Book Assignment 5: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1) The main theme of the novel is possible future. It is an dystopian
novel in the sense that is talks about a future that used to be possible,
seeing as it was written in 1932. The novel has some similarity with
George Orwell’s 1984. Both novels are dystopian, and in both stories
there is a society, heavily controlled by the government. The people
are not allowed to think a certain way and most history is treated like
garbage. In 1984, history books are changed constantly to
corresponded with the present and in Brave New World, history is
unimportant, as they divide history in before Ford (where everything
was bad) and after (when everyone is happy). One big difference
between the interpretations of the writers in their novels, is in the
way that the people are held under control. In Brave New World,
people are controlled by keeping them happy, by conditioning people
to like what they have to do. “If you do what you love, you will never
work a day in your life”, is the motto. That seems fine and all, but the
way that they are trying to achieve that is by eliminating all sorts of
uncertainty and by letting them accept certain things as fact through
sleep hypnosis. In 1984, people are controlled by fear. They are
watched at all times and if one says something or thinks in a different
way, one is taken to a madhouse. The term “Big Brother is watching
you” is leading.
2) At first, the protagonist in the novel is Bernard Marx, an Alpha (the
“best”). He is a little bit different then other Alpha’s and feels like an
outsider. He actually likes his individuality and does not want to be
the same as everyone else. This feeling increases when he visits the
Savage Reservation. There he meets other people that are considered
different and starts to engage with John. He eventually decides to
bring a few people to the World State. From that point on, John
becomes the protagonist. He grew up in the Savage Reservation and is
an outsider also. He does not know or understand certain technology
or the social control. One opinion of his in which he differs greatly to
others is the purpose of life. He thinks that life is about seeking truth,
instead of just being happy. The antagonist of the story is not a
person: it is the World State itself. The World State is the place where
people can live their whole life without feeling like an outsider,
without being even a little bit different, and that contrasts with the
two protagonists.
1) The main theme of the novel is possible future. It is an dystopian
novel in the sense that is talks about a future that used to be possible,
seeing as it was written in 1932. The novel has some similarity with
George Orwell’s 1984. Both novels are dystopian, and in both stories
there is a society, heavily controlled by the government. The people
are not allowed to think a certain way and most history is treated like
garbage. In 1984, history books are changed constantly to
corresponded with the present and in Brave New World, history is
unimportant, as they divide history in before Ford (where everything
was bad) and after (when everyone is happy). One big difference
between the interpretations of the writers in their novels, is in the
way that the people are held under control. In Brave New World,
people are controlled by keeping them happy, by conditioning people
to like what they have to do. “If you do what you love, you will never
work a day in your life”, is the motto. That seems fine and all, but the
way that they are trying to achieve that is by eliminating all sorts of
uncertainty and by letting them accept certain things as fact through
sleep hypnosis. In 1984, people are controlled by fear. They are
watched at all times and if one says something or thinks in a different
way, one is taken to a madhouse. The term “Big Brother is watching
you” is leading.
2) At first, the protagonist in the novel is Bernard Marx, an Alpha (the
“best”). He is a little bit different then other Alpha’s and feels like an
outsider. He actually likes his individuality and does not want to be
the same as everyone else. This feeling increases when he visits the
Savage Reservation. There he meets other people that are considered
different and starts to engage with John. He eventually decides to
bring a few people to the World State. From that point on, John
becomes the protagonist. He grew up in the Savage Reservation and is
an outsider also. He does not know or understand certain technology
or the social control. One opinion of his in which he differs greatly to
others is the purpose of life. He thinks that life is about seeking truth,
instead of just being happy. The antagonist of the story is not a
person: it is the World State itself. The World State is the place where
people can live their whole life without feeling like an outsider,
without being even a little bit different, and that contrasts with the
two protagonists.
