Alternate Realities - a Comparison Between "1984" and "brave New World"

Alternate realities - A Comparison Between "1984" and "Brave New World"

Both of the novels I have read depict alternate realities and belong to the science fiction genre. My intention is to summarize and compare these alternate realities.

The first novel, "1984" by George Orwell, revolves around the solicitous character Winston Smith who contemplates the world that he reluctantly takes part in. The setting is London in the year 1984. In this alternate reality England is simply known as "Airstrip One" since the former countries of the world have merged into three major factions called Oceania, which "Airstrip One" is a part of, Eurasia and Eastasia. These factions are at constant war, forming contingent alliances trying to conquer each other through deception or brute force but this never succeeds as the factions have simply become too powerful. The state of the world has emerged over time and the factions have adapted to this perpetual war to such an extent that they now depend on it. In effect the leaders' true intentions are to sustain the war but they have to preserve the illusion that it can be won in order to remain in control over their respective populations. All the factions are ruled by totalitarian governments and it is the exploration of totalitarianism and the consequences thereof that is the main theme of the novel. Orwell's intentions were political and through this novel he wanted to warn the people of his time about the dangers with totalitarian governments.

Oceania is ruled by an organization called the Party. The supreme leader of the Party is known as Big Brother and huge posters of his face with the words "Big Brother is watching!" can be seen all over London. Technological devices called telescreens are permanently mounted everywhere in the city and especially in all homes with residents working for the Party. The telescreens look like televisions, cannot be switched off and constantly receive broadcasted video and audio propaganda. They also have the capability to transmit sound and video surveillance. Public places and homes can be monitored around the clock and the Party tries to control every aspect of its employees' lives. The Thought Police are everywhere working undercover, apprehending anyone caught uttering or even thinking anything condescending about the Party or Big Brother. Even the slightest suspicion can lead to apprehension, torture and vaporization, meaning execution and deletion of all records about that person ever existing, which means he never did exist and thus never opposed the Party.

Winston Smith works for the Party in a section called the Ministry of Truth where he rewrites old newspapers so that they always support the current state of affairs. His assignments are issued by people higher up in the organization and the goal of this operation is to erase all history of events or statements that in any way diminish the Party and to add information that further establish their infallibility and power. For example, if the Party officially predicts something that later turns out to be incorrect they conform all available records so that they can proclaim that their prediction was correct. Because of this the Party's predictions are always correct. The same method is applied to all available literature and art. This constant alteration of the past has basically erased all previous records of human history and most people cannot even recall life before the Party's totalitarian regime.

Procedures like this are commonplace in Oceania and Orwell writes about the workings of the state in a very satirical tone. He also makes use of absurd contradictions like: the Ministry of Truth concerns itself with lies, the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Love practices torture, and so on. Orwell conveys the narrative through Winston Smith who ponders everything he knows about the government. Smith also thinks about his personal role in all of this and reflects at great length about his general state of mind.

During the course of the novel Smith starts a personal rebellion against the Party, falls in love, joins a resistance movement called the Brotherhood and eventually loses it all.

The second novel, "Brave new world" by Aldous Huxley, depicts an alternate reality where technological and industrial development has changed the world. The year is 2540 A.D. but in the novel people refer to the year as 632 After Ford, meaning 632 years after Henry Ford pioneered the use of an assembly line to mass produce his automobile, the T-Ford. The world is governed and controlled by the World State. Much like in "1984" this is a totalitarian government but the methods used to control the population differ extensively.

Huxley writes about how technology can be used to control society and the dangers of letting consumerism and instant gratification become the main concerns in life. In his alternate reality women are no longer allowed to get pregnant. Instead reproduction is carried out in breeding facilities where the process takes place on conveyor belts. Through various technological procedures the fetuses intellectual and physical capabilities are predetermined. The society is divided into different castes with different functions. The higher castes consist of intelligent and attractive people carrying out all intellectually demanding work. The lower castes are assigned to monotonous work at mass producing factories. During their first years the children are conditioned so that they will be content with their given assignments later in life. They are infused with the need to consume and they are finally taught the moral standards which they will live by. This is done through a process called "hypnopaedia" where prerecorded messages are continuously repeated during sleep.

In "1984" the population is controlled with force and surveillance. In "Brave new world" they are controlled through preconditioning and thus the need for constant monitoring is obsolete. The methods in "1984" are brutal and terrifying but people can still retain some form of individuality through careful secrecy. This is largely impossible in the alternate reality presented in "Brave new world" due to the fact that the preconditioning sets the foundation upon which everyone's personalities are built. True individuality is therefore a mere illusion. The fact that people cannot really reason about the state of the world due to this preconditioning is truly terrifying. On the other hand this also means that no one is fully aware of their own condition or at least that no one cares as long as their preconditioned needs are fulfilled. In "1984" some concepts of mental control are

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