For many modern readers, the science fiction genre is a genre built on utopian visions of peace and intellectual progress, of idealistic worlds in which logic always triumphs over primal instinct. While the hopeful scientific novel was not written in vain, the science fiction genre has been used throughout history as a way for concerned writers to warn – if not prophesy – of impending events. This dark subgenre of science fiction is usually known as “dystopian literature” and became a popular literary mode in the twentieth 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 where self-expression and individuality are forcibly repressed (Holmes 39) . Although dystopian fiction is traditionally associated with science fiction and fantasy, it should not be dismissed as mere history, as it is often based on social and political trends that the author has observed in the primary world. Both 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 at the same time making startling observations about the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although Bradbury and Huxley wrote in different time periods, both were exposed to the political, social, and economic turmoil that spanned the time period from World War I to the end of World War II, which ultimately led to the rise of communism as a great world power in the Soviet Union. Shortly after World War I, two key themes became prominent in literature: “isolation and relationship within a decaying moral order” (Keanu 237). Both authors address these themes in their dystopian masterpieces, with Huxley focusing more on the isolation factor and Bradbury exemplifying the need for relationship even within the most rigid social structure. Huxley chillingly portrays a world disenchanted and dehumanized by scientific achievements, while Bradbury focuses 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 literally and figuratively isolated from the World State, while Bradbury introduces us to Montag, a lone fireman who must confront the question posed to him by a young girl: "are you happy?" the ideas formed before Bradbury's, and this is reflected in his writing. Brave New World focuses on many ideas from the early 20th century, as is clear from the numerous references to Ford sprinkled throughout the book. Huxley, coming from a strong intellectual background, was greatly influenced by the literary scene of his time. Indeed, Brave New World is modeled largely on an earlier book by HG Wells entitled Men like Gods, which deals with similar dystopian themes (Brave New World: Historical/Literary Background). Furthermore, 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 time. These include Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species," Pavlov's "Conditioned Reflexes," and Bertrand Russell's "The Scientific Outlook" (Holmes 139). From these works Huxley gained a deep understanding of the scientific lifestyle, but he also realized that an overemphasison science could lead to the destruction of the individual self, as was evident from the impending secularization of American thought. Huxley's lifestyle and upbringing are also critically important to understanding the context of his writing. Born into an extraordinarily intellectual family, Aldous Huxley spent much of his childhood in various preparatory schools for upper-class children, engaging in his family's various intellectual pursuits in his free time (Brave New World: Historical/Literary Background). During his school years, Huxley noted 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, that 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 was writing from a later period, post-World War II. Fahrenheit 451 is much less science-focused than Brave New World, as its topic is 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 materials that threatened communism and 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 initial problem. Under the leadership of Senator Joseph McCarthy, he began an intellectual witch hunt to seek out and eliminate materials deemed "subversive to American interests (basic information on Fahrenheit 451)." Libraries were targeted for possessing copies of the Communist Manifesto, and in some cases books were removed from overseas libraries and even burned. Another historical factor that lurks beneath the surface of Bradbury's fiction is the theme of nuclear war. More than any other topic, the advent of the atomic bomb is useful as a guide to dating Fahrenheit 451; is conspicuously lacking in Brave New World, due to the fact that Huxley wrote his book before the Hiroshima incident. Further linking Fahrenheit 451 to the historical 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 it 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 city with a nuclear explosion (Keanu 98), but this remains ambiguous. From what is told in the story, however, it seems likely that the bomb that destroyed the city was a conventional warhead, since a nuclear attack at such a close range would probably have killed Montag and his companions, if not from the explosion than at least from the radiation . Despite the fact that Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 are powerful reflections of previous historical climates, both books reach beyond the moments in which they were written and demonstrate a keen sense of foresight. When Huxley wrote Brave New World, the cultivation of baby embryos., 1994.