The similarities between Feed by M.T. Anderson and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are uncanny. Both set in a time of the future, these utopian societies have no room for individuality or boredom. Just as the feed keeps the civilians occupied, soma keeps those in Brave New World distracted, “Why don’t you take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly” (Huxley 92). Soma didn’t bring joy to the people in Brave New World however, it simply made them not feel. This contrasts with Feed because love was not suppressed in this futuristic society, “I was like, you know I...I really like you,” Titus tells Violet (181). Despite being utopias, both of these societies are clearly unstable due to the rebellion that is seen from the characters in the novels. John the Savage has the courage to spark a rebellion as does the Coalition of Pity in Feed. Neither protagonists in either book come out victorious however, John’s attempts at fighting the system lead to his suicide and Violet’s attempt at fighting the feed leads to her complete deterioration. Children in Brave New World are “conditioned” to be distanced from their emotions and stick to their role in society. Reflecting a communist form of government, each person in the World State carries out a task that aids to the overall function of the state. Differentiating from that type of extreme specialization of labor, American capitalism and consumerism is emphasized and on an even larger scale in Feed, “There’s nothing but the feed telling you, this is music you heard, this is the music you missed. This is what is new” (5). Although the extravagance of the standard of living for characters such as Mustafa Mond and Titus may be similar, their roles in society and values that they prioritize are not comparable. I mean how many teenagers do you know that go to the moon for spring break?
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Hadley Mueller-Hill
5/22/2017 03:04:14 am
I really like the use of visuals in this post to illustrate human vulnerability and lack of control and consent. I also really appreciate the comparison between two texts. This comparisons makes it easier for the reader to connect to the blog book and it shows a great use of creativity and effort. Additionally, the use of quotations in this post to support the claim is extremely sufficient and well organized. I really enjoyed this blog post because, although I have not read this blog book, I understand key concepts as a result of quotations and comparisons to a previous book that I have also read.
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M.T. AndersonHe won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for The Pox Party, the first of two "Octavian Nothing" books. Anderson is known for challenging his readers, of varying ages, to look at the world in new ways |