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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 150 KB, 896x649, 1984_or_Brave_New_World.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330159 No.2330159 [Reply] [Original]

Which one do you prefer?

>> No.2330166

>>2330159
1984, but dey bof gud.

>> No.2330169

as a 15-year-old i preferred 1984

as a 25-year-old i'd honestly rather sit down and watch however many of the worst episodes of 30 rock it'd take to fill the amount of time a rereading of either would encompass

>> No.2330177

BNW is more interesting thematically, 1984 is the better read.

>> No.2330178

When I was a wee lad, I coined the term 'Orwellian Huxleyism,' the belief that Big Brother is here, but nobody cares. I still believe that, but now I don't go around telling everyone and being a poncey twat.

>> No.2330186

>>2330178
Nobody cares. Just let me drink this alcohol beverage and smoke this carcinogenic substance.

>> No.2330194

I prefer BNW because the dystopia it presents could by some standards be considered a utopia. While 1984 is a (well-written) warning about the dangers of authoritarianism, BNW causes us to question the purpose of our lives and the ultimate goal of society.

>> No.2330195

1984

>> No.2330200

I used to like Brave New World more because I found it more unsettling. Looking back on it, I like 1984 more just because I prefer Orwell's writing to Huxley's.

>> No.2330263
File: 156 KB, 896x649, herp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330263

I see what you did there.

>> No.2330273

Do you prefer Huxley's or Orwell's style?

I heard some people saying Orwell's writing is rather... "trite".
What could those people - note that I'm speaking about a /lit/-post - mean by those words?

>> No.2330281

Brave New World easily. Because it has bigger implications and is more interesting thematically.

>> No.2330285

>>2330273
It means:

Here is A. We will use B to symbolise A. B is a one-to-one representation of A and will require no special knowledge or critical thought to understand. B is A.

It is very simple, which I think is one of Orwell's strengths. But sophisticated folk don't like simplicity because then they can only read so far into it before they are hit with a concrete, 'This is a white whale. A physical, living white whale. Not a representation of despair or anything, you ponce.' And this irks them.

>> No.2330289

Brave New World by a country mile.

>> No.2330290

>>2330285
But what is marine biology a metaphor for?

>> No.2330310

>>2330285
>implying the white whale doesn't represent his Father's sperm

>> No.2330309

I think the unwanting seed is the worst written but the most provocative and scientifically accurate depiction of an authoritarian future.

>> No.2330317

1984(That's because I love Orwell)

BNW had some interesting ideas and it's injustice that people are claiming todays world is more closer to 1984 over it.

>> No.2330321
File: 43 KB, 329x500, we_yevgeni_zamyatin.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330321

Try reading "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin. It was the inspiration for 1984 and Brave New World.

As for the two, I'd say 1984.

>> No.2330349
File: 744 KB, 570x4550, orwell-huxley.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330349

The picture sums up my thoughts on this perfectly. Both are excellent books, but BNW scared the shit out of me a whole sight better.

>> No.2330360

1984 Tells you what you should (I hope) already know.
Brave new world actual makes you think.

>> No.2330380

>>2330321
This. Or read Atwood.

>> No.2330406
File: 25 KB, 313x400, ChewithCigar.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330406

>>2330380

>Reading Atwood

>> No.2330434

Brave New World because it's actually happening. 1984 is not really relevant in the information age, it's much more useful retroactively to examine totalitarianism.
>still relevant to developing nations though

Handmaid's Tale should be mentioned along with these, but is also of questionable realism. Somewhere between the other two in terms of believability.

>> No.2330459

>>2330434

>1984 is not really relevant in the information age

Jesus, get a load of this fucking moron.

>> No.2330462

Brave New World. It's much more relevant. Plus, it makes you think. 1984 seems to spoon-feed you the moral of the story.

Plus, I've noticed that people who like Brave New World are relatively normal human beings, whereas 1984 fanboys seem to be libertarians that believe they are living in a communistic dystopia and they're the only intellectuals left on the planet.

>> No.2330463

Huxley's novel illustrates many of the false beliefs of his time: that a state can have complete control without cost, that all human activity can be accounted for by central planning, that man's ability via science is boundless, and that man can be reshaped to be a state's ideal.

Orwell in 1984 and other works of his like his essay on English notes the detrimental trends of his time and foresees them taken to a further extreme. His conception of a government destroying wealth to prevent its' citizens from destabilizing the ruling class with upward mobility, a state surveying the people constantly, the state destroying the family unit, history revisionism being taught to people so they know nothing else, the present news changing often as to who are our allies/enemies, the usage of secret police, how the state is anti-human in nature, and how the common man is kept placated with crude entertainments were all foreseen by Orwell.

>> No.2330472

>>2330178
Do you work at Starbucks?

I remember a /lit/ poster saying that a guy who worked at Starbucks mentioned "Orwellian Huxleyism" to him.

>> No.2330473

>>2330434
>>2330462
>relevant

If you're going to samefag for the sake of debate, atleast do us the courtesy of changing your voice.

>> No.2330483

1984 from a literary perspective, but Brave New World was a much more accurate depiction of what was to come.

>> No.2330489

I'd rather reread Brave New World rather than 1984 (read them both over five times each) I like the mix of characters and situations in BNW more I guess. 1984 had more of an impact on me when I had read it the first time however

>> No.2330492

I definitely prefer Orwell's writing to Huxley's. BNW was almost a letdown when I got around to reading it. It was alright, but I wasn't enchanted by it I guess.

>> No.2330495

>>2330194
agreed

>> No.2330504

>>2330473
I was first post, not second. No samefag. I promise. I can see how it would come across that way though.

>> No.2330574

Anyone here read Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'? I just did a dissertation on that & '1984'. It's about censorship in an overstimulated world. It's good, if you haven't already, you should read it

>> No.2330604

Even though Huxley was more correct, and I feel that his novel was more based in history that was just applied to the future than any sort of speculation, I prefer 1984 because Orwell was a fantastic writer.
in terms of quality: 1984 > BNW
in terms of "correctness": BNW > 1984

>> No.2330703

>>2330349
This comic doesn't really need to mention both "information" and "truth".
One of those would suffice, because there's an excess of (wrong) information in both settings.

>> No.2330742
File: 26 KB, 203x300, Idiocracy_movie_poster.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330742

Admit it, this is more "realistic" than BNW.

>> No.2330790

>>2330194
I 2nd this opinion

>> No.2330793

>>2330742
That movie was so terrible, please don't remind me of it.

>> No.2330808
File: 46 KB, 358x292, 1323633814674.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330808

Idiocracy is a terrible movie indeed, really really bad. But the premise is good

By this post I mean, it's very similar to Brave New World: awful book, good basic idea.

>> No.2330840

Idiocracy is uneven but parts of it are very, very funny.
Brave New World would be a much funner world to live in. Sex, drugs, personal helicopters. We would all be Alphas of course. The things Huxley warned against don't seem that bad, in the 21st century.
1984 would be a very bad place indeed.
Orwell wrote the better cautionary tale IMO. Huxley seems a bit stodgy.

>> No.2330865

1984 is the ultimate totalitarian state where everything, down to a hair left on a book, is monitored, and every human emotion and value is broken down and owned by the state

BNW is a zeitgeist of hedonists, utilitarians and "last men" who are content to continue taking risk-free MDMA, having orgies, and consuming deliberate and conscientious junk media for eternity

both are dystopian, both have a valuable lesson and raise valuable questions and blah blah blah

i thought they were both good authors but orwell was better at making me identify with the protagonist and feel really sad when things went badly for him

>> No.2330978

I couldn't stand the obvious references in the characters' names. For christ's sake, Benito Hoover. BENITO HOOVER.

>> No.2330981

>Idiocracy
>bad

it's (intentionally) a cheesy comedy, and at that it's one of the best. also Mike Judge.

>> No.2330985
File: 663 KB, 570x4550, 1325949663163.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2330985

>>2330865

I find the image attached incredibly relevant.

>> No.2330987

>>2330985
it's already been posted in the thread, dummy.

>> No.2330994

>>2330987

I'm just...reinforcing it?

Actually, I didn't see it. My apologies.

>> No.2331010

>>2330985
I just pooped into the toilet.

>> No.2331021

>>2331010

Thanks for sharing?

>> No.2331028

>>2331010
Do you have a fat dick?

>> No.2331033

1984. BNWs protag is a loser, if I wanted a loser protag I'd go watch a shounen.

>> No.2331034

>>2331028
My dick is small.

>> No.2331098

What do you think about Huxley's writing style?

>> No.2331106

>>2330321
This
Although they all bring their own interesting views on society, and are therefore all equally valuable.

>> No.2331170

Brave New World, I think it's better in just about every way, not that 1984 was bad but Brave New World was the tits, I don't see why everybody says it's dystopian though, seems damn near utopian to me what with everybody being happy as shit all the time and all, also the guy that worked the elevator and got happy as shit when he saw the sun, i want to be him

>> No.2331708

The repressive aspect of the state remains present even is the developed countries. However, Orwell wrote about stalinism while Huxley was really anticipating an evolution of society.

1984 is much more well build that BNW, which Huxley admitted to be philosophically imperfect. Huxley isn't as good as conveying his ideas.

I loved the two. I didn't read We though. I'll add it to my list.