Although The Handmaid's Story by Margret Atwood and Daring New World by Aldous Huxley entail different experiences, the societies portrayed in both of these examples of dystopic books still lack the fundamental freedoms necessary for a properly performing society to exist. In these two novels, an individual's freedoms are stripped away with a government that control buttons every part of the individual's life such as: knowledge, personality and marriage with others to be able to maintain stability in a fragile modern culture. In each book, a dystopia is depicted through the use of conflict to reveal the government's censorship of knowledge, the use of theme to determine an individual's lack of identity and the utilization of characters to show the government's control over connections to facilitate a well balanced society.
Throughout both novels it is obvious that a dystopic society is present through the writers' use of turmoil to demonstrate the control of knowledge from the past and to the present in order to acquire stable society. For instance, within the Handmaid's Story, all Handmaids are forbidden from reading or writing, this is an attempt by the leaders of the population to control the knowledge their citizens can utilize. This control extends over any form of written expression, and if the rules are disobeyed, there are repercussions: "Scrabble!. This was after the game of old women, old mento be enjoyed in retirement villaswhen there is nothing good on tv. Now it's forbidden, for us. Now it's dangerous. Now it's indecent. Now it's suitable" (Atwood 174). With this society, Scrabble is known as "forbidden" because of what it represents -- independence of expression. The consequences the leaders have imposed make a turmoil between them and their people, in that way creating the "desire" to experience the game regardless of the threat associated with breaking the guidelines. The restrictions over expressing oneself is used as a form of keeping people in their place, therefore keeping the modern culture stable and running, even though this comes at the expense of the freedom of each individual. Along with the society portrayed in The Handmaid's Tale, the leaders of the Brave New World population have sacrificed all earlier knowledge of the planet, including art, technology and books with the goal of maintaining a stable society. For instance, as an outsider, John 'the savage' has not had his history kept key from him, and for that reason cannot understand why such important knowledge should be maintained top secret: "'Art, research - you appear to have paid a fairly high price for your enjoyment''Anything, else?' 'Well, religious beliefs, of coursethere used to be something called God''Why not tell them?''For the same reason once we don't provide them with Othello'" (Huxley 210). The market leaders of the federal government have clear their society of most things created in and relating to the past, such as literature or religion since there is a probability that it will provoke one's mind and thus make a rebellion or volatility in the contemporary society, threatening their stability. Through an outsider's point of view, the control over the world sometimes appears as costly rather than helpful, building a conflict from emotions of bitterness between John and the society's regime. The fitness each member of the society is put through make sure they are lack the necessity to expand their thoughts, showing the control the government has over their residents for there to be steadiness. Each person's specific liberty is lost when they aren't free to really know what they want. Although both societies control the knowledge of their individuals, there are variations in the circumstances and reasons for it.
The lack of knowledge to keep stability has contrary results in both of the societies. In Daring New World, having less knowledge keeps everyone content due to government-forced conditioning they are exposed to since birth. Alternatively, in The Handmaid's Tale having less information creates the necessity for rebellion since each individual knows what she or he has lost. People of the Gilead society, such as Offred, do not agree with the values individuals are forcing to them, including the contemporary society compelling each person to forget the understanding of their former. Offred constantly reminds herself of her former, disregarding the societies' values: "I needed to feel Luke beside me. I have them, these attacks of days gone by, like faintness, a wave sweeping over my brain. I understand why the goblet in the screen is shatterproof, and why they got down the chandelier. I wanted to feel Luke laying beside me" (Atwood 64). Offred has been limited from all recollections of her former, including those of her partner. The pain Offred feels consequently of not having the ability to discuss her history allows her to comprehend why someone might commit suicide. The issue between your people and the leaders brings about the suicide of several citizens as a way of rebelling because they really know what information has been extracted from them and cannot live without them. By firmly taking away each person's background, the contemporary society is compromising the freedoms and uniqueness of each individual with regard to the community left over stable. On the other hand, folks of the Brave " NEW WORLD " population are forbidden from knowing certain information because the government knows they would not be able to comprehend it, so that it is done because of their own good. Mustapha Monde points out to John, an outsider unfamiliar with the way the contemporary society is run, why there is a control over knowledge, "'We haven't any use for old things here. ' 'Even when they're beautiful?' 'Particularly when they're beautifulwe don't want people to be drawn by old things. We wish these to like the new ones" (Huxley 200). Events from the past are not offered to the residents of the world, John's distress towards the reason why that knowledge is managed brings about a discord between himself and Mustapha Monde. The market leaders of the contemporary society do not train their individuals historical facts, keeping them centered on the present to remain productive; this has the opposite effect of the control of knowledge of the Gilead culture in The Handmaid's Tale. The deprivation of knowledge in order for stability acquired come at a cost of each person getting rid of their personal freedoms, like the capability to broaden their minds through learning. When each person's knowledge is handled for there to be stableness, it leads to a loss of individuality and identity of the society's people.
Both novels evidently show a dystopic society exists through the creators' use of theme in order to develop the lack of individuality through both government authorities' need for control for a well balanced society. For example, in the Gilead society each Handmaid is given a new name. This change in id offers the way the government handles the individuality of every person. Offred remembers her name and unsuccessfully attempts to remind herself that it's not important, "My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which no one uses now because it's forbidden. I notify myself no matter, your name is similar to your telephone number, useful only to others but what I let you know is wrong, it can subject" (Atwood 104). The name that has been given to all Handmaids displays the ownership of these Commander, and shows how the government handles their individuality by firmly taking away the one thing that defines them from other folks, their name. The change of the Handmaids' titles is a way for keeping each individual in their place and the society secure. The name directed at each Handmaid needs their freedom away and makes them the property of someone else, therefore proving the theme of insufficient personal information in the book. Likewise, in the Daring New World society, each person is subdivided into a caste system that dictates what his or her job, social rank, and appearance will be. Each individual is conditioned to have preconceived notions about folks of other castes: "'Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully ingenious. I'm really awfully pleased that I'm Beta, because I don't work hard. And we could so much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are ridiculousOh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons remain worse. They're too ridiculous'" (Huxley 24). Each caste in the contemporary society differs from others, leaving little room for personality between folks of the same caste, who must wear the same clothing and even look the same. Because of this, the theme of lack of individuality is developed through the caste system where it is impossible for there to be independent thinking. It is this way that the federal government keeps everyone in order and stabilizes the culture by limiting the opportunity of rebellion through conditioning everyone into his / her own devote the society. Although both societies control the personality of their residents, differences still lay in the way the identity of each person is operated.
The control over personality in each book is achieved though different methods in the various novels. In The Handmaid's Tale, control is created from power and the fear as a result. Within the Brave " NEW WORLD ", control is made through science as a way to do so. For instance, the market leaders of Gilead inside the Handmaid's Story use intimidation and dread to succumb people living under their rule for there to be a stable modern culture. After living under the rule of the modern culture, Offred has abandoned her hopes to be able to simply survive: "I will do anything you like. I don't desire to be a doll hung through to the wall membrane. I wish to keep on surviving in any form. I resign my body freely. They are able to do what they like with me. I am an thing" (Atwood 357). Initially Offred did not want to live on her life unless she was in charge, at this time in the book the intimidation of the leaders of Gilead has triggered Offred to give up her optimism. Furthermore, Offred's soul has been busted through the use of fear and loss of life and today she wants to become an object, and present up her flexibility, this showing how the leaders are robbing people under their command of their individuality, therefore developing the theme of lack of identity. The try to break down each individual shows the value the leaders have placed on balance of the culture over the rest. In contrast, in the Daring New World Population, science is employed to make a lack of personality by creating many people out of one egg who'll be a similar as others and can then be conditioned to have the same beliefs and morals. The market leaders of the Brave New World have new sciences that are being used to create steadiness: "One egg, one embryo, one adult - normality. But a Bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will separate. Making ninety-six humans grow where only one grew before. Progress. If we could Bokanovskify indefinitely the whole problem would be fixed. The theory of mass production at last applied to biology" (Huxley 4). Many people in the Daring New World are made a similar as many other folks, mass development has been applied to human beings. All people have their lives made a decision before they are really old enough to make decisions whatsoever. Therefore, the fact that people result from the same egg and are a similar as each other builds up the theme of insufficient personal information in the world. Giving each person only a small amount choice over their own lives as you can implies that the leaders of the society are trying to create a stable society limiting indie thought and having everyone in a predetermined sociable position. In both Handmaid's Story and Brave New World there isn't only a lack of individuality to keep stability, but addititionally there is the government's jurisdiction over human relationships.
It is visible in both books that a dystopic society is out there through the writers' use of figure showing the control of human relationships for there to be stableness in the contemporary society. In both The Handmaid's Tale and Brave New World, there's a lack of meaningful relationships, where two different people may have strong feelings for just one another. For instance, in Gilead, liberty to have a relationship is not decided by the individual but instead is predetermined; this creates too little love, shown specifically through the character of Offred. As the Handmaid, Offred is pressured to be with only 1 man, the Commander, whom she is likely to feel no emotion towards, this causes a feeling of emptiness and lack of love: "There's something useless about it, something deserted. I am such as a room where things once took place and now little or nothing does, except the pollen of the weeds that expand up outside of the home window, blowing in as dirt across the floor" (Atwood 128). Assessing her body to an empty room shows Offred's need for love, with the room representing Offred's desire and the "things that once happened" discussing previous meaningful relationships she once experienced. The control over connections in the culture causes Offred to obtain feelings of emptiness and "deadness", demonstrating a dystopic society through the emotions she feels. Having less meaningful human relationships in the society are used to create stability in the culture by limiting the quantity of emotions individuals feel, the less strongly a person seems, the less of the chance you will see a rebellion induced by strong thoughts. Similarly, romantic relationships in the Brave " NEW WORLD " are handled through the conditioning of each people to feel that sex should be cared for lightly with no emotions mounted on these purely intimate relationships. Relations with women are talked about very freely as if the topic weren't personal in the society: "'Lenina Crowne?' said Henry Foster, echoing the Helper Predestinator's question 'Oh, she's a splendid female. Wonderfully pneumatic. I'm surprised you haven't got her. ' 'I can't think how it is I haven'tI will certainly at the first opportunity'" (Huxley 39). Henry Foster and the person he is speaking with both talk of Lenina as though they do not discover her as a genuine person and show no feeling connection to her. Gender is shown as a free topic that does not yield an uncomfortable dialogue. People in this population do not think of gender as something to be done with a person they have feelings for, they are doing it instead out of entertainment. The cheapening of love-making has eliminated feelings in the society and the opportunity for rebellion out of thoughts. The sacrifice of meaningful connections is the government's make an effort at creating a successful stable society. Despite the fact that both societies control the connections between their people, there are distinctions in the values and morals that are taught to the citizens of each contemporary society.
In The Handmaid's Story, monogamy is the value enforced on its residents because of biblical purposes. However, in Daring " NEW WORLD " promiscuity is prominent because in their modern culture a strong community will result in a secure contemporary society. For instance, the Handmaids and their Commanders are required to have sex only with each other in order to procreate, the Handmaid is only allowed to do this with her own Commander, thus monogamy is obligated on Handmaids. Offred does not approve of the agreement with the Commander and herself: "I really do not say making love, because this is not what he's doing. Copulating too would be inaccuratenor would rape cover it. There wasn't a lot of choice. Kissing is forbidden between us. This helps it be bearable. One detaches oneself. One details" (Atwood 116-117). Offred does not feel any emotion towards the Commander, she's sex purely because she has been given no choice, she won't call this take action making love which is basically because she seems no love. The contemporary society of Gilead uses the prices and morals referred to in the Bible. These beliefs are pressured onto the Handmaids in order to build their idea of the perfect culture that is most of all stable. Conversely, in Brave " NEW WORLD ", it is trained that promiscuity is the standard way to behave in their contemporary society. Linda, John's mother has been living beyond the society she has been conditioned in and therefore has contrasting ideals, which are believed of as depraved: "the way they may have the other person here. Mad, I notify you. Everybody belongs to everybody else - don't they?' herenobody's likely to belong to several personand if you have people in the normal way, others think you are wicked and anti-social'" (Huxley 109-110). While Linda is on the reservation, she is judged for her views on romantic relationships, she was taught that it's common never to love because of the fitness everyone has since beginning, that way the federal government eliminates the need for any emotional attachments and all meaningful relationships. Because of her conditioning, Linda is not able to comprehend some other lifestyle other than promiscuity. The morals taught in the Brave New World society are a way for keeping everyone happy and unattached psychologically, and no person will have any feelings to leave the society they may be in and rebel; this creates a well balanced society where specific liberty is sacrificed.
Through both Handmaid's Story and Brave New World, it is now able to be seen that dystopic societies will sacrifice the freedoms with their citizens because of their control over knowledge, individuality and relationships of every person for there to be stableness in the contemporary society. By using conflict, dystopia is made in both of the novels using the control of knowledge of days gone by and present in the society in order for stability. In addition, by using theme, dystopia is established using having less identity of every member of the society for stability to be in the modern culture. Finally, through the use of character, dystopia is set up through the control of the human relationships in each person in the societies. For there to be stableness in a modern culture there should be sacrifices made, especially in a culture that is known as dystopic.
