Review: Brave New World and Nineteen eighty four.

What about trying to forecast the future through literature?

If you love futuristic novels but blanch at romantic, "Nineteen eighty four" (written by George Orwell in 1949) and "Brave New World " (written by Aldous Huxley in 1931) could be what you have been waiting for. Both stories are set in London and they deal with totalitarian manipulation in the future. Their endings are related to the killing of the individual. While Huxley's work portraits the future in an assertive way, Orwell warms future generations about a totalitarian system. As regards 1984, it can be pointed out that the writer's primary goal is to place those whom he considers members of his generation on guard. Moreover, the crucial phenomenon of totalitarianism is stated through the eyes of the main character Winston Smith. Wherever he goes or whatever he does is controlled by the Partys leader "Big Brother" who watches people through telescreens. It goes without mentioning that society is ranked and psychologically manipulated. However, Aldoux Huxley's primary purpose is to comment ironically contemporary values. So as a result, John who is one of the main characters is terrified about the new utopian world. This conditioned society is controlled by only ten people (the World Controllers).This is because citizens are genetically born in bottles and pre-programmed to do specific works and to belong to determined social classes. To conclude, it can be said that these two master pieces are based on the same themes: future, loss of the individual and totalitarianism. I believe that Huxley's way of predicting the future is absolutely outstanding. In addition to this, Orwell's work also makes its contribution in convincing the reader to avoid any path of a totalitarian system. My only reservation about these compelling stories is that some readers could find them difficult to read because of the style and vocabulary employed.

Bouvet, Maria Gabriela