Preview

Brave New World Vs. The House of The Scorpions

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2940 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Brave New World Vs. The House of The Scorpions
The House of a Brave New World:
Brave New World Vs. The House of The Scorpions
Introduction:
Dystopia; an “imaginary” society in which citizens are dehumanized and live what readers deem as an unpleasant, worthless life. Nancy Farmer’s novel The House of The Scorpions and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World are two dystopian novels that paint a surreal image of two societies on two opposite sides of the spectrum. Farmer’s novel depicts the life of a clone of the head of a huge drug cartel named El Patron. The clone, Matt, lives in a house of secrecy and lies, however, his life in other’s eyes seems picture-perfect. On the opposite end, Huxley’s novel depicts a test-tube, artificial society in which humans are not born, but decanted like experiments. The humans, once born, go through a process of a caste system as well as series of hypnopedia in order to keep the society controlled and prevent rebellion. Overall, it seems as though both societies are completely unrealistic. However, it is prevalent that out of the two societies, the society of Brave New World seems like a future not to far from our own.
Comparison of Tone and Setting: Both Huxley and Farmer are able to show the reader the tone of the novel within the very first chapters of the novels. The tone of Brave New World is that of a very clean, scientific, artificial society. Huxley is able to create this tone straight away by stating the society’s motto, (1) “Community, Identity, Stability.” (page 15) The motto of the society sets the tone of a very automaton society in which the benefit of the community came first, one where individualism was subordinate. Only in this such manner would society remain stable. Furthermore, Huxley is able to continue the scientific, plain, and clean society by describing the laboratory. Huxley states, (2) “ Wintriness responded to Wintriness... the overalls of the workers were white...the light was frozen.. from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did it borrow



Cited: Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2002. Print. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros., 1946. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dystopian Literature is a science fiction, futuristic, and imaginative society that is seen as a dark and miserable compared to regular society which is portrayed to be good. In Fahrenheit 451 (F451) and Minority Report (M.R.) two characteristics present are the citizens are to be under constant surveillance and the illusion of a perfect society they live in everyday.…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book Brave New World, we are introduced to a dystopian society where humans no longer create life and are now created in a factory. The World States controls and stops any effort made by citizens that try to acquire any sort of scientific or practical truth. The government also attempts to destroy any sort of personal connection such as love and friendship.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dystopian, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful life. Though these stories normally take place in the future, often warnings are inserted to parallel the possible consequences that can arise if such actions come to pass. Written in 1953, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury foreshadows an undesirable future brought upon by humanity itself. Media corruption is a key issue seen in the novel that has become a common issue in our world today. Ray Bradbury warns of manipulated media and negative dependence on technology, which are problematic topics that have come to pass in a big way.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society that is the opposite of utopia. A dystopian society is one in which the conditions of life are miserable, characterized by human misery, poverty, oppression, violence, disease, and/or pollution.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Brave New World reinforces the idea of “Everybody [belonging] to every one else…” (Huxley 121) and this is evident by the atrocious conditioning each person is exposed to. As a result, regardless of one’s class, every one is content with the caste he/she is in and is oblivious to the restraint that was placed on him/her. Furthermore, the concept of isolation is meant to benefit the civilized people as it disconnects them from the living style of the Indians who are viewed as savages. This is disturbed when Bernard brings John and Linda into the Fertilizing Room with an ulterior motive of humiliating the Director, who John “… said in a clear voice: ‘My Father!’ “ (Huxley…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The women that Matteo Alacran, the main character in Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion encounters affects him in both positive ways and negative ways as some of his experiences are prejudice, and some are hospitality.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huxley thoroughly condescends the contemporary values of our society in Brave New World. He specifically uses point-of-view, allusion, and motif to create his ironic commentary for which his novel is best…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the Oxford English Dictionary, dystopia is an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. The genre of dystopia is clearly illustrated through the short stories of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the esteemed political activist and professor Howard Zinn once said, “If those in charge of our society can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.” Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World exhibits a government that successfully controls the ideas of the masses. As Zinn acutely predicted, the need for police in the World State is nearly eradicated due to the tranquility of society. Individuals are predestined prior to birth to decide which niche they will fill in society. Upon the completion of the artificial birthing process, these new members of society are conditioned according to their caste. In this dystopia, love and the concept of family are…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the years, dystopian novels have become a favorite for readers all over the world. People find it intriguing to read about future societies and how the characters act in these ways of life. The societies in these novels range from totalitarian governments or to a perfect society where everyone is equal to each other. The characters often find themselves in situations that make them imagine what it would be like if things were different in their society. This usually leads to the reader contemplating the same issues that the characters are faced with in the story. Ayn Rand’s science fiction novel Anthem and Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” put a substantial…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Huxley grew up in a conservative, rich, and elite English family during the early 20th century. He lived through World War I, the roaring 20’s, and part of the Great Depression before he began writing Brave New World, giving him a wealth of issues to expound upon in the novel. As a conservative Englishman, Huxley feared both rapid progress and the growing communist and fascist powers in Europe, giving rise to his predictions about the future of art and the role of government. The terror instilled in him by nearby change and unrest likely lead to the inaccuracy and, in some cases, the reversal of his predictions. Huxley was able to see the importance of the issues addressed in Brave New World, but ultimately the predictions themselves are actually inaccurate due to the perspective of…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Most dystopian, classic and contemporary, points a future world that puts a twist on present society - a future world that could plausibly happen." - Lauren DeStefano. Dystopia means the place, state, and/or lifestyle that is imperfect, bad, or hell-like. In the science-fiction book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, their dystopian society meant there was no books so that everyone was equal, but this back-lashed on them. Fahrenheit 451 had a dystopian society written to scare us and show us some of our societies biggest fears, but what if this idea of dystopia has already presented itself upon our own society cloaked to many but visible to few.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I his novel the people of the world state is designed and “programed” to fit within society’s standards. To fit into the country not stand out or have different beliefs or thoughts. This way of behavior control is the first idea that comes to mind. An idea that both the new world and the real world both share is the idea of the “perfect citizen” where how they both carry out this idea verries. In the modern world today “culture's system of social control” creates a social norm and a standard which, “Commonly held conceptions of appropriate and expected behavior in a society” (O’Neil). Dennis O’Neil’s study on global cultures explains that the society and the environment around the area will influence the social norm. Creating standards and actions that their home country wants to shape. In Huxley’s novel environment also plays a role to the shaping of behavior, but unlike the modern age the world state as a more efficient way of shaping its people. Unlike being born from a mother the new state, the people are raised from test tubes called the “Bokanovsky’s process” (Huxley). Allowing the world to create anyone they want by creating “ Ninety-six identical twins” to erase any free thought and creativeness from their society shaping “Community,Identity, Stability” (Huxley). With the same idea in mind both worlds have their own ways of pursuing it, but with the…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Community, Identity, Stability” are the three words that hang on a sign at the entrance of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. These words are supposedly the World State motto and the prime goals of this “utopian” society. In the beginning of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley portrayed the setting as a utopia, an ideally perfect place, but is anything but perfect. This novel depicts a complete nightmare where society is dehumanized, uniformed, and chaotic.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Dystopia

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most of you have heard the word 'dystopia' before, but maybe you don't know the true meaning of it. It may be determined in a theoretical fiction and science fiction as well. Besides fiction this word includes horror, apocalyptic, unnatural, fantasy, and unknown ideas that didn’t or might not even happen yet. It reflects the opposite of Utopia, the perfect world where human nature haven’t faced any problems. Dystopia is different from ‘utopia’ by its prefix ‘dys’ that tells us all the negative side of the word; it is the same as words like ‘dysfunctional’ or ‘dyslexia’.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays