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Essay / A dystopian satire of government: "Brave New World" and "The Body Snatchers"
The composers undermine institutions of power to show the unethical values of government with strict systematic control while explaining how this influences society's behavior by creating a lack of individualism. The novel “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley conveys a dystopian satire of governments that limit personal autonomy. Jack Finney's short story "The Body Snatcher's" depicts a science fiction alien invasion and the threat of communist infiltration into American society. Both composers manipulate their textual form in order to undermine systems of power and emphasize to the reader how strict control limits personal autonomy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Composers undermine social institutions of power in an effort to criticize the unethical nature of government. Authoritarian control in dictatorial societies began to emerge during World War I and influenced Huxley's novel Brave New World. Huxley criticizes a dictatorial government that confines individuals and forces them to conform to strict rules to show that this limits independent thought. Huxley criticizes Mond's authoritarian control in his argument with the Savage when he states that "our civilization has chosen machinery, medicine and happiness" where irony is created in the link between a certain mass consumption and happiness artificial as well as in the fact that people did not choose machinery, medicine and happiness. given a choice, they were predetermined. The use of irony highlights to the audience Huxley's criticism of Mond's authoritarian control and his propaganda used to justify it. Mond also argues that "you can't make flivvers without steel and you can't have tragedies without social instability", which highlights to the audience the irony that Mond's argument recognizes the beauty of tragedy , while condemning social instability. Huxley criticizes Mond's endorsement of a flawed social system, undermining authoritarian control within society. This emphasizes the government's inhumane and unethical control and encourages the reader to reject these organizations. Jack Finney's "The Body Snatchers" similarly critiques the institutions of power in its text to reveal the unethical nature of government. Finney uses the concept of monotony, alluding to industrialization and the "workers' utopia" of the USSR, to criticize a government that uses capitalist desires to distract from fear of the Cold War. Finney criticizes a government and its encouragement of consumerist culture which is used to avoid communist ideological infiltration instilled in the working class. Miles Bennel comments on the advertising of "banana, laundry soap, Niblets... pots, pans, electric mixers", the accumulation highlights to the audience the link that is created between domesticity and a quiet falsity for the working class, used as a distraction cold. the fear of war, and echoes in the plot the “normal” appearance of “body-snatching aliens”. Finney critiques consumerist culture, undermining authoritarian institutions of power that reject the fears of its people. This highlights the unethical nature of governments that ignore the voices of their people and promote a culture that devalues them. Both composers reveal unethical nature.