For many modern readers, the science fiction genre is one built on utopian visions of peace and intellectual progress, of idealistic worlds where logic always triumphs over primary instinct. Although the hopeful scientific novel is not written in vain, the genre of science fiction has been used throughout history as a way for concerned writers to warn – even prophesy – against upcoming events. This dark subgenre of science fiction is generally known as "dystopian literature" and became a popular literary mode in the 20th century (Holmes 37). The antithesis of utopia, the term "dystopia" comes from the Greek word for "bad place" and is traditionally set in a harsh society in which self-expression and individuality are suppressed by force (Holmes 39). Although dystopian fiction is traditionally associated with science fiction and fantasy, it should not be considered a simple story, as it is often based on social and political trends that the author observed in the primary world. Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, and Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, were able to accurately describe the intellectually dangerous trends of their times, while making surprising observations about the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Although Bradbury and Huxley wrote in different periods, both were exposed to the political, social, and economic unrest that lasted the global period. World War I until the end of World War II, ultimately leading to the rise of communism as a major world power in the Soviet Union. Shortly after World War I, two fundamental themes became prominent in literature: “isolation and relationships within a declining moral order” (Keanu 237). Both authors deal with these themes in their dystopian masterpieces, with Huxley focusing more on the isolation factor and Bradbury illustrating the need for relationships even within the most rigid social structure. Huxley chillingly depicts a world disenchanted and dehumanized by scientific achievements, while Bradbury focuses his attention more on the power of individuals despite the constraints of society. Perhaps the best examples of these two contemporary themes are the characters in the novels themselves. In Huxley's "Wild John" we see a man isolated, literally and figuratively, from the World State, while Bradbury gives us Montag, a lonely fireman who must face the question posed to him by a young girl : “Are you happy?” the ideas were formed before Bradbury's, and this is reflected in his writings. Brave New World focuses on many ideas from the early 20th century, as is made clear by the many references to Ford throughout the book. Huxley, coming from a solid intellectual background, was strongly influenced by the literary scene of his time. In fact, Brave New World draws heavily on an earlier book by HG Wells called Men like Gods, which deals with similar dystopian themes (Brave New World: Historical/Literary Context). Additionally, a prototype of the methods used by Huxley's World State can be discovered in the pages of Wells' "Experiment in Autobiography", as well as in scientific works of the period. These include Charles Darwin's “The Origin of Species,” Pavlov's “Conditioned Reflexes,” and Bertrand Russell's “Scientific Perspectives” (Holmes 139).Through this work, Huxley gained a deep understanding of the scientific way of life, but he also realized that too much emphasis on science could lead to the destruction of the individual, as the imminent secularization of American thought. Huxley's lifestyle and education are also of central importance in understanding the context of his writing. Born into an incredibly intellectual family, Aldous Huxley spent most of his childhood in various upper-class prep schools, engaging in his family's various intellectual pursuits in his spare time (Brave New World: Historical Background/ literary). During his school years, Huxley noticed the rigid caste system that seemed to exist even in a democratic society, with the upper class separated from the lower classes not only by their wealth, but also by their intellectual abilities. In Brave New World, this perceived social system comes to life through the genetically engineered classes - Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Epsilon. On the other hand, Ray Bradbury was aware of many of the same principles that had influenced Huxley, but he was writing from a later period, after World War II. Fahrenheit 451 is much less science-focused than Brave New World, its theme being censorship and intellectual repression. At the time Bradbury was writing, the threat of censorship was a reality, both in the United States and abroad. In Nazi Germany, for example, Hitler controlled the thoughts of the masses by destroying thousands of books that he considered a threat to his government (Keanu 384). After World War II, Stalin did much the same thing in the Soviet Union, censoring documents that threatened communism while supporting writers who portrayed the government in a positive light. Despite the extremes of foreign censorship, Bradbury realized that the American response to the Soviet Union was no better than the original problem. Under the leadership of Senator Joseph McCarthy, an intellectual witch hunt began to seek out and eliminate documents considered "subversive to American interests (background information on Fahrenheit 451)." Libraries were criticized for possessing copies of the Communist Manifesto, and in some cases books were removed from foreign libraries and even burned. Another historical factor lurking beneath the surface of Bradbury's narrative is the theme of nuclear war. More than any other theme, the advent of the atomic bomb is useful as a guide to dating Fahrenheit 451; it is conspicuously missing from Brave New World, due to the fact that Huxley wrote his book before the Hiroshima incident. Further linking Fahrenheit 451 to the period of the Soviet Union, Bradbury was most likely influenced in his writing by apocalyptic fiction that reflected the fears of 1950s America – namely Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank, and On the Beach, by Nevil Shute (Holmes 231). The threat of nuclear war is by no means central to the plot of Bradbury's book, but permeates the background of the story, and subtle references are made to previous wars involving atomic weapons . Many readers associate the destruction of Guy Montag's town with a nuclear explosion (Keanu 98), but this remains ambiguous. From what is recounted in the story, however, it seems likely that the bomb that destroyed the city was a conventional warhead, as a nuclear attack at such close range would likely have killed Montag and his companions, if not because of the explosion, but rather because of the explosion. Although The Best of., 1994.