Author's note: This article is a response to the Ministry of Reshelving Project.

For years writers have written novels about dystopian futures as a warning to modern society. In recent years many of the grim predictions made by these stories are beginning to come true. Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World was published in 1932 and seventeen years later George Orwell followed with 1984. Due to similarities in the societies depicted in these novels and our own, both books should be reshelved in book stores and libraries under the category “nonfiction.”

Brave New World describes a future society in which people are healthy, carefree, and used to constant happiness. Many of these aspects described in this book are emerging in today’s society. One prominent factor in Brave New World is consumerism. From the moment a person is decanted he or she is conditioned to be a perfect consumer. In order to get people to buy more they are taught the phrase “‘Ending is better than mending.’” (Huxley 49) This means that when an item is broken instead of fixing it, the consumer is expected to buy it anew. This sort of mentality is becoming quite common in the real world. Additionally, the citizens of Brave New World never have to handle disappointment or unhappiness. They are used to getting what they want when they want. In the beginning of the novel one boy shares the worst disappointment that he ever had to face: “‘I once had to wait nearly four weeks before a girl I wanted would let me have her.’” When asked how this made him feel he responds “‘Horrible!’” (Huxley 45) Like in Brave New World, more and more of today’s society is becoming what can only be described as spoiled. A magical drug exists that can takes anyone in Huxley’s fictitious world who by chances suffers the slightest unhappiness on vacation. “‘You look glum! What you need is a gramme of Soma.’” (Huxley 60) In a similar manner we depend on antidepressants and many other medications to survive everyday life. It seems Brave New World is becoming a more accurate representation of our society. In another hundred years will we be growing babies in bottles an organizing people into specific castes?

Just as Brave New World is becoming a mirror image of the world’s people so is 1984 of the government. The main character of the novel, Winston Smith, describes his experience in the totalitarian government of Oceania in which each citizens every move is scrutinized by the party. Winston’s job is “to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.” (Orwell 40) This is similar to the censorship found in our own society. In past years the government has repeatedly been accused of censoring or covering up facts. In recent years the act has grown even more common. How much longer before they can make us believe 2 + 2 = 5? The government in 1984 also constantly monitors its people through telescreens and hidden audio recorders. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” (Orwell 3) In our own society we are being watched more and more. The federal government has been known to listen in to phone calls, read emails, track websites viewed and books checked out, and more. One day might video recording devices be put in every home? The year 1984 may have already come and gone without Big Brother but, our government is begging to look more and more like Oceania’s every day.

When 1984 and Brave New World were released they seemed like ridiculous exaggerated nightmares of a distant society. Today they may still seem that way to many but there are more similarities between their society and ours than one might think. For that reason these novels should be relocated to the “nonfiction” section of every bookstore. Not only because they reflect our own world but also as a warning for the future. For if we let or moral standards continually degrade and if we let our civil liberties be violated at every threat it may not be long before we find ourselves swallowing soma and the thought police watching us for convicting signs as we sleep.

Works Cited
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
Orwell, George. 1984. Orlando, FL: Plume, 2003.