1984 vs Brave New World

1984 vs Brave New World

Inside the fictitious societies of Nineteen Eighty-Four, where all trace of individuality and humanity is lost, emotions exist only as a mere memory.
George Orwell’s and Aldos Huxley’s premise in the novels 1984 and Brave New World is that human subjectivity is not intrinsic, but instead, they are forged under the influence of power.

The book is frequently compared to George Orwell’s 1984. The similarities are obvious. 1984 and Brave New World are dystopias where people have lost humanity to a major governmental force. Both were both written in the 20th century by intellectual British authors in responses to social and political concerns of the time. They used fanciful science fiction devices that, over time, seemed increasingly plausible (1984’s television screens projecting the national leader into your room; Brave New World’s pharmaceuticals).

They’re also compared because Huxley and Orwell had radically different ideas about how the world would go wrong. Orwell was a disenchanted socialist who saw a totalitarian Communist regime that would grind people under its boot with law, force, lies and torture; Huxley saw a totalitarian regime ruling over people who couldn’t think and didn’t want to, ruling them with conditioning from birth and constant offers of placating pleasure and freedom. One had the people locked in fears of a perpetual war that actually never happened; the other raised the people from infancy, sucked and raised them into hedonists who wouldn’t bother to stop them. Orwell’s worst nightmare is a government official demanding you believe he’s holding up five fingers when he’s holding up four; Huxley’s worst nightmare was a crowd of journalists and pleasure seekers eagerly chanting to see you flay yourself because that’s funny.