Psychological manipulation is a topic that both novels target to accentuate the lack of identity, but where Atwood investigates a type of conditioning after birth, the general concept in Brave New World is that from birth, all the characters in the novel are cloned to implement the structure that the World State is trying to enforce. Robert Brown explores this idea by saying that the “Machines are used to condition human embryos and ensure that the irrational and unpredictable aspects of human nature are removed” . This means that the cloning and conditioning that occurs in both novels, eliminates any sort of identity the characters previously had in The Handmaid’s Tale and any chance the characters in Brave New World would have to obtain individuality.
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The use of a third person omniscient narrator in Brave New World presents the idea that some of the characters have control over themselves as individuals due to their ability to display their thoughts, feelings and actions. Therefore, the narrator has the power to retain some of their identity and even manipulate certain aspects of the novel to influence how it is perceived by the reader, much like the World State is doing. This is similar to the first person central narration in The Handmaid’s Tale where Atwood allows the reader to observe the narrator’s own personal perspective and therefore her resistance against the World State. For example, Offred recalls her former name which she was supposed to forget indefinitely, and states “I keep the knowledge of this name like something hidden, some treasure I’ll come back to dig up, one day.” This demonstrates how she is the reviving the capacity for individual life by giving expression to her inner feelings, and consequently breaking through Gilead’s oppression of creative self-expression. Huxley initially demonstrates rebellion against the totalitarianism with John’s Shakespearean knowledge which enables him to articulate his own complex emotions and reactions. This in turn allows him to criticize World State values and he comes to the realisation that his present environment isn’t much better than the savage reservation in which he once lived. He states that “I’d rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you’re having here” and this suggests that by expressing his distress, John is actually unearthing his identity and standing out as an individual, rather than acting falsely jubilant to blend in with society. However, John eventually loses the battle against the World State and its
The use of a third person omniscient narrator in Brave New World presents the idea that some of the characters have control over themselves as individuals due to their ability to display their thoughts, feelings and actions. Therefore, the narrator has the power to retain some of their identity and even manipulate certain aspects of the novel to influence how it is perceived by the reader, much like the World State is doing. This is similar to the first person central narration in The Handmaid’s Tale where Atwood allows the reader to observe the narrator’s own personal perspective and therefore her resistance against the World State. For example, Offred recalls her former name which she was supposed to forget indefinitely, and states “I keep the knowledge of this name like something hidden, some treasure I’ll come back to dig up, one day.” This demonstrates how she is the reviving the capacity for individual life by giving expression to her inner feelings, and consequently breaking through Gilead’s oppression of creative self-expression. Huxley initially demonstrates rebellion against the totalitarianism with John’s Shakespearean knowledge which enables him to articulate his own complex emotions and reactions. This in turn allows him to criticize World State values and he comes to the realisation that his present environment isn’t much better than the savage reservation in which he once lived. He states that “I’d rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you’re having here” and this suggests that by expressing his distress, John is actually unearthing his identity and standing out as an individual, rather than acting falsely jubilant to blend in with society. However, John eventually loses the battle against the World State and its