When people read a book, they connect with the characters and what the actions of the characters. The characters allow the reader to follow the story in a way that the reader can connect with. Characters live in a different society from the society that the majority of readers live in. By reading different books with different characters and societies, the reader becomes connected to different types of life from around the world. Whereas Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984 both contain characters that enjoy their lives, those characters live in completely different societies.
Different authors use characters in different ways to develop a story and move the plot along. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses characters that enjoy their life. Huxley splits the characters into different social classes. Each social class wears a different color outfit and does a different job. Each social class contains a separate and unique personality. The characters grow up in a society of sex and drugs and think that as long as they have sex and drugs, they live the perfect life. Characters frequently talk to each other about their current feelings of promiscuity, Lenina and Fanny enjoy such a conversation together in which Fanny says, "But everyone's got to make the effort, one's go to play the game. After all, everyone belongs to everyone else," (Huxley, 43). Fanny and Lenina show the audience early on in the book that the society contains characters that all know their duty to the community and will do their best to fulfill that duty even when they do not want to. Huxley's characters take soma in half-gramme tablets in order to remove themselves from the events in the world. Soma produces a joyful effect in which all of the bad aspects of life disappear. Whenever characters need to relax and take a break from life, they take a soma. Lenina did so when she and Bernard returned from the reservation the first time, "As soon as they got back to the rest-house, she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity. It would be eighteen hours at the least before she was in time again," (Huxley, 140).
Comparatively, in 1984, George Orwell uses characters that live a life full of lies.
One of the key factors that all living organisms share is the ability to adapt and respond to their environment. Of course, humans are no exception to this. People are easily influenced by the things surrounding them. Think of a child raised in a harsh area compared to one raised in a wealthy household- their lifestyles are likely to be different. This rule can be applied to literature, too. In Passing, Romeo and Juliet, and The Book Thief, the characters discussed are shaped by their social environments.
Nineteen Eighty-Four written by George Orwell and Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol are prophetic social commentaries which explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government. Both texts depict a futuristic, dystopian society in which individuality is destroyed in favour of faceless conformity. Niccol and Orwell through the experiences of their protagonists reflect the impact isolation from society has on individuals. The authors of both texts also use their protagonists Winston, who cannot understand the rhetoric of the government party and Vincent, who is trapped, unable to achieve his dreams because of his imperfect genome, to demonstrate individual rebellion against society and explore the significant social injustices of a totalitarian state.
Anti-humanity; people aren’t even people. Could you possibly visualize that type of world? A world where people are invented and controlled? That type of world is inhuman, and inhumanity is an interesting concept pointed out in the perfect/not so perfect world that Aldous Huxley describes in his classic novel, Brave New World, and what Andrew Niccol describes in his famous film Gattaca. In the stories presented by both of these writers, viewers and readers witness a dystopian world where the government controls the people, and people are conditioned to like the social class set for them, whether it be lower, middle, or upper class. Although, despite the fact that these stories have less violence because people are conditioned, this type of society is inhuman. Seeing that people should have the right to free will, and they should have the right to work themselves up despite how low they started. However, socially stabilized is not what humans are meant to be, we are meant to socialize with one another and learn from one another. In this type of society, socializing with people from different classes is not common, and different class marriage is not allowed, or marriage isn’t allowed at all. Nevertheless, seeing that with social stability, the government dominates the people by lack of free will, it is obvious that the purpose of both of these stories is to give the viewers/readers a message that there is no such thing as a perfect world, and that even though our world isn’t perfect, it is certainly not the worst it could be. This message is evident in three perceptible approaches. One, when we see in Brave New World a character named John who attempts to persuade others to rebel. Two, when we witness the discrimination betwee...
In a society where the life is easy and no hardships exist it is inconceivable to the public to think that anyone would want anything else. No one is poor, no one is lonely. When times get rough, or doubt settles it, citizens just medicate with soma and feel no strong emotions. In their drug induced state they drift back into a sense that everything is perfect, without soma, citizens have no way to handle inconveniences of life. For instance, when Lenina visits the reservations with Bernard she desperately feels “in her pocket for her soma—only to discover that, by some unprecedented oversight, she had left the bottle down the rest house” (Huxley 111). She needs her soma, she cannot cope with regular events without it. The people in the society, whether Epsilon or Alpha, have every comfort they could dream of, never getting ill, never aging, never having to deal with any heartache. In order to not experience strong emotion people cannot get too attached to each other, tying into the idea that everyone belongs to everyone. When citizens have this mentality the concept of death is simply a passing event, it holds no true importance. When Lenina and Henry are flying above the crematorium, a puff of air, once a life, makes the helicopter shoot up for a moment. Instead of seeing this as a sentimental ending of a life, Lenina simply claps her hands and remarks on how enjoyable flying up was. Her ignorance displays how the way people live their lives in the World State affects how they perceive death. The World State is filled with essentially clones; no one is truly a free thinker, which is why Huxley writes in John. John is the purest form of individual that is present in Brave New World. John Savage is viewed by the society as this sort of animal, untamed and different.
There are plenty of different kinds of books written, and published today. It’s a interesting form of entertainment that still holds up along side modern adaptations, like television or games. Books have a wider open door to visualization and interoperation. People can read things differently according to their own experiences. It’s up to the author to still allow that room for interoperation while keeping the books characters and plot on track. Looking at a book from the point of one main character, people may want to relate themselves to that character. That way they can feel and experience that change the character does.
Undoubtedly, the thought of living in, or forming a utopian society has flashed through nearly every person’s mind. A few people have even tried to make this ideal dream society a reality. Unfortunately, within the pursuit of these societies the leaders become corrupt and begin to become paranoid with the fear of rebellion. Hundreds of people were murdered during the reigns of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in what they considered measures to maintain peace and stability within their respective “perfect” society. One must also consider the hardships that the citizens were forced to endure while living under these oppressive governments.
In Brave New World, as drug called soma affects every day life as a citizen. The drug makes you happy instantly. But Bernard does not take any soma “and in spite of his misery absolutely refused to take the half-gramme raspberry sundae which she pressed upon him ‘I’d rather be myself,’ he said. ‘ Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly. ’A gramme in time saves nine,’ said Lenina, producing a bright treasure of sleep-taught wisdom.”(89). By refusing to take soma, Bernard stays true to himself. He is miserable because he does not fit in because of his stature and refusal to be medicated and happy. The society in Brave New World revolves around the fact that everyone is happy. The sleep teachings make it so that they feel it is right to always be happy and take soma, not for personal benefit but for the benefit of society. Without soma, some people in the society fell abandoned and depressed. When Bernard and Lenina visit the reservation Lenina forgot her soma “She felt in her pocket for her soma-only to discover that, by some unprece...
George Santayana once said, “Ideal society is a drama enacted exclusively in the imagination.” In life, there is no such thing as a “complete utopia”, although that is what many people try to achieve. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is an attempt at a utopian society. In this brave new world, mothers and fathers and family are non-existent. Besides being non-existent, when words of that sort are mentioned, ears are covered and faces of disgust are made. In a report to the Controller, Bernard wrote,”…This is partly due, no doubt to the fact that he heard them talked about by the woman Linda, his m-----“(106). Words of the sort cannot even be written. Art, history, and the ability to have emotions are shunned. This utopia is shown as a perfect world in which everyone is happy. If this was true, the people would not need to take soma, an equivalent along the lines of a cross between one of today’s “designer drugs” and Prozac.
Huxley Living in a genetically perfect world is not necessarily a great achievement to mankind. It makes one think, "where do you draw the line in the advancement of eugenics?" Both worlds, the Brave New one and Gattaca, are alternative futures (clearly dystopic), written and shown in a believable way (not as much in BNW, though) through the use of satire. Also, for GATTACA, the director incorporates the traditional elements of movie - a murder-mystery tied in with a love story PLUS a science fiction touch - very effectively. Satire in Huxley's novel is glaringly obvious (mockery of the education system and the morals of today along with many more topics), as he writes with the purpose of teaching and humoring at the same time. However, with GATTACA, the satirical messages are not immediately perceivable - even after having seen the movie three times.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World illustrates a colorful, fantastic universe of sex and emotion, programming and fascism that has a powerful draw in a happy handicap. This reality pause button is called “Soma”. “Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or a mythology.” ( Huxley 54 ).
The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of life's little mishaps and also serves as an escape as well as entertainment. The people of this futuristic society use it in every aspect of their lives and depend on it for very many reasons. Although this drug appears to be an escape on the surface, soma is truly a control device used by the government to keep everyone enslaved in set positions.
Much can happen in a matter of minutes; a man can go from thinking he is happy to thinking his life is falling apart, or can change from hating someone to loving them. These experiences sound outlandish, but they happened to Guy Montag, the main character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s 1984. These two dystopian novels are about the characters discovering major problems in their societies, and then trying to fix them. Montag lives in a society where television controls people’s lives and books have become illegal. On the other hand Smith lives in Oceania, a territory led by a totalitarian regime. This regime is headed by Big Brother and is referred to as the Party. By examining Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, it is seen, not only through the dehumanized nature of society, but also through the theme of lies and manipulation that both Orwell and Bradbury wish to warn of a horrifying future society.
The main goal of Brave New World’s society is to create a balance social stability, and happy individuals. To create such a world; feelings, passions, and relationships are nonexistent. No one has parents, children, or lover. Instead, everyone belongs to anyone. There is no emotional attachment; nothing is valued, only physical interaction. When one feels negative emotions, that society cannot control, such as humiliation and stress, a drug called soma is taken to feel content and impassive again. Great works of literature, such as Shakespeare, religious texts, and art are forbidden in the society because it can cause passion and curiosity beyond what they have been programmed to know. Even science is suppressed for it searches for truth, and according to the novel, truth gets in the way of happiness. ( ) While one can evaluate the novel and view all who are a part of the ...
After reading the book and watching the movie 1984 there were similarities and differences between the two. The novel is about manipulating people in believing in something that isn’t really there and about erasing history. Both the book and film focused on: authority, government, and war. The book and film follow the theme of conformity to control society.
When reading stories they usually have a theme or moral that can be related back to ourselves or reflected onto the society we live in. Authors like William Shakespeare, Mary Shelley, and Sophocles incorporate their own writing to go along with the way their society was. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth to flatter King James I. Mary Shelley wrote her book Frankenstein to show what the limits of science should be. Sophocles wrote his book Oedipus Rex to prove to people that they do indeed have a choice from fate vs. free will. They all wrote about something that fancied them. Some of these themes that are still applied to modern day society are corruption, gender roles, and power.