A Brave New World: A Comparative Analysis

Agony. Contentment. Terror. Comfort. These words contrast each other just as the contrasting works of George Orwell (1984) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) both address possible dystopian futures involving these terms. While Orwell focuses on the more pronounced ideas of societal control through fear and pain, Huxley diverges on a very different ideological path for his book: one where the people are ruled through the provision of pleasure and endless distraction. The destruction of emotions and identity along with the satisfaction of desires through technology allows Huxley’s society to be completely molded and controlled by a higher power. In the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley develops the idea that humans’ overwhelming desire for

The central character, Bernard Marx, is an upper-caste psychologist who questions and sometimes rejects the methods used to control the populace. Lenina Crowne, another major character, is the perfect archetype of an average citizen in Brave New World society. She is a vapid, lower-caste and attractive woman who is seemingly content with the society she lives in and its boundless distractions. She gives no thought to the ruination of emotion and identity in her society, unlike Bernard. Overseeing this civilization are the world controllers, one of whom is featured heavily in the story: Mustapha Mond. He is responsible for all of Western Europe, and is the most powerful character introduced in the novel. John is a “savage” living on a reservation, a place where the residents live according to “traditional” and “old-fashioned” ideas and values that oppose those of Brave New World society. John’s culture is vastly different compared to those living in the world state, and throughout the novel he undergoes an immense internal conflict regarding the fundamentally different values he and the world state believe in and

Advancements in technology have made it so that humans can be artificially created and raised, eliminating the need for a family structure. In fact, strong emotional attachment and sexual procreation are not only discouraged, but also utterly banned. Promiscuity is strongly encouraged and almost even demanded: “And round her waist she wore a silver-mounted green morocco-surrogate cartridge belt, bulging (for Lenina was not a freemartin) with the regulation supply of contraceptives” (Huxley, 92). Bernard opposes these views, as shown when Lenina first approaches him in the elevator. He is uncomfortable discussing private matters in front of strangers, and the fact that all the others accept this as normal shows just how much identity and individuality are discouraged. Lenina even calmly reflects upon the fact that she has slept with the majority of the people she currently shares the elevator with, showcasing the complete ruination of emotion, love and passion in this society and the propagation of distraction and pleasure. There are no emotional bonds between Lenina and the people she has slept with, and through this other humans are reduced to mere objects. The world controllers enact these policies of promiscuity so there is no delay between the formulation of desire and fulfillment of that desire, making this another way people are distracted, ignorant and controlled in this dystopian society.