Brave New World vs. Allegory of the Cave

Brave New World- In a world where governmental control is in the form of drugs and chemicals, Aldous Huxley presents a fictional world of chaotic control. The system is no longer dependent upon the people but the people on the system. "Joy" in the form of "happiness" is no longer a personal feeling but an emotion granted by governmental distribution of drugs. Welcome to a "Brave New World".

Allegory of the Cave- A life of imprisonment and solitude, Plato presents the concept of governmental control through means of confinement. Perception is reality in this fictional depiction of grotesque human cruelty. The means of human growth is defined through the control of the information given. Humans are no longer able to think for themselves but are told what to think. It is indeed a concept of human peril.

Similarities-

Joy Synthesis

"I see joy as a pleasure beyond happiness. Most people see little difference between the two, but I see them as two different meanings. Joy is more of being content with what you have and the life you live. It has nothing to do with material possessions. Joy does not come gaining worldly possessions, happiness does. Happiness is a superficial feeling, while joy is much deeper than that. Joy is being glad for what you have." --Jeremy

"The feeling of complete happiness. The desire to do nothing else in the world except that one thing that makes all your fears, troubles, and worries disappear like the dark shadows of night when the sun comes up." --Brian

Synthesis- Joy relinquishes all fears, worries, and stress in life; it's the one feeling that surpasses happiness and delves deeper into the spiritual realm of the individual.

What is Joy?

Joy is a personal feeling of great euphoria. It is a feeling of delight and happiness.

"Allegory of the Cave"

In this short fable, Plato seems to strike the reader with the main theme of perception being reality. From the above picture depicting Plato's short story, the audience is able to draw a mental image of what the actual story is illustrating. From the story along with the picture above, it appears that the "slaves" are being taught inanimate objects from the "real" world. The world that is known to most individuals. It is from this process that the audience is able to relate to the story so well. Because we as individuals have a pre-conceived notion of the real world, we are able to commiserate with the slaves. This relevance along with the emotional aspect of the cave makes the story what it is. The reader is able to relate to the slaves on a more emotional standpoint. This gives the reader the opportunity to make the story his/her own in terms of the meaning. In the end, most readers come to the conclusion of the meaning being perception is reality. The slaves are perceiving reality through images cast about on a wall. These images are of great significance because it is the only thing that the slaves know to be true. After witnessing the "real" world, though, they begin to perceive everything through a new light. It is this notion that brought me to my conclusion of the theme being perception is reality.

In this image, the author is reffering to the downfall of societal functioning by means of portraying a gender role switch. In this image, the dad and mom seem to have switched roles as parents of the house hold. The underlying effect is anarchy. In my opinion, the author seems to be over exagerating the point. It seems the author's view of gender roles is a little skewed due to the current day living. Obviously it's easy for me to agree with the previous notion, but an intitial reaction to this poster would galvanize the conception that this author is a sexist.
In addition to its original meaning, one could interpret it as being a feminist movement. Conveying to the audience that being a house hold wife isn't a "easy" job. Again switching roles, the audience is able to empathize with women of that erra; creating awareness of the sexist standards of society at that time.