oughout the lifespan of the cult-like society, but as the effects of abusing prescription drugs began to affect the psyche of Jim Jones, his sermons grew increasingly paranoid. Jim embraced a philosophy that his beliefs and followers were under constant attack from the outside world. This paranoia finally led to the aforementioned mass murder/suicide. The major differences between the two failed utopias were philosophical in nature. In Brave New World the people lived in a constant state of happiness essentially. While in the Guyana Community the people lived in a constant state of fear and paranoia. The most similar item between the two dystopias was that the people living in each society were governed under stringent control. Such oppressive control forces people to lose their individuality. Therefore, both of these societies represent dystopias in that they are both failed attempts at perfect societies. Realizing that so many people have written about utopias in books and that so many people have tried to build them in real life and have failed, one might suspect that utopias are impossible to achieve. "Humans, by nature, are individualistic" (Hall 332). The differences among people are what make the world a more satisfying and diverse place to live in. Any attempt to tie together the various strings of religions, cultures, beliefs, and ideas to create a single fabric will surely unravel. ...
