Skip to main content

1984 Post 1

 Prompt (Fiction):

How are current dystopian depictions similar to 1984? How do they differ? What is significant about the similarities and differences?

The first few chapters of Orwell's 1984 reminded me of Brave New World in many ways. The first similarity I noticed is how the society portrayed in 1984 aims to have a lack of individuality just like Brave New World. Although the methods taken in these two books are very different, I believe the goal is ultimately the same: to have everyone fit into a certain mold and caste. The idea of rebellion and speaking up against society is also thought of as extremely taboo. 

A difference I noticed in these two novels was how the dystopian society in 1984 wants to suppress sex and sexual desires, while the dystopian society in Brave New World takes advantage of and employs these desires. As  I mentioned previously, although the methods taken by these two societies are different, I think the end goal is the same. What do you think the end goal of the societies portrayed in 1984 and Brave New World are?

Comments

  1. Prithika RaviFebruary 8, 2021 at 7:41 AM

    I definitely think the end goal is to have control of a perfectly working society as a whole, which means suppressing individuality. But a perfectly working society is also subjective-- it means different things to different people. If Big Brother is made of a group of people working together to ensure that the everyone is a part of something bigger rather than individuality, wouldn't there be at least a few people who would have different ideas on values and the morals of the society? I guess that's one of the risks you take when you have a group of imperfect people trying to mold a population into their perfect ideal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. L. MoffittFebruary 8, 2021 at 7:42 AM

    Hmm, interesting question. I think you're right that both societies take advantage of certain aspects of human nature to control humanity. In the end both end up being about power, even if the societies look very different.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charlotte EbelFebruary 8, 2021 at 7:55 AM

    I think a key to having a controlled society like in Brave New World or 1984 is uniformity - diversity leads to conflict, which is a threat to the government's stability. Both of these societies see strong emotional attachment as a threat because they want everyone to feel the same about everyone else, they just choose to handle it in different ways.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The poetry of Hsieh T'iao

The poetry of  Hsieh T'iao Contemplating the Capital from the Three Mountains in the Sunset Hsieh T'iao From Pa Szu I contemplate Ch'ang An, From the south I look toward the capital. Embellished by the sun, The pointed roofs appear to me ondule. The red clouds spread themselves like pieces of embroideries, The limpid river is smooth like white silk. The spring islets are covered with twittering birds, The parks are adorned with variegated flowers. While setting out I was already reluctant, Nostalgically I now think of the joyous feasting. When is a reunion expected? My tears fall like rain. Fondly I turn my eyes to my native land, Who can prevent his hair from turning gray? This poem by  Hsieh T'iao describes the place he grew up in Taiwan. I thought this poem was really interesting since from the beginning it's extremely idyllic. He describes Taiwan as this peaceful place almost separate from the rest of the world and its chaos. From the poem, ...
Post a Comment
Read more