di Huxley, Brave New World
Kind of novel:
novel of ideas -> the message is superior to the plot and to the
characters
philosophical novel -> ideas are more important than the plot
science fiction novel
anti utopian/ dystopian novel -> it criticizes present society and it describes the worst possible society if the present conditions remain the same
prophetic book -> it anticipates some elements of future societies (human cloning, genetic manipulation, people’s conditioning through mass media)
Aim:
to criticize present society (technology; cold war)
to warn (as Orwell and Owen)
In common with dickens:
documentary realism
social issues (political, scientific)
message
Dickens’ characters are flat, there are no round characters because he didn’t go deeply in the problems to find the causes.
Huxley’s characters aren’t real round characters because the message he wanted to communicate is superior to the plot.
BNW Vs 1984 (by Orwell):
dystopian novel (realistic descriptions, details, criticism of society, message)
society vs individuals -> society dominates individuals and forces them to adhere the system through violence and conditioning. How? Through propaganda (slogans and mottos) and technology (electric shocks and telescreens and science)
hierarchical society
Bernard Marx vs Winston Smith -> both hero and anti-hero
Importance of memory to control the past and so the present and the future
Importance to identify an enemy to keep people together and to keep the power
Narrator and style: 3rd person narrator; free indirect speech; shifts the point of view according to the characters involved; bitter irony; difficult language due to the presence of technical words.
