1984 - comparisons Flashcards
brave new world - huxley
The novel warns of the dangers of giving the state control over new and powerful technologies
Individual identity is stripped and humans are categorised at embryo stage into one of five castes
The State works to remove strong emotions, desires and human relationships from society
The protagonist is male and in the end he succumbs to the World State ideology and kills himself
The novel was a key influence on Orwell
However, in BNW, people are controlled by inflicting pleasure, whereas in 1984 people are controlled by inflicting pain
the drowned world - ballard
The main protagonist becomes more and more inward-looking
The focus of the story is narrow and concentrates on the protagonist and two other scientists and their increasingly dream-like existence
They slowly lose themselves in their landscape
A leader of a group of survivors is introduced, who is a dominating and controlling character
The novel explores themes of humans versus nature, and surrealism and escapism
The story often blurs the boundaries between reality and dreams
the children of men - james
The novel switches between first and third person narration – some chapters are written from the point of view of a male protagonist, and others are from an omniscient narrator
There is a resistance group active in trying to get the government to abolish the practice of group euthanasia, coercive semen testing and gynaecological exams
The government is run as a dictatorship with armed forces ensuring control
we - zamyatin
It describes life in a regimented totalitarian society
It is considered to be a key inspiration for Orwell’s 1984
The main protagonist is male (D-503)
He is the lead designer of a rocket ship the State plans to use to travel to alien planets in order to spread the doctrine of complete subservience and absolute reliance on logic and rationality
D-503 writes his records to be read by the conquered alien civilisations
The dictator in charge, the Benefactor, believes that the freedom of individuals is secondary to the welfare of the State
The citizens therefore live under the oppressive and ever-watchful eye of government-appointed police officers called Guardians
The One State is cut off from the rest of the world
Citizens are stripped of all individuality and have to wear identical uniforms
Their sexual partners are state-sanctioned
If they break any laws, they are executed
In the end, D-503 succumbs to the State
the chrysalids - wyndham
Society’s prejudice against anyone abnormal means he must keep his abilities hidden
It is set in a post-apocalyptic society that people believe was caused by God to punish people’s sins
Inhabitants practise a form of fundamentalist Christianity
They therefore undertake eugenics – humans with even minor mutations are considered blasphemous and are either killed or sterilised and banished
farenheit 451 - bradbury
The male protagonist becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge
He begins to question his duty to the state and has to choose between his personal beliefs and his loyalty to the government
He is betrayed by his own wife, and the book also features an active resistance called the “Book People”
The book explores the importance of free thought and the dangers of censorship
It also explores the power of language to shape our perceptions and beliefs
the circle - eggers
The female protagonist works for a powerful internet company run by “Three Wise Men”
She is initially impressed by The Circle and its amenities
She meets and becomes romantically involved with a colleague called Kalden, but she is unable to find out more about who he is or even his surname
The Circle develops more technological advancements in surveillance, such as SeeChange cameras
The protagonist is indoctrinated into the company’s ideology, whereas her ex-boyfriend represents a small portion of society that rejects The Circle’s ever-more intrusive technologies
Betrayal is also a feature of the narrative, as is a warning about the possibility of a technologically totalitarian society
don’t worry darling - van dyke
Victory - name of town in order to remove focus from opressive and confining atmosphere.
Don’t worry Darling implies a similar and almost identical use of ‘Victory’ – the simulation in which the film takes place is named ‘The victory Project’ and Victory itself is a paradox in itself, as everything beautiful is also sinister.
Alice: What’s in this food? Let’s talk about that! Where did it come from? Huh? Let’s just think aboutit. Victory Milk. Victory Meat. Victory Eggs. It all comes from him. Everything we’re told… everything we are given comes from him! And it’s all about control. It’s all about control. We wouldn’t even– He might be poisoning the food!Composers use the term “victory” as an ironic and symbolic form of emotional manipulation. Both texts use the term satirically to enforce the toll that the overreaching sense of control that Frank (Don’t Worry Darling) and The Party/Big Brother/O’Brian (1984) have over individuals within their societies
Essentially a feminist version of George Orwell’s classic novel “1984”
“War is Peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength”
with
“There is beauty in control
There is grace in symmetry
We move as one”
