The loss of brain and heart in dystopian worlds: totalitarian control of the mind and emotions in “Nineteen eighty-four” and “Brave new world”

Abstract

The dystopian novel is a genre that has gained importance as a branch of science fiction especially at the beginning of the 20th century. Authors such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell have made this literary genre reach its consolidation with the composition of their most distinguished works, Brave New World (1932) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) respectively. These two dystopias share the common features that define their genre: a futuristic totalitarian world in which individuals have lost their freedom and identity in the name of social stability. The ultimate aim of the dictators in both novels is the enjoyment of perpetual power based on stability, and the mental and emotional control of their citizens is essential to achieve that purpose. However, the methods employed by the rulers to keep people subjugated in Huxley and Orwell’s worlds share some common aspects but they differ greatly at some points. This thesis aims to carry out a contrastive analysis between those dissimilar strategies executed by the governments of the two dystopias. Moreover, I provide a brief account of the concepts of ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’ and a short overview of the history of this literary genre, as well as a review of the historical context that marked the works of its two most representative authors which illustrates the reasons why their conceptions of a possible future dystopian society are so contrastive.