1984 vs. Brave New World

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There are lots of ways to compare 1984 by George Orwell to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. They both have to do with very futuristic ideas. I noticed that they both had basically the same character structure. In 1984, there is the leading lady Julia, and in Brave New World, there is Lenina Crowne. The main male character in 1984 is of course Winston Smith, and the leading man in Brave New World is a cross between Bernard Marx and John the so-called savage. There are also two god-like figures in the novels. I noticed this. One is O'Brien from 1984 and the other is Mustapha Mond from Brave New World. The basic ideas of the two novels are also similar. They have to do with rebellion against the so-called perfect new world and the sanctuary they find at the end. John the savage found peace by hanging himself. (It was hard to notice that, but I did. It made an excellent ending to the novel.) Bernard found peace by being transferred to an island where things were different and supposedly better. Winston found peace by being brainwashed into becoming a person with a totally different personality so that things felt more agreeable. A highly discussed topic in both of the books was sex. In 1984, Winston felt like sex was a rebellion. He is drawn to his lover Julia because she is corrupt and she enjoys sex, although she hides it by being a member of the "anti sex rally". In Brave New World, sex isn't looked upon as a crime, nor is pleasure. In fact, sex is promoted. As long as everyone uses regulation birth control and no one gives birth to a child naturally, then sex is considered perfectly normal. It is even promoted with the children who are decanted, which means that the Utopian embryos are taken out of the bottles in which they've matured. The sexual activities the children participate in is called "erotic play", in which they run around naked exploring one another's bodies in which ever way they please. It is designed to forestall any adult feelings of guilt concerning sex when they are older. So that is one way in which the two stories differ. One promotes sex where the other doesn't and actually demotes it. I will now compare Lenina Crowne to Julia. Lenina Crowne is a girl who would be described as voluptuous or the majority of the Utopian society in which she lives call her pneumatic.

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