'Brave New World' and '1984'

Our second Junior Certificate book report this year is by Rowland Fitzgerald Barron, and like Mark Russell's yesterday, presents two books linked by theme: in this case, Rowland examines George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, two famous dystopian novels. 

Rowland writes:

I thought 1984 was a very good read. From the very beginning I was sucked in as it immediately describes what kind of day it is and vividly yet briefly shows how the protagonist tries to escape the cold. I found it gripping because of the amount of detail put into every scene, for example instead of saying 'Winston walked into the room,' the author would say 'Stepping into the room, he noticed the rich smell of coffee and the shabby furniture'. Also, it is written in a very personal manner so you feel as if you are sharing the protagonist's feelings. However, there were some parts I did not enjoy reading and felt tempted to put down the book and never read it again, such as a thirty-page lecture in which we are told the history of Oceania and the warring states. As much as it pains me to say it however I do feel this was necessary in order to understand the current political situation and the way things were heading. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new, fresh style of writing as it is a change to most of the books around nowadays.

I found Brave New World was written well and the author was very descriptive as well. However, I did feel that the plot was rather weak; the whole book didn't really seem to have much of a story and felt more as if it was just following someone's life. Also, I thought the beginning was quite boring and didn't make a good impression as it had nothing to do with the already weak story and instead was focusing on a scientist giving a tour to a bunch of students. However, I do feel this was needed (just like the boring part that was in 1984) as it explains what the current situation is and how the human race is being treated.

Overall I preferred 1984 as it had a stronger story and more likeable characters.

Read the full essay here.