Perfection is Imperfection

Perfection and imperfection are intangible elements that coexist as a whole. One
of them cannot exist if the other is not present. When human beings search for
excellence what they encounter is always its contrary. The pursuit of perfection has
been a common theme present in literature. In both, Brave New World and 1984,
Alduous Huxley and eorge Orwell, respecti!ely, had created societies which are
meant to be utopias. In their texts, the leaders of these communities, the World
"ontrollers and the Party, try to obtain such in!isible results of perfectness, by applying
methods of imperfection, in other words oppression. #esides, they use the power of the
human mind in order to create stability, happiness, and conformity. Howe!er, this
system established, in both boo$s, has shown to be threatened by outcasts, the defecti!e
side of society. Therefore, perfection is an element that will ne!er be attained by
totalitarian go!ernments in order to create utopias, because imperfection will always be
present.
Oppression is an imperfect method that has been used by the leaders of Oceania
and the World %tate&&societies&& with the purpose of creating a perfect society in which
people are stable, happy, and comfortable. These strategies ha!e been used to form the
ideal world by trapping and limiting people. In other words, citi'ens ha!e no $nowledge
of another place except for theirs. "onse(uently, limitation plays a $ey role in the
control system of both societies. )or example, in the boo$ *+,-, O.#rien, a member of
the ruling class in his community, stated that for people /their only world will be
Oceania0 1Orwell, *+23, p.*4,5. This (uote reflects that human beings are being
oppressed from $nowing the outside world because their $nowledge can endanger the
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power of go!ernmental institutions, and their search for perfection. 6ot being aware of
other life&styles is the main reason why people felt happy and comfortable with what
they had. This demonstrates that with ignorance becomes pre!alent. )or this reason, the
/more intelligent the less sane0 1Orwell, limitation *+23, pg. 7*25, a person was in
Oceania and the World %tate. The World "ontrollers as well as the Party were also
successful oppressing not only the physical aspect of people, but their emotional side,.
8!en though, the methods used by the leaders were different, they had the same
purpose. )or example, in Oceania, telescreens, microphones, and spies were set all
around the territory. People were constantly super!ised to the point the /beating of your
heart, and the telescreens was (uite delicate enough to pic$ it up0 1Orwell, *+23, pg.
9+5. In Brave New World, on the other hand, one factor that was controlled was
fertility, as shown by this passage: /We also predestine and condition. We decant our
babies as sociali'ed human beings, as Alphas or 8psilons, as future sewage wor$ers or
1;5 future <irectors of Hatcheries0 1Huxley, *+-4,pg. *495. As a result of oppression,
in both Oceania and the World %tate one single, happy, and comfortable mass of people
was dominated, seeming as if it was perfect. Howe!er, out of these groups of humans
there are small minorities, who feel unidentified with the rest. They notice that their
form of life is controlled by imperfect political techni(ues.
The existence of outcasts in a perfect society is a symptom that imperfectness is
present. If there are people who impose a regime, then absolute perfection is hard to
achie!e because opposites will rise and threaten, which in the future could possibly be
banished or /!apori'ed.0 <espite the differences among the e!ents of Brave New World
and 1984, few of their characters ha!e the role of outcasts. )or example, in Huxley=s
no!el the main outcast was >ohn the %a!age, and in 1984, it was Winston. 8!en though
these characters were finally trapped by the system established by the go!ernment,
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throughout the boo$s they demonstrated to be a threat to the societies= stability. In
Brave New World, >ohn, for instance, had the courage to destroy one of the ma?or
methods of domination, $nown as soma. 8!eryone in the World %tate, except for the
outcasts, consumed soma@ it was their moti!ation to li!e, and the most efficient way for
the leaders to ha!e control o!er feeble people. The moment >ohn had thrown the soma
tablets out the window, as a form of rebellion, due to the fact that he had noticed that the
drug ensla!ed ci!ilians, he clearly confirmed he was an outsider. Instead, in 1984, the
way Winston had re!ealed to the readers he was an aloof person in his society, was by
committing unorthodox actions, such as writing in his diary or feeling lo!e for a
secondary character $nown as >ulia. In addition, both >ohn and Winston showed
throughout the boo$s that they are afraid of the system, howe!er their rebellion is
continuous. >ohn feared to fall into the hands of the World "ontrollers and be sent to
isolated islands, but he $ept on trying to ma$e people recogni'e the meaning of ha!ing a
family or e!en that soma was only a form of manipulation. On the other hand, Winston
feared being /!apori'ed0, but he $ept meeting with >ulia and he continued searching for
the #rotherhood&& enemies of the Party. At the beginning of both boo$s outcasts are
!ulnerable human beings who ha!e no place where to belong. >ohn, in Aalpais, his
birthplace, was attac$ed by his own people for being different, and in the World %tate
for endangering the "ontroller.s system. Aeanwhile, Winston felt as if his life was
being diminished as time went by. His body was illed, the food was rotten, his home
was deplorable, and his state at war. All of these circumstances demonstrated that >ohn
and Winston had not adapted to their regimes and had not accepted the way of life
imposed. In other words, their dreary existence had amplified their hatred, their form of
defense, their fight to combat the system and brea$ its limitations. Their constant
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rebellion shows outcasts are representati!es of imperfection and instability, and that
their acts only ta$e place once the power of their minds de!elop.
The human mind is imperfect, perfect, an ad!antage, and e!en a disad!antage for
go!ernmental institutions in their aim to form a utopia. )irst of all, outcasts de!elop
thoughts that can (uestion the measures that are ta$en by their leaders. )or this reason,
as shown in the no!el 1984, /the two aims of the Party are to con(uer the whole surface
of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thoughtB
1Orwell, *+23, pg. *+C5. The idea that people had independent thoughts means they are
not united entirely@ therefore they are not controlled completely. Outcasts, once they
were alone throughout the boo$s, de!eloped a strong weapon&&thoughtDwhich set a
ris$ for the power of the regime. )or example, in 1984, Winston had plastered all his
thoughts on paper. Once he had his ideas clear, they became physical, imperil actions
that threatened the Party. The e!ents of rebellion that too$ place in the no!els show that
the human mind is an obstacle for any totalitarian power. )or this reason, go!ernmental
institutions in their search for stability, happiness, and conformity, ha!e a need to
control of peoples= minds because it is the strongest form of domination. Also, in Brave
New World and 1984, people li!ed under one system of thought by adhering /to a
common doctrine0 1Orwell, *+23, pg. *975, which is a form of oppression. Once people
are oppressed they are trapped under certain parameters, and limitation ta$es place. As a
result, independent thought disappears and people are united, creating stability and the
idea that they li!e in the perfect a world. In 1984, the Party=s principles were the only
heard and repeated all throughout the territory of Oceania by using telescreens. They
were the only sources of transmission of information that intended to indoctrinate
people. In Brave New World, on the other hand, Bthe principle of sleep&teaching, or
hypnopEdia, had been disco!eredB 1Huxley, *+-4, pg. 7C5. This form of mental
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oppression, limited (uestioning, therefore increasing the ignorance of the stagnant
society. As hypnopEdia and telescreens were the exclusi!e sources or orthodox
information in society, the formation of /dumb masses 1;5 referred to as the proles0
1Orwell, *+23, pg. 7395, in the case of 1984, and the 8psilons in Brave New World had
occurred. #ecause information was carefully !erified, in Huxley=s and Orwell=s no!els,
certain boo$s were elements rapidly banished. They are texts that ha!e content that
de!elops s$ills such as (uestioning, reflecting, feeling, indeed the independent thought
of people. 8ducation or ways to feed the mind pro!ide new perceptions or new !isions,
creating !ariation among human minds. Once there is a di!erse system of thoughts,
there is no perfection, because imperfection arises in the form of instability.
"onse(uently, under totalitarian go!ernments, all human thoughts are oppressed into
one principle that could easily help leaders shape a utopia.
Perfection and imperfection are a mixture of each other@ these two elements are
cannot function or exist indi!idually. While perfection is searched by the World
"ontrollers and the Party to ha!e stability, happiness, and conformity in society,
imperfect methods such as oppression are used. These techni(ues di!ide the population
into rebellious 1outcasts5 and limited minds 1adherents5, and any threat to the regime,
which arises from the outcasts and their independent thought, is meant to be purged
from society. Huxley and Orwell in their texts re!ealed to the readers that totalitarian
go!ernments will ne!er achie!e to form utopias by searching perfection because they
will encounter or use elements of imperfection.
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REFERENCE
Huxley, A. 1*+-45. Brave New World. 6ew For$: Harper G #ros.
Orwell, . 1*+235. 1984: a novel. 6ew For$, 6.F.: %ignet "lassic.
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