Grave Examples

"The door of the lighthouse was ajar. They pushed it open and walked into a shuttered twilight. On an archway on the further side of the room they could see the bottom of the staircase that led up to the higher floors. Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet." - pg 259

When I read the first couple of pages of this book, I was immediately reminded of another. (Admit I have been saving this for the last blog). Anthem by Ayn Rand is a novel almost exactly like Brave New World. It is considerably less detailed and scientific, but it was also a futuristic novel where the inhabitants are brainwashed into a cult of collectivism where they view themselves more as one unrecognizable member of a mass of humanity. Also, people are predestined to lives as street sweepers, or controllers, or farmers, or whatever else is necessary to make society functional. Both novels are similar in the way that they are warnings against the possibilities of communist collectivism. They both are scenes from the future that have a main character that resist the society and (not exactly in John's case)  find a way out of the over-organized restrictions and lack of culture that plague them.

Some differences are the bases of the different worlds. Anthem uses psychological methods such as making everything about a kid's childhood absolutely identical and never unique. Kids never know their parents and are taught that they are nobodies. They are given names like "unity", "collective", and "solidarity" with numbers following them. This makes them less human and more like a number, a statistic. They are convinced that they owe everything they are to their 'brothers and sisters' (who are everyone). One man finds an underground storage filled with paintings, art, and sculptures. He uses this storage as a retreat from the identical, monotonous lifestyle of his brothers and sisters. Later, he falls in love with a woman he sees at work everyday. They run away together and take the art with them. They create a new life the way humans are supposed to live: free, unique, and independent.

Brave New World is far more scientific and plausible as a dominant way of life. The authority in Brave New World have biologically engineered control over their subjects. They also have soma to smooth over and bumps their subjects might have. While real names are used, and preference is not a sin while it is discouraged.

There may be differences in the way the novels are developed, but in essence they are both grave examples of what could happen if humans ever lost control.