Brave New World and The Giver: Similar yet Different
Uploaded by iluv5 on Mar 12, 2000
When one examines the similarities between Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Giver by Lois Lowry, they may be baffled. They may think that Lowry just did a run off of Huxley's highly successful masterpiece. The similarities are extraordinary, but so are their differences. Many aspects of these novels are almost identical while others are completely foreign to each other. Both of these novels feature structure societies, but the societies are not the same. In Brave New World, there are no families or definite partners, but neither society believes in love or true family. The Giver has no specific caste system, but the members of their community do not have control of their own future; that is left to the elders. Lastly are Jonas and John. They are basically the main characters and both endure severe inner troubles, but are they similar enough to make the novels similar?
In Brave New World, there is definitely a caste system of community members. Each level of society keeps to themselves. They work and live according to how they were conditioned. They do not have a certain ordinance on manners or behavior; they are promiscuous and, for the most part, outgoing. The characters in Brave New World do not know the meaning of the world love. They do not have the slightest inkling of what it is like to have a family; the idea of parents and childbirth repulse them. The Giver has a society that believes in having families for stability, but they do not believe in love. The word is broad and meaningless. When Jonas asked his parents if they loved him, they laughed and told him to be more specific because language is everything. Do they enjoy him? Yes. Are they proud of him? Yes. But do not use the word love! On the issue of childbirth, they see it as a profession without honor. They do not have their own children, their children are chosen for them. They do not grow up with their families for long; when they turn a certain age, the contact with their parents comes to an end.
The characters in Brave New World live happily (and stupidly) in their own little caste systems. They are completely oblivious to anything outside their own little worlds. They are put into a profession according to their caste system and their conditioning. They know nothing about any...