This is based on my recent Part 4 English A1 IB Oral in which I compared 1984 to Brave New World in terms of how they deal with the theme of love. Furthermore there are huge spoilers coming below so do not read this if you haven't read the books. You have been warned.
Before we can even talk about either book we really have to talk about what I mean by love. Love has been a part of culture for a very long time as shown by the multitude of Gods in ancient cultures that deal with Love. Examples range from Ishtar in Sumerian Mythology to the better known Aphrodite of Greek Mythology. I'm actually going to use Aphrodite as the basis of the idea of love in traditional society. Aphrodite is described as sweet, sensual yet still passionate and romantic. These are in essence the four most basic pillars of modern love
Despite this love has evolved throughout the passing of time. This is most easily shown in the changing adages or mottos of love over time. Shakespeare in Mid-Summer's Night Dream (written in the 1590s) stated that: Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. This pretty much means that love overlooks the flaws in order to allow two people to be happy. A new idea was introduced later on shown by the 17th century saying that: "Love conquers all" which is still used today (another similar variation is from the 19th century which is: "Love laughs at locksmiths"). Finally www.dictionary.com had this to say on love:
1.A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
2.A feeling of warm attachement or deep affection
3.Strong liking or enjoyment for something
1984 deals with love in what we would see as a brutal way. In Orwell's book love is treated as a crime shown in a number of ways. Firstly the romance between the characters of Julia and Winston. This relationship which is a highly loving one (similar to our traditional society's view on love) has to be kept secret else they be persecuted by the law. In this way the law completely opposes the notion that two people can be in love.
On the other hand IngSoc (the government in 1984's setting) does allow a very specific kind of love. This kind is one of love for the state. In 1984 love for the state is seen not only as wanted nor as a patriotic act but also in a sense a victory over oneself. Winston describes it as such at the very end of the book where he gives into his love for Big Brother and defeats himself.
The most interesting way that Orwell deals with the idea of love is through the expositions of O'Brien. Unlike some authors which I have read (Huxley fits, however I'll come to that later) a lot of the exposition of the themes comes through this one character. He becomes a personification of the government, the Voice of IngSoc if you want. This method of exposition is extremely interesting as it truly shows in the purest form what the government's beliefs are. O'Brien states the intention of creating a love for the state where he says (I'm paraphrasing) "We will make you hollow, then we shall fill you with ourselves." This idea of focusing love to such a degree where the only love that exists is that of the state is interesting.
On the other side of things is Huxley's Brave New World. Going in the exact opposite direction to that of 1984, the government in Brave New World seeks to make love meaningless, not by focusing it but, by making it completely open. In this sense the meaning of love changes to become: Casual sex with many people so a single relationship (which we would see as loving) is seen as bizarre and is even condemned.
This notion is first introduced early on in which the characters of Lenina and her friend are in conversation. Lenina has been going with a single person for roughly four months. Her friend chastises her for being so exclusive and against the norm. She continues by saying that Lenina's "boyfriend" has other women as he is a true gentlemen. This opening of love to all easily destroys all meaning of the word.
Furthermore Brave New World is also very different to 1984 in the method of exposition. Whereas Orwell used O'Brien as a single character explaining the theme of love Huxley uses discussion between characters as a method of exposition. This is most easily shown by the discussion between Lenina and John where John professes his love for her. John is used as a representative for a regular person from our society as he comes in as an outsider and uses the Shakespearean definition of love as the true one whereas Lenina is a regular person from Brave New World's society. When these two ideas of love come together two things occur. Firstly, when John explains his view Lenina is confused and has no belief that John is right. Then when Lenina explains her view John feels that she is acting like a "Whore! Impudent Strumpet!" then threatens violence.
This brutal clash is the best contrast showing the difference between the two. This use of contrast is also found in 1984 between the love for the state that is condoned and the love Julia and Winston have for each other during their relationship. Also similar is the idea of crafting love as Brave New World uses conditioning to build love whereas 1984 uses torture. Another final similarity is that both the governments of Brave New World and 1984 use and regard Love not as an emotion or feeling but as a tool for control and manipulation.
However there are some differences between the books on the theme of love. The most obvious is the method each government employs to make the idea of Love null and void. IngSoc of 1984 focuses love so the only possible love is that of the state. Brave New World broadens it to the degree that loving someone means nothing as each person loves everyone else. Another key different comes from writing style. Orwell uses a single character, O'Brien, to do the majority of the exposition whereas Huxley prefers to use conversation between characters to achieve the same end.
Thank You For Reading This Not Your Average Essay/Review,
notyouraveragejoe
Before we can even talk about either book we really have to talk about what I mean by love. Love has been a part of culture for a very long time as shown by the multitude of Gods in ancient cultures that deal with Love. Examples range from Ishtar in Sumerian Mythology to the better known Aphrodite of Greek Mythology. I'm actually going to use Aphrodite as the basis of the idea of love in traditional society. Aphrodite is described as sweet, sensual yet still passionate and romantic. These are in essence the four most basic pillars of modern love
Despite this love has evolved throughout the passing of time. This is most easily shown in the changing adages or mottos of love over time. Shakespeare in Mid-Summer's Night Dream (written in the 1590s) stated that: Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. This pretty much means that love overlooks the flaws in order to allow two people to be happy. A new idea was introduced later on shown by the 17th century saying that: "Love conquers all" which is still used today (another similar variation is from the 19th century which is: "Love laughs at locksmiths"). Finally www.dictionary.com had this to say on love:
1.A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
2.A feeling of warm attachement or deep affection
3.Strong liking or enjoyment for something
1984 deals with love in what we would see as a brutal way. In Orwell's book love is treated as a crime shown in a number of ways. Firstly the romance between the characters of Julia and Winston. This relationship which is a highly loving one (similar to our traditional society's view on love) has to be kept secret else they be persecuted by the law. In this way the law completely opposes the notion that two people can be in love.
On the other hand IngSoc (the government in 1984's setting) does allow a very specific kind of love. This kind is one of love for the state. In 1984 love for the state is seen not only as wanted nor as a patriotic act but also in a sense a victory over oneself. Winston describes it as such at the very end of the book where he gives into his love for Big Brother and defeats himself.
The most interesting way that Orwell deals with the idea of love is through the expositions of O'Brien. Unlike some authors which I have read (Huxley fits, however I'll come to that later) a lot of the exposition of the themes comes through this one character. He becomes a personification of the government, the Voice of IngSoc if you want. This method of exposition is extremely interesting as it truly shows in the purest form what the government's beliefs are. O'Brien states the intention of creating a love for the state where he says (I'm paraphrasing) "We will make you hollow, then we shall fill you with ourselves." This idea of focusing love to such a degree where the only love that exists is that of the state is interesting.
On the other side of things is Huxley's Brave New World. Going in the exact opposite direction to that of 1984, the government in Brave New World seeks to make love meaningless, not by focusing it but, by making it completely open. In this sense the meaning of love changes to become: Casual sex with many people so a single relationship (which we would see as loving) is seen as bizarre and is even condemned.
This notion is first introduced early on in which the characters of Lenina and her friend are in conversation. Lenina has been going with a single person for roughly four months. Her friend chastises her for being so exclusive and against the norm. She continues by saying that Lenina's "boyfriend" has other women as he is a true gentlemen. This opening of love to all easily destroys all meaning of the word.
Furthermore Brave New World is also very different to 1984 in the method of exposition. Whereas Orwell used O'Brien as a single character explaining the theme of love Huxley uses discussion between characters as a method of exposition. This is most easily shown by the discussion between Lenina and John where John professes his love for her. John is used as a representative for a regular person from our society as he comes in as an outsider and uses the Shakespearean definition of love as the true one whereas Lenina is a regular person from Brave New World's society. When these two ideas of love come together two things occur. Firstly, when John explains his view Lenina is confused and has no belief that John is right. Then when Lenina explains her view John feels that she is acting like a "Whore! Impudent Strumpet!" then threatens violence.
This brutal clash is the best contrast showing the difference between the two. This use of contrast is also found in 1984 between the love for the state that is condoned and the love Julia and Winston have for each other during their relationship. Also similar is the idea of crafting love as Brave New World uses conditioning to build love whereas 1984 uses torture. Another final similarity is that both the governments of Brave New World and 1984 use and regard Love not as an emotion or feeling but as a tool for control and manipulation.
However there are some differences between the books on the theme of love. The most obvious is the method each government employs to make the idea of Love null and void. IngSoc of 1984 focuses love so the only possible love is that of the state. Brave New World broadens it to the degree that loving someone means nothing as each person loves everyone else. Another key different comes from writing style. Orwell uses a single character, O'Brien, to do the majority of the exposition whereas Huxley prefers to use conversation between characters to achieve the same end.
Thank You For Reading This Not Your Average Essay/Review,
notyouraveragejoe
