Living in Ruins: Isolation, Madness, and Death in the Works of Faulkner and Poe

Many disagreements exist about whether Aldous Huxley's masterpiece Brave New World(1932) is dystopian or utopian. In the novel, a new world order reigns, where advancedtechnology and biological possibilities are used to a high degree, individuality is suppressed,and it is against all kinds of human feelings, emotions, and experiences, and is virtuallyrobotized. In Brave New World, which takes its name from a monologue in WilliamShakespeare's play The Tempest, there are, of course, those who object to the distance fromhuman life, the mechanical and monotonous order. Bernard, Helmoltz, and even John, who isfrom the Savage Reservation where the old people continue to live, are among those who objectto this order. Although John initially thought living in Brave New World was a great privilege,his ideas changed, and he longs to live like a real human. In the novel Humans (2013),impressions about humanity are conveyed through the eyes of an alien who comes from theplanet Vannadoria and disguises himself as a human to carry out a task given to him. Althoughat first, humans are primitive, undeveloped, and unable to use their will for the alien, in time,they desire to become human and are willing to suffer significant losses on this path. The placewhere the alien comes from also has many similarities with Brave New World. This study willshow many common points between Brave New World and Humans, and the characters' searchfor meaning and desire to become human will be discussed. Key Words: Brave New World, Humans, search for meaning, desire to be human.