I finished the essay. It took me more than one month. I am slow.
Here is it. There must be a lot of grammar and vacabulary problems and a lot of misueses. I am poor at that. Welcome for any comments~
To write comments on Nineteen Eighty-four and Brave New World is difficult but intriguing, as there are so many differences as well as similarities between the two books. Nineteen Eighty-four describes a world full of hatred, horror and oppression, while Brave New World is about a world filled with love, enjoyment and desire. The two books are like two different entrances of a maze, one is called totalitarianism and collectivism, and the other is called anarchism and individualism. Although the paths are distinct, they all lead the only exit of the maze: the ending of society. Under the different surfaces of the two dysfunctional worlds, both of the novels have some same principals.
Ⅰ. Consuming over sufficient production
In Nineteen Eighty-four, the totalitarianism Oceania, this problem is solved by wars. 'Wars are peace' is one of the Nation's maxims, and it is also explained detailed in Goldstein's book The Theory and Practice of Oligarchic Collectivism. Wars are daily affairs in Oceania, against Eastasia or Eurasia, although there is no material reason or ideological difference. The meaning of wars only comes to long-term lack of consumptions. The importance of wars, as expounded in Goldstein's book, is to try to run out of the machine products without raising the general standard of living.
In Brave New World, the anarchic World Nation, this problem is solved by over-consuming. It has become a virtue in World Nation, as people are taught 'Ending is better than mending' and 'more stitches fewer riches during sleep teaching. As most products are consumed in a wasting way, there is no need to worry about over-sufficient products.
Why superfluous products must be used up in both worlds? It seems to against the common knowledge, that in our world we welcome products, the more the better, because the abundant products could be the basis of science development. The answer is that two worlds, totalitarianism or anarchism, hate science development.
In Nineteen Eighty-four, science is described as a thinking habit and a continuous memory. Science is based on logic. Logic is dangerous to a totalitarian country, because logic is the road how your ideas go. In an oppressive nation, all things are under strong control, there is no history. The ideas must not be in a line; they are required to be dots. Therefore, there is no need for a road for ideas, no need for logic, no need for science.
In Brave New World, science means disruptive change. World Nation requires stability, but not truth. Science is always going forward, which can not be in a stable situation, and does harm to the establishment. Science also presents truth, which is considered as a hint to happiness. Happiness is easy and cheap, but truth is not. To chase truth is companied with confusion and astonishment; they are not happiness, obviously.
Nineteen Eighty-four and Brave New World demonstrate the harm of science in sensibility and sensuality. Nowadays, science is referred to as the highest virtue, as Socrates' insisted. In Nineteen Eighty-four, the principal of the world is living, while in Brave New World it is maximums' happiness. These are also two aims we are chasing for. What about the science in our world? We pay more attention on Apple's new products or new weapons than the truth of the world. It seemed that we have already known the truth, and now we just need to use it. This science development we are chasing for is no difference from the new weapons Oceania chased for or the new sensual movies World Nation chases for.
Ⅱ. Classifying society
In Nineteen Eighty-four, the structure of society is pyramidal. From the top, there are Big Brother, Inner Party members, Outer Party members and Proles. The Party uses both materials and thoughts to control each class. For the Proles, the Party makes them so poor that they don't have time and desire to think about other things besides living. The entertainment they need is poor cheap and easy. The Party has an apartment to compose pulp songs and novels for Proles. For Party members, there are Ministry of Love and Ministry of Truth taking charge of them. Every individual's life is under 24-hour two-way surveillance. Any action even idea against the Party will be found immediately. Thoughtcrime is extremely severe in Oceania; it leads to arrest, torture and conversion.
In Brave New World, classifying is not as complicated as it is in Nineteen Eighty-four. In World Nation, classifying has done as soon as the babies were born, as reproductive technology and sleep-learning are common. Since the babies are born, they are conditioned to be alpha, beta, gamma, delta or epsilon. Alpha is the highest caste, which is the smartest and strongest, and epsilon is the lowest. Different castes have altered works which are suitable for their conditioning. There is no envy on others' caste, because everyone has accepted that their caste is the best during sleep-learning.
Why there must be classes in society? It is against our common knowledge again. Equality is the aim we are pursuing. Through the books, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley told us that equality is impossible.
In Nineteen Eighty-four, George Orwell clarified the necessity of classes in Goldstein's book in the Chapter of 'Ignorance is strength'. There have been three classes of people, the upper ones, mediums and lower ones, since the civilization began and the history is made up of the fight for power among three classes. In an oligarchic country, to maintain the Party's dominance is the most important thing. The key to keep predominant is not hereditary between father and son, but the continuous of the worldview and life style. To keep the social structure stable is the most significant thing.
In Brave New World, Mustapha Mond, the Resident World Controller for Western Europe, told a failed experiment on Cyprus to make Alpha double plus live together. The result was 19 out of 22 thousand alphas were killed, and the 3 thousand left requested to go back to the society. There are all kinds of jobs in the society, some are nice and some are not. To let a intelligent alpha do stupid epsilon's work is against his conditioning. In a society, the jobs are not equal, but people are equal; there are problems apparently. As there is good and bad in people's mind, there must be alphas and epsilons.
Since the Enlighten movements, equality has become an instinct inside us. How to diminish this instinct? The key is education.
In Nineteen Eighty-four, there are doublethinking and newspeak to rule people's thoughts. The way to rule thoughts is cruel, that the Oceania took the punishing method. Who act against the rules, which is called thoughtcrime, will face arrest, torture and conversion. The conversion is the most harmful one; it makes you give up your own brain but accept they brain the Party wants you to have, just like Winston Smith, after he was out from Room 101, he is not Winston Smith any more, he is just a man with a Party's brain. Party's brain is the most powerful. Therefore, ignorance is strength.
In Brave New World, it is soft and tender. The sleep-learning starts before the formation of individual's mind. That you do not need a brain, the government will give you one which suits you best. And, that is your identity.
According to Wikipedia, education, in its technical sense, is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. In other words, education is a social experiment. We are chasing for liberty, according to our formative education. This is the biggest contradiction.
Ⅲ.Eliminating individuals
In Nineteen Eighty-four, this should be described in Goldstein's third Chapter 'Freedom is Slavery'. Before Winston Smith covered this chapter, he was arrested because of his intellectual rebellion against the Party and illicit romance with Julia; and his consequent is imprisonment, interrogation, torture, and re-education by the Thinkpol in the Miniluv. After conversion, Winston Smith 'died', the man is not Winston any more, but a party brain holder.
In Brave New World, Helmholtz Watson and Bernard Marx were like Winston, they all have different thoughts. Helmholtz Watson was lucky, he did not have to be brainwashed, and he was expelled to an isolated island where he can develop his mind freely without spreading it and being harmful to society.
In Nineteen Eighty-four, individuals are trivial, only the Party is valuable. Freedom to an individual is happiness, but this kind of freedom is meaningless and tender. The Party is seeking for a perpetual and strong freedom. Under this freedom, there is no difference between liberty and slavery, and that is the most powerful conception. To realize this strong freedom, individual must sacrifice own happiness.
In Brave New World, this is explained more lenient than in Nineteen Eighty-four. Living in lies is happy, so there is no need for truth. Happiness is the only in World Nation. John, Mr. Savage, is requiring the rights to be unhappy, and died. Nobody really hurt him, but he, himself, was squeezed by the dysfunctional world.
Both worlds are built after World Wars. The new social system is avoiding destroy in some ways. And here comes a question, to be living or to have life if they are contradicting.
Neil Postman once said, 'Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.' Nowadays, our society is running between utopia and dystopia. We combined good and bad, fear and desire, truths and lies in our society, and maybe it is the best way to avoid ruined.
