Aldous Huxley - Brave New World

I recently finished reading Orwell's 1984 and immediately started reading Huxley's Brave New World thereafter. Both of these books are often compared because they both offer contrasting predictions of the future.

In Brave New World, the whole idea of the medieval caste system is back in effect. People are no longer born from parents - they are harvested in large factories. Through a mix of various chemicals, the developing fetuses are conditioned to fulfill their lot in life. Some are to be workers and of lower level, while some are to be the people in charge. These people in charge are called Controllers, rather than leaders.

In the story, happiness is the most prevalent of all sensations. People have promiscuous sex, are constantly taking drugs, and go to movies called 'feelies' where they can see, hear, and feel everything on screen. As later discussed by some of the characters, certain things have been sacrificed in order to achieve happiness.

In this Brave New World, art and science no longer exist. The idea of passion and love and heroics and bravery is something that the people cannot comprehend. In this artificially created world, everything is perfect, and therefore you cannot have a hero in a perfect world. Something must first be wrong in order for someone to right it. This can get complicated...

All in all, 1984 is superior to Brave New World in many ways, mostly because 1984 concentrates on a handful of characters and offers more detail into the future. Brave New World sometimes spreads itself too thin, but still gives you an eerie feeling. When you read this 60+ year old story and start to realize how some things described in Brave New World can be compared to modern technology.

If you've read 1984, you must read Brave New World just so you can compare the two.