Power and Submission in Two Dystopian Novels: Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984

Abstract

Dystopian literature has its origins in Utopias, but instead of representing somewhere paradisiacal, a pure and perfect society, dystopia refers to a “negative utopia” as reality develops in antithetical terms to those of an ideal society. Dystopian literature portrays a nightmarish vision of a futuristic world, commonly dominated by technology and a totalitarian ruling government which uses any possible means to exert an iron-handed control over its citizens. Both Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) and George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) are not only considered classics, but also archetypical of this genre and so viewed as two of the most important dystopian novels ever written. This thesis will analyse how both novels depict their dark futuristic vision. The study focuses on each author’s representation of the totalitarian state and the different methods of power, submission and control used by the government over population