Brave New World vs 1984?

[Blue3]

Which is better, and why?

[Mr. Smith]

Brave New World.

1984 is both hilariously off and exhaustingly tedious, and utterly lacking in subtlety if looked at by the main core message.

Brave New World, though highly flawed, has a bit more subtlety, a far more interesting universe, and I can actually give a crap about the characters...some of them anyway. But that's way more than I can say about 1984.

[Skunk]

I think by the time I read Brave New World (which was earlier this year for literature class) I had read too many dystopian novels to the point where I was tired of the genre so the society presented wasn't as shocking or alienating as intended. Because of this, I didn't really care for the novel, though that wasn't Huxley's fault obviously.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

The oddities if Brave New Workd seemed far more novel than the brunt, totalitarian state of 1984.

[Blue3]

The oddities if Brave New Workd seemed far more novel than the brunt, totalitarian state of 1984.

True. Though you could say 1984 became more "true," even if the surveillance and doublethink is more subtle.

[Calthrina950]

I prefer 1984 to Brave New World. I remember that I had to read both books for my sophomore English class in high school. I absolutely hated Brave New World, and couldn't understand anything in it. But 1984 was very interesting and was easy to follow. I also thought that 1984's concepts were more compelling and more realistic, given the time in which it was written.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Actually, I found Brave New World far more realistic than 1984.  I can understand the motivations of all the characters in BNW, and the motivations for such a crazy world to begin with.  Even if you assume that there is an Innermost Party that controls Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia (or that those three particular countries are fictions used only on Airstrip One) I still find the idea that even with doublethink the leadership would consciously choose to embrace hate and deprivation for even themselves is ludicrous. Even the most evil of real-world dictators have been defined by their own self love and desire for the finer things in life. Having twice the chocolate ration won't quite do.