Summary
Highlights
Orwell's book also explores the state's destruction of families to ensure loyalty, prompting a comparison to modern divorce rates. The idea of perpetual war in 1984 is linked to Freud's document on aggression, suggesting humanity's constant conflict.
Huxley's 'Brave New World Revisited' discusses the rise of dictators using technology, such as social media, to gain power. This is compared to figures like Donald Trump's effective use of Twitter and the existence of modern dictatorships in countries like North Korea, China, and Russia.
Huxley's Brave New World depicts a society without traditional families, where children are created in test tubes and brainwashed into specific social classes. The government keeps people happy with drugs and encourages meaningless sex. The video discusses modern connections like the promotion of drug use, legalized marijuana, and the readily available nature of pornographic websites. Consumerism and the drive for the latest technology are also linked to Huxley's themes.
The final long paper, paper number three, is due on Monday, April 26th, by 11:59 PM via Carmen. This is a Monday, unlike previous assignments, and no late papers will be accepted due to the quick turnaround for final grades.
The final paper requires discussion of George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) and Brave New World Revisited (1958). These are dystopian novels depicting imagined states or societies with great suffering or injustice. Both authors' works are products of their times, reflecting the impact of World War II, dictatorships, the Great Depression, and the Cold War.
The assignment asks students to determine how accurate these three supplementary readings are for the future of the world. Students must analyze how close 2021 is to attaining or rejecting Huxley's and Orwell's conclusions, providing specific examples and similarities.
Examples from 1984 include government use of 'telescreens' for surveillance, which can be compared to modern concerns like the Patriot Act, government wiretapping, email monitoring, and potential hacking of web cameras and smart TVs. The concept of '2+2=5' as a government-enforced truth is discussed in relation to governmental honesty and perceived 'election fraud' claims.
Students need to explain the worlds Orwell and Huxley described and then prove how close current society is to these worlds, potentially being closer to one or neither. The paper requires at least five citations from different documents, including Orwell, Huxley, and Tier Men, to support arguments.
The assignment is due Monday, April 26th, at 11:59 PM. Rough drafts submitted by Saturday, April 24th, 9:00 AM, are guaranteed a response, with submissions handled in the order they are received.