But they did not agree on everything. In a letter from Huxley to Orwell, penned in 1949, their differences in philosophy, politics, and vision, were laid bare.

Aldous Huxley and George Orwell – Literary Lives in Parallel 

The lives of Huxley and Orwell entwined early on in their mutual careers. Orwell – then known by his birth name, Eric Arthur Blair – first met with Huxley in 1917, aged only 14, while a schoolboy at Eton. Huxley, only 23 himself, had been rejected from the British Army due to his poor eyesight and instead spent part of the war teaching French at the college.

But teaching was not Huxley’s calling. He was already a respected writer and would publish his first novels, Crome Yellow (1921) and Antic Hay (1923), shortly after. It would take Orwell a little longer to find his literary feet, but by 1934 he’d published his own first novel, Burmese Days, and his classic work of non-fiction Down and Out In Paris and London.

By this time, Aldous Huxley had already published the work for which he is best-known. Brave New World was unleashed on the literary scene in February 1932, and made an instant impression  on its readers. The work envisaged a frightening totalitarian future, in which the principles of mass-production and homogenisation, made famous by industrialist Henry Ford, would govern society.

In Huxley’s vision, the citizens of The World State exist in a carefully managed system, in which classes and castes are placated and anaesthetised from reality. As a satire of the socialist ideal, and as a warning against the dangers of totalitarianism, Brave New World became an influential text in an increasingly fractured global landscape.

1984 – Orwell’s Own Vision of the Future

The world had been torn apart yet again when, in 1948, George Orwell penned his own vision of the future. This was 1984, and it would be Orwell’s final work.

Undoubtedly influenced by Huxley’s novel from years earlier, Orwell had given his all to this book. It represented the product of his experiences over the last two decades of his life – his time spent examining the polarised antagonism of global political ideology. 

Set less than four decades into the future (Brave New World, in contrast, is set around the year 2540), 1984 takes place in Airstrip One – a location formerly known as the United Kingdom. In this world, there are three superstates: 

• Oceania – Comprising the Americas, Iceland and Britain, southern Africa, and Australasia.
• Eurasia – Comprising Europe, the Soviet Union, and most of the Middle East.
• Eastasia – Comprising China, East Asia, Central Asia, and much of South East Asia.

Unlike with Brave New World’s warming-bath of distraction and anesthesia, 1984 predicts a violent and repressive system. Visible and omnipresent forces of oppression keep the population in line and maintain the status quo. Just like Huxley did, Orwell draws upon elements of satire, warning contemporary audiences of the dangers of authoritarian fascism and communism. However, the flavor of that authoritarianism is rather different. 

Differing Outlooks, Mutual Respect

Huxley knew Orwell personally, and he’d written his own work of politically-charged speculative fiction that had made him a household name. It’s little surprise, then, that Orwell wanted Huxley’s opinion on the novel.

In October of 1949, Huxley wrote Orwell a letter, outlining his thoughts on the book.

Huxley was quick to praise his former pupil. “I need not tell you,” he said, “how fine and profoundly important the book is”. There was admiration here, and respect too.

But this did not mean Huxley agreed with everything. His main point of contention was in “the philosophy of the ultimate revolution”. Huxley did not see Orwell’s vision as an end-point; more a stepping stone towards something rather different.

“Whether in actual fact the policy of the boot-on-the-face can go on indefinitely seems doubtful,” Huxley said.

“My own belief is that the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power, and these ways will resemble those which I described in Brave New World.”

In fact, Huxley believed it may not be necessary for states to utilize repressive force at all.

“Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience,” Huxley continued.

“In other words, I feel that the nightmare of 1984 is destined to modulate into the nightmare of a world having more resemblance to that which I imagined in Brave New World.”

Enduring Legacies

Orwell and Huxley never claimed to be the same. Both explored diverging avenues of artistry, philosophy, and lifestyle – Huxley was a pacifist, for instance, while Orwell saw action in the anarchist militias during the Spanish Civil War.

But both have left us enduring literary legacies that continue to be pored over to this day. Whether you believe the seeds of Orwell’s Oceania or Huxley’s World State are already being sown, or you prefer to enjoy these novels as works of speculative science fiction, it largely doesn’t matter.

Both men, and both staggering bodies of work, have had an indelible and ongoing impact on global literature, and re-drawn the boundaries of fiction.

The post Orwell VS. Huxley: Nearly 100 Years Later, Who Got it Right? appeared first on Magazine.

A Sprawling Masterpiece

In October 1851, Herman Melville published The Whale, better known to readers around the world as Moby Dick. Moby Dick was first published on October 18, 1851, in the United Kingdom under the title The Whale, and shortly after in the United States on November 14, 1851, as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. From its now legendary opening (“Call me Ishmael”) to its similarly evocative conclusion, the novel is a 635-page epic that takes us right the way around the world, and into the depths of human psyche and obsession.

And it takes us to other places too. It takes us on a journey into biology and zoology. It documents human history and industry. It posits philosophies on the nature of ambition and endeavor. Moby Dick does many things over its span, and it’s this complexity that has daunted readers in the past.

So how do we make our way into this text? How do we gain a foothold, so the whole thing doesn’t wash us away with its enormity? Here are three possible strategies.

Strategy #1: Make Your Journey in Increments

Moby Dick is made up of a series of chapter cycles that move us forward through the narrative, but also flesh out that narrative as we go. The story itself is known to most of us, and is relatively simple – our protagonist enlists aboard a whaling ship, and finds himself drawn into the dark personal vendetta of its captain. But the way in which this narrative is presented is a little more complex.

This is why Nathaniel Philbrick, a scholar of Melville and a novelist himself, suggests a structured, disciplined approach. Setting yourself a few chapters to read each night will keep you moving forward without feeling overwhelmed. Many of the chapters are relatively short, and this bite-sized approach has seen many people make startling progress with what they had previously thought to be an impossible novel.

Writer Michael Russell agrees with Philbrick’s view. “There’s only one way to read Moby Dick”, he says, “two chapters a night, at your desk, with a glass of scotch”.

The whisky is optional.

Strategy #2: Dive into an Encyclopedia of Another Time and Place

One of the factors that make Moby Dick so sprawling is the sheer expansiveness of its scope. This is also one of the key reasons why readers may find themselves overwhelmed.

You’ll get your head around the narrative in about 45 seconds. Head out into the street and ask a random stranger to tell you the story of Moby Dick, and most will have some idea – it doesn’t mean they’ve read it. Instead, the richness of the novel is found in its documentary detail.

Embrace this detail. Learn all about the society of New England in the early-to-mid 20th Century. Discover more about an industry and an economy that has largely been left on the pages of history books. Dive in to cetology and marine biology, and gain insight into the mysteries of the ocean.

Melville was a seafaring man himself, and his work is meticulously researched. It’s as close to a primary source as many of us will ever get, bringing a distant time and place to life in an astonishing fashion.

Strategy #3: Get Philosophical with the Text

The whaling industry is a controversial topic, almost two hundred years on from Melville’s work. But to view Moby Dick as a pure celebration of that industry is to miss the point somewhat. It’s certainly true that Melville is writing from a different historical viewpoint, and he probably wouldn’t understand the revulsion to whaling that many of us feel today. However, he sought to do something different with his novel.

Moby Dick is, at its heart, a philosophical text. Ishmael and his shipmates are coaxed out onto the ocean by economic necessity, putting themselves in harm’s way out of a need to make a living and carve their own way in the world.

In doing so, they are drawn into a Shakespearean tale of vengeance, obsession, and the all-consuming power of ambition.

The figurehead for all of this is Captain Ahab. A nightmarish figure – a larger-than-life character with a complex past – Ahab forms the focal point for the novel’s philosophical and psychological leanings. Despite his fantastical presentation, we can all see something of ourselves in Ahab, as we consider the meaning of our own existence in the world.

Grappling with these existential themes is what makes Moby Dick so fascinating. For those who like to look a little deeper, and ponder the more elusive truths of life and literature, the novel is a must-read text.

Setting Sail on a New Voyage

The point of this article was never really to give you a definitive way into the text. That’s simply impossible – we all read in our own ways, and engaging with a novel is always a personal experience. Instead, the aim was to provide some inspiration, and to highlight the treasures that lie in-store when you open Moby Dick for the first time.

Just like Ishmael, just like Ahab, just like Queequeg and all the others onboard, you’re on a voyage. As to the nature of that voyage – whether you encounter smooth-sailing or rough seas – well, that remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain: it’s going to be an adventure. So set sail, and delve into one of the greatest novels in literary history.

The post Celebrating 173 Years of Moby Dick’s Epic Pursuit appeared first on Magazine.

Across the 2022 to 2023 academic years, there were 3,362 bans enacted on books around the USA. Librarians, once points of connection to a treasure trove of literature, were being forced to take books off their shelves.

Despite this, parents still place their trust in librarians. Studies have found that families still appreciate the work of the librarian, and still value their service. So what is going on here, and how can we make sure librarians, and their libraries, stay at the heart of communities for years to come?

Banning Books and Censoring Knowledge

PEN America has been keeping a close eye on the censorship and banning of books in America. In some instances, local authorities have taken a single book off the shelf, citing its content or its themes. In others, “wholesale” bans have taken place, with libraries stripped of books and closed to the public.

Data from the second half of 2022 shows us that Texas, Florida, and Missouri are most likely the states to ban books, with nearly 1200 bans enacted between the three. Utah and South Carolina are next on the list, and both implemented more than 100 individual bans each over the period.

Among the books most often banned during this time frame, we find Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, Flamer by Mike Curato, and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. Books by world-famous authors Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, and Rupi Kaur, were also among the top ten most likely to be banned.

Despite the Hostile Climate, Parents Still Trust Librarians

As custodians of knowledge, librarians find themselves in an awkward position. For anyone serious about the education and development of children, librarians provide an irreplaceable service. But for anyone who supports book bans, it is these same librarians who are providing this ‘controversial’ literature, and making it available to children.

This could be a serious problem, undermining the position of librarians in the community. Fortunately, it seems parents still trust librarians. A study conducted by the EveryLibrary Institute late in 2023 provided some heartening reading.

• 92% of parents, grandparents and guardians, the study said, trust librarians to curate appropriate materials for children.
• 90% said they were happy to let their own children choose their own reading material in a library.
• 96% said they felt libraries were a safe space for their own children.
• 85% said they were generally satisfied with the work of their local librarians.
• Public librarians are the most trusted profession in the USA. School librarians are the third most trusted, behind teachers and doctors.

What Does This Tell Us About Book Bans?

There seems to be a bit of a disconnect going on here. On the one hand, we have authorities demanding that books be banned, claiming to act on the behalf of concerned parents, children and families in the area.

And on the other, we have those families themselves – families who don’t seem too concerned at all, and put their trust in librarians to curate appropriate materials.

This disconnect is not lost on John Chrastka, the executive director of the EveryLibrary Institute:

“Contrary to the narratives that so-called parent rights groups are advancing, parents across America value librarians’ roles in our communities and our children’s education,” he said.

“Pro-censorship groups do not represent the vast majority of parents or guardians in their beliefs about librarians, reading, education, and civil society.”

Hope For the Future of Our Libraries and Librarians

This is a difficult time for libraries and librarians in the USA, and right across the world. Book bans are not just an American phenomenon. In 2024, PEN International released a list of bans across the world, describing how authorities in Belarus, Brazil, China, Hungary, Russia, Türkiye, and elsewhere, sought to remove works from shelves.

Highlighting the trust that parents still have in librarians will not end the process of book banning, at least, not all by itself. But it does shed some light on what is going on here. Often, governments and institutions will use the excuse of “protecting children”, or “defending families” as a reason for censorship. However, as we have seen, these excuses are often way out of step with what parents and guardians actually want for their children.

So there is hope for libraries and for the librarians who run them. These individuals provide a vital service, and they must be protected.

The post Parents Trust Librarians Despite National Push to Ban Books appeared first on Magazine.