Imagine a world where mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are no longer a part of society. Imagine a world of lifeless shells of humans. Both Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and 1984, by George Orwell, portrays such societies that have been ruined by the idea of utopia. In such a troubled society its no surprise that people will lose their humanity. For those characters that still had sanity, the impact of this world would twist their minds to the limit.
To be human is to be able think and learn without any restraints. To have an opinion all to ones self even if it my clash with someone elses. To be human is to have emotion. One must be able to smile, cry, laugh or shout without living in fear of the consequence. One must also have the feelings of love and hate. To be human, one would also be able to have a religion. Instilled morals and values are also a part of be human. Where one gets these values are from their families and friends, without those, a person would simply be an empty shell.
In Brave New World, The citizens are deeply brainwashed from childhood to adulthood. They are conditioned to the standards of the government. The citizens of this society are created by cloning and placed into a dehumanizing rigid five-class structure ranging from Alphas to Epsilons. When they are children, their minds are enforced to love what their jobs are, their social class, and even sex. "I'm awfully glad I'm a Beta, we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they wear black. I'm so glad I'm a Beta." Huxley (27). This shows the workings of hypnopedia and how senseless the society is, but to them it is happiness. This pleasure seeking society no longer has any religion. Their religion has been replaced by Henry Ford, the new god figure, and Soma, the wonder drug that brings them peace at mind. "All of the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects." Huxley (54), according to Mustapha Mond. The lack of a religion helps to ensure that the citizens, both upper and lower class, have no reason to rebel
Bernard Marx is an upper class Alpha who constantly struggles being different from the rest of the Alphas, and, in the beginning, tries to find a way to become more popular. By the end of the novel, Marx has come to terms with the society which he had first seemed to dislike. Marx meets a woman called Lenina Crowne, and they both travel to a savage reservation. There, Marx and Lenina meet John the savage and his mother Linda. Linda is originally from the civilized world and became pregnant which, in that society is illegal and was sent to Reservation herself. Once brought back to the New World, John soon found the differences between the two worlds to great. All his values and morals clashed with those of the new society. It turns out; John was the only sane person left. He didn't understand how the citizens lived the way they did, with no morals or values. There, he struggled for his right to think freely. To be happy, to be sad, to be mad, to
have any feeling at all. "In fact', said Mustapha Mond, 'you're claiming the right to be unhappy.'
'All right then,' said the Savage defiantly, 'I'm claiming the right to be unhappy Huxley (240). Once his mother dies, John isolates himself but soon becomes a spectacle to the society around him. When he sees the woman he almost thought he loved, Lenina, he is overcome with grief and hangs himself. Truly being an act of freedom.
In 1984, George Orwell creates a society in which all decency, individuality, and consciousness have been destroyed. There is absolutely no sense of family values with Family member tuning on each other. "Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children." Orwell (24). It is absurd for a society to run this way. The relationship between a father and mother to a child has become an improper idea. Feelings have become obsolete. The lack of family is what the government uses strictly enforce their rule. Even the desire for something better in life has been eliminated with the family. Instead of family values being instilled into children, Big Brothers values are. All citizens of this society are taught to love Big Brother and to follow all the rules of the government. Citizens arenat allowed to have bad thought about the government because that would be considered a thought crime. Stealing away the right to think is stealing the very fabrics of being human. Not being able to think oness own thoughts, not being able to have relationship, and being under the influence of doublethink. It seems the very basis of the government in Orwells society is to dehumanize its citizens by taking away all their freedoms by using fear.
Thought is a very dangerous weapon and the party knows it. The party fears those who can possibly cause rebellion which is why everyone is watched by telescreens and the though police are on continuous lookout. millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same people who had never learned to think but were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would one day overturn the world." Orwell (181). People such as Winston Smith are feared by the party. Winston tries desperately to leave this world behind, finding it disgusting to the point of writing down with Big Brother In fear, Winston hides from the party as he plots his way to overthrow it. In his plight, he turns to Julia, a rebel herself, and O'Brien. Winston n meets his end when he is betrayed by O'Brien and becomes a prisoner of the party and gets sent to rm. 101. Here, Orwell shows that it is very much possible for humans to become dehumanized by these torturous means. In rm. 101, Winston becomes subject to his greatest fear, rats. Winston is changed though fear and loses his morality. He turns on Julia and begs them to torture her with the rats. In the end, the party is successful, and now Winston loves Big Brother.
Dehumanization seems to be the only possible solution to making a utopian society. To give up what makes a person who they are seems a little too much of a cost for happiness though. All these people lifeless in their everyday acts like marionettes, dancing and smiling on a stage following the hands of the puppeteer. The extent of the impact of the societies is so large that the only sane characters are torn apart by and cease to exist. Looking at it, to have hallow souls is hardly happiness, its not even human
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