Imagine a world where mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are no longer a part of society. Imagine a world of lifeless shells of humans. Both Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and 1984, by George Orwell, portray such societies that have been degraded by the idea of utopia'. In such a distraught society it's no surprise that people will loss their humanity. For those characters that still had sanity, the impact of this world would twist their minds to the limit. To be human is to be able think and learn without any restraints. To have an opinion all to one's self even if it my clash with someone else's. To be human is to have emotion. One must be able to smile, cry, laugh or shout without living in fear of the consequence. One must …show more content…
"All of the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects." Huxley(54), according to Mustapha Mond. The lack of a religion helps to ensure that the citizens, both upper and lower class, have no reason to rebel Bernard Marx is an upper class Alpha who constantly struggles being different from the rest of the Alphas, and, in the beginning, tries to find a way to become more popular. By the end of the novel, Marx has come to terms with the society which he had first seemed to dislike. Marx meets a woman called Lenina Crowne, and they both travel to a savage reservation. There, Marx and Lenina meet John the savage and his mother Linda. Linda is originally from the civilized world and became pregnant which, in that society, is illegal and was sent to Reservation herself. Once brought back to the New World, John soon found the differences between the two worlds to great. All his values and morals clashed with those of the new society. It turns out, John was the only sane person left. He didn't understand how the citizens lived the way they did, with no morals or values. There, he struggled for his right to think freely. To be happy, to be sad, to be mad, to have any feeling at all. "In fact', said Mustapha Mond, 'you're claiming the right to be unhappy.' 'All right then,' said the Savage defiantly, 'I'm claiming the right to be unhappy."
There are people crowded, shoulder to shoulder, expecting a shower and to feel water raining down their bodies. Sighs of relief turn into screams of terror as innocent people are gasping for their last breaths of air inside of the gas chamber. This was a daily occurrence for Jewish and other people involved in the Holocaust. This was just one horrific event of many that had happened to women, men and children. Some of the survivors have used their voice to speak out about their own background during their time spent in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Elie Wiesel, author of the book Night, is one of the many who did so. Wiesel talks about his personal experience and shares his feelings, thoughts and emotions that he went through with others during the Holocaust.
Bernard Marx’s dislike for the oppressive World State is solely superficial. His outrage stems from his own personal sense of injustice- although he is an Alpha, he is an outsider. Emotionally, Bernard is an enigma to others. Physically, Bernard is thin and small; a complete juxtaposition to the other Alphas. These physical and emotional defects are the root of his feelings of separation to society, and his value of individualism and non-conformity. This point is exemplified on page 56, which explains ‘The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and
During the Holocaust, German Nazis slaughtered Jewish people and held them prisoner as well. While they were held captive, the Jewish people were often dehumanized. Dehumanization is defined as the process of depriving a person or group of human qualities. Throughout the book Night by Elie Wiesel, there is many examples of dehumanization, like taking away personal identities, starvation, and being forced to watch others be murdered that helped Adolf Hitler achieve his ends.
Society is challenged once Bernard finds John. John was a boy who, Bernard found on a "Savage Reservation" in New Mexico. John's mother (oh yeah mother is another word that has lost its usefulness in society except when describing animal or savages) had gone to the reservation with the Director of Hatcheries in London, Bernard's boss, and had acidently ended up pregnant. She was unable to have the pregnancy aborted, as was normal practice if one ended up pregnant, so she was forced to give birth to John. Society considers this disgusting, so she was quite ashamed of this. Bernard saw an opportunity, the director had threatened to send him to Iceland, because of Marx's unorthodox ideas, so Bernard decided to embarrass the Director. Inadvertantly Marx added a whole new element to the society in London.
In George Orwell’s novel, “1984”,is about a main character Winston, who is an ordinary citizen of Oceania. The totalitarian society is led by Big Brother. Television screens are strategically placed everywhere watching citizens’ every move. Leaving them in constant fear and paranoia. The corrupt society lead to some citizens wanting to rebel. If they were ever caught, they would be severely punished. This kept wearing citizens down. The dehumanization of citizens of Oceania was due to propaganda, mind control, and the lack of privacy.
Bernard Marx was alienated in the Brave New World because of his general appearance. As an Alpha Plus, Bernard was unusually short and ugly. Suggested by Fanny, Bernard's condition resulted from an error when he was still in a bottle, the workers
Odysseus and Penelope are the best two example of what it really means to be human because of their great courage to overcome all obstacles for a greater cause. There is not one true definition on what it means to be human, but the most knowledgeable definition of “human” is to be created in the image of God. The attributes that really set humans apart from all the other animals on earth are imagination, reason, and will. These three human faculties make us who we are because we have the ability to counter plate our own mortality. Dr. Davis stated, “You cannot love another person without imagination” You have to first realize what their desires are and what they want in life. The most critical aspect of
To get a sense of what it is to be human, at least in the evolutionary world, we need only to compare our modern selves to our ancestors such as the Neanderthals. The Neanderthals were our closest hominin relative and died out thousands of years ago. Like us, they walked on two legs, hunted , made fire and tools, and lived in shelters (caves). They were more advanced than many of us imagine they were thanks to the way they are portrayed in the media. They had brains similar in size to ours, they stood fully upright (not hunched over), and had a surprisingly complex culture. When asked what it means to be human, you can compare many different aspects of our lives, such as biology, culture, and even religious beliefs. We obviously have
It is evident that Bernard and Lenina shift their attitudes after they meet the savage, John. Bernard gets a taste of power after bringing the savage home to London and becomes satisfied and happy as defined by Brave New World, a complete turnaround from his previous, almost American ideals. Lenina finds love and joy, as an American would define it after being content for so many years in the society of Brave New World. Before he finds the savage, Bernard is unhappy with his surroundings,
Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.
My chosen theme, dehumanization, has affected my thoughts about our responsibility to one another by making me realize that we are not different at all, in fact, we’re all the same. No matter what race, gender, religion, or sexual preference. We should be responsible for one another because we are all human, not wild animals. We should not have to fight over trivial things, we are all livings beings but my evidence could almost prove otherwise, these starved, beaten, and tortured men have become
As I read Brave New World and 1984, I noticed how some of Aldous Huxley and
John and Bernard Marx feel as if they are alienated from their society, for they are different. They both think that there is more to love than intimacy and drugs. As for the World State, they think that expressing emotions is unnecessary and that everyone should be care-free and have a world full of fun and sex.
What does it mean to be human? Being human means being comprised of a specific genetic makeup. Being able to interact with other individuals with the same characteristic and qualities as yourself. Being able to eat, sleep, drink, reproduce is another way to describe being human. Also being about to think, understand and process information.
When determining what exactly a human being is, I believe that there are a few different perspectives that shape my personal point-of-view. On one end, a human being can be thought of as simply another living organism. We are born, reproduce, live, and pass, not unlike any other organism. While this is true, I also