, a skill that Atwood, too, shows in The Handmaid’s Tale, the plot of which centers around the handmaids (women) being used strictly for reproductive purposes. The more substantial influence, however, is the use of satire in literature. In Animal Farm, Orwell created a politically satirical society of animals meant to represent the regime under Joseph Stalin, whom he opposed. In The Handmaid’s Tale, however, Atwood used satire for social justices rather than a political agenda, though the two often coincide. Atwood takes a dystopian view of a world in which women are used as objects to keep the population alive and uses it to make readers understand why feminism is needed; if women are not allowed to choose what they are able to do with their bodies, be it abortion or birth control, they will soon only be seen as a means of
Two classic novels, 1984 written by George Orwell and Brave New World penned by Aldous Huxley both possess similar topics and themes. In both novels societies are striving for a utopia, or a perfect society. These novels also take place in societies with versions of totalitarian governments, which is a government that rules by coercion. Not only are the topics similar, but in both novels a rebellious character is the protagonist; Winston Smith from 1984 and John the Savage in Brave New World. Another parallel in the books are the tactics that the government uses to instill fear and power over the citizens. A common theme expressed in Orwell’s novel 1984 and Huxley’s novel Brave New World is that government uses
Atwood's focus on sexism shows readers the importance of feminism and equality. For example, on page 72, the author writes, "This week Janine doesn't wait for us to jeer at her. It was my fault, she says. It was my fault. I led them on. I deserved the pain." This quote shows that the women are being conditioned into blaming themselves if something such as sexual assault were to happen to them. It's important because readers should recognize the unjust way of thinking and oppose sexism such as this. Continually, in the novel it says, "Women can't hold property anymore, she said. It's the new law" (178). In the story, when society abruptly changed, women had their rights taken away as displayed in the quote. This illustrates how sexist the society is in the novel and how Atwood believes life would turn out if people were to disregard equality. Finally, the job and treatment of the handmaids throughout the story is very unjust. The handmaids are used for couples who can't have children on their own and must follow strict rules and complete their job or else they face severe consequences. This conveys, yet again, the inhumane way a lot of the women are treated and the wrongs of sexism. Ultimately, this theme of sexism
Though their novels hold drastically different ideas on how a government would be all powerful, both George Orwell in his novel 1984 and Aldous Huxley in Brave New World believed a government with ultimate power would be unshakeable. This idea is projected through the novels protagonists. Both characters share a similar struggle against the power they are held under resulting in proximal outcomes. In the beginning of the novel 1984, it is apparent Winston feels as though he does not belong in the environment he is in.
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.
There are some differences between the two novels based mainly on the form of control used to mold society to the ideals put forth from the leaders of the society. Orwell focuses on the use of the media, fear and hate to control the masses while Huxley depicts the use of conditioning, sex and soma (drugs). The novel 1984 is rift with hate and violence. This is especially seen through the unending war between the three worldpowers and the use of the Two Minute Hate to bring the people to a state of frenzy. The telescreens are never allowed to be turned off and the people are constantly watched and can be punished for even a thoughtcrime. In contrast, Brave New World focuses on making people happy with their assigned place in life. They are conditioned from decanting through childhood with the prejudice and social values determined by the ten world leaders. This keeps everyone focused on shallow things like physical pleasure without looking for a deeper meaning in life. If everyone is already happy then there is no need to change the system because no one will ever have a cause to rebel. Both societies use a different form of control with the main difference lying in the use of punishment or reward as the stimulus.
Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in
Intro: The Handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood is about a dystopian American society. The book is set in a disclosed future and deals with conflicts of the right of women we do not see today. Morality is based on a person's views of good vs evil. In the book The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood makes her character flawed in a sense of morality to show her rebellion against her society. The reader is then able to see when the charters feels uncomfortable or unethical.
For this essay, we focused strictly on critics' reactions to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. For the most part, we found two separate opinions about The Handmaid's Tale, concerning feminism. One opinion is that it is a feminist novel, and the opposing opinion that it is not. Feminism: A doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men as recorded in Webster's Dictionary. This topic is prevalent in the novel The Handmaid's Tale. Margaret Atwood, a Canadian writer, spends most of her time featuring women in her books, novels, and poetry that examine their relationships in society. In the book Atwood centers her novel on a girl whom
The Handmaid's Tale has been described as a scathing satire and a dire warning! Which elements of our own society is Margaret atwood satirising and how does her satire work ?
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is set in a future time period where the United States is under the control of the Gileadean regime. A terrorist attack leads to the collapse of Congress, the suspension of the Constitution, and the establishment of a theocratic totalitarian government. Men and women are given roles within society; they are Commanders, Eyes, Handmaids, and Marthas. In this novel, Atwood explores a prominent social issue, feminism. The suppression and power of women are examined through the setting and characterization of the novel to help understand the meaning of the novel as a whole.
Orwell states that he was inspired to write Animal Farm after he witnessed a boy whipping a carthorse—this situation reminded him of the working class and the wealthy. Orwell explains that if the horse only knew its true power the young boy would have no control over its decisions. This would also be true in the relationship found between the wealthy and working classes. To translate his epiphany into text, Orwell used his background in Soviet politics and farming to write his novel Animal Farm (“George Orwell” 6). After the novel was finished, Orwell could not find a publisher for almost an entire year. The reason for this was because the British government advised publishers to stay away from Orwell’s piece in fear that the Soviet Allies would be offended. Despite the warnings, Orwell’s novel was published in 1945 and introduced a political satire that pushed Westerners to question the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin as a whole (“George Orwell” 7).
Margaret Atwood effectively uses satire in her book, The Handmaid’s Tale, published in 1990, that critique women’s rights and laws that dictates over these rights. In the novel, Atwood addresses the political issues of her time regarding abortion, marriage, and religion as being punishable by death to show how people are rendered powerless within a totalitarian theocracy. Atwood’s ancestor, Mary Webster, was accused of witchcraft in the Puritan New England in 1683, and she was sentenced to hang on a tree overnight. Atwood effectively employs satire by using the literal interpretation of the Bible, gender segregation, and the subjugation of women to reveals that the New Republic of Gilead “is both future and history” (xi). Although she uses satire to reflect upon the Puritan period of her ancestry and the “traditional” values of women, satire is an exaggeration derives from fear.
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.
In Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood writes about a dystopia society. Atwood used situations that were happening during the time she began writing her novel, for example, women’s rights, politics, and in religious aspects. Atwood’s novel is relevant to contemporary society. There are similarities between Atwood’s novel and our society today, which lends to the possibility that our modern society might be headed to a less intense version of this dystopia society.
The two novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell, create dystopic societies that have distinct differences that created the dystopia. Huxley created a civilization where conformity through advertising exists in a fashion similar to the consumerist society that exists today. Orwell created a world where the majority of the population is under constant surveillance and has little to no freedom, similar to post 9/11 United States. He also added to the theme of repression by having doublethink exist, in the modern world this exists largely through religion. These two timeless novels serve as warnings to the world, while society today is not as dystopian as in the novels there are many similarities.