Comparisons

Question 1

comparisons to We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924)

Answer 1

the One State — all powerful state

the Benefactor — supreme leader, worshipped and credited with divine attributes

people have numbers instead of names — lack of identity and individuality

identical uniforms

under constant surveillance by the Guardians (secret police)

strictly controlled sex lives (state sanctioned lovers)

D-503 falls in love with I-330 but betrays her after a brainwashing operation

the Mephi (a conspiracy of rebels, the underground resistance movement)

Question 2

companions to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

Answer 2

World State — all powerful state

people lack individuality (they are all mass produced clones)

rigid class divides (Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons)

deprived of free will (mass produced, conditioned, modified to fit into their caste)

restriction of knowledge (forbidden books, abolishment of art, history and philosophy)

artificial human emotions

wipe out any private emotions (by making sex meaningless and casual, numerous partners, monogamy is abnormal)

destruction of the family unit (no such thing as parents, the word mother is frowned upon, almost blasphemous)

Helmholtz uses his poetry to explore experience, much like Winston and his diary

Solidarity Service (ritual-like worship, similar to TMH, but less aggressive)

Mustapha Mond (higher power, access to special privileges, like O’Brien but less villainous)

Question 3

how do both BNW and 1984 open?

Answer 3

both open with a sentence that disturbs the reader and makes it clear that the world they’re reading about is very strange

BNW opens by describing a 34 storey building as a “squat”

1984 begins with the clocks striking thirteen

Question 4

how is the narration in BNW and 1984 different?

Answer 4

BNW give a detached, satirical view of the characters by using several points of view and switching the protagonist from Bernard to John

1984 is focused solely on Winston, we see the world through his eyes, experience the horror he does intimately and intensely from start to finish, gain a deep insight into his thoughts and feelings