Vonnegut Jr.'s Harrison Bergeron and Orwell's 1984 are based on the concept of negative utopia. The governments in both these novels control their masses using harsh methods. The government in 1984 uses brainwashing, doublethink, mutability of the past and vaporization to control its masses. The government in Harrison Bergeron uses physical and mental handicaps to control its masses and in the effort to make everyone equal. Both the governments have a tight control on its people but the government in 1984 has a stronger and more affective control over its masses than the government in Harrison Bergeron.
The government in 1984 completely restricts the mere freedom of thought. Anyone who thinks anything that the government finds
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They turn into puppets that can be easily controlled and manipulated by the Party, to the extent that they can be made to believe in two contradicting ideas at once. This is what the Party refers to as "doublethink". In fact, the people themselves believe that "thoughtcrime is a dreadful thing," (Page 233) and that they should be punished for it as suited. The fear that has subconsciously settled in the minds of the people minimizes the chances of rebellion, makes it easier for the Party to stay in power, and furthermore results in a very tight control over the population.
On the other hand, in Diana Moon Glampers's government, all people with higher than "average intelligence" are required to wear a little mental handicap radio in one of their ears at all times. This handicap sends out a sharp noise every 20 seconds so that people don't take "unfair advantage of their brains." (Vonegut). It interrupts the thinking process of the individual by momentarily stunning them, after which the individual forgets about what he/ she was thinking. This does not mean that free thought is restricted. It is not! People can think about anything at any moment of time and won't be convicted as guilty for it. They are less of puppets and more of individuals. However, taking off the mental handicap time at any given point is punishable. The punishment is not as bad as that issued by the Party for thoughtcrime. Also, the government would never know if someone took off their
The story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt VOnnegut Jr. explores the idea of a perfect society. A life where you are completely oppressed to be like everyone else. A young boy known as Harrison Bergeron seeks to have change in society and for everyone to be free.
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is the ultimate negative utopia. Written in 1949 as an apocalyptic vision of the future, it shows the cruelty and pure horror of living in an utterly totalitarian world where all traces of individualism are being abolished. This novel was composed to denounce Hitler?s Germany and Stalin?s Russia and to create a warning to the rest of the world. It takes the reader through a year in the life of Winston Smith as he transforms from a rebel to a fanatic of totalitarianism.
Imagine a world where an oppressive government captures what many call diversity. Where ugly is known as beauty and intelligence is insignificant. “They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” (Vonnegut) This is the future that Harrison experiences, in the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the year 2081 and the government handicaps every citizen with make up or weights to create equality. Where there are over than 200 amendments and the government has full control of all citizens, this is indeed against what America had been
In Harrison Bergeron and 1984 had similar ways in which they gain control. Both limited the chances for thoughts and human nature, although they went different ways to do so.
War, torture, and constant fear, all of these are key elements in the distopia George Orwell creates in the novel, 1984. In this book, Orwell creates a society which is based solely on hate and controlled by those who seek only power. Orwell, however, is not the only author to ponder the possibility of an extreme, futuristic society. In particular, The Giver, by Louis Lowry relates a great deal to the themes found in 1984. Unlike 1984, Lowry's novel focuses on the idea of a utopia as opposed to Orwell's distopia. What is the most interesting is how though the fundamental idea of the novels are opposites, the methods by which each society is maintained are surprisingly similar. When one analyses The Giver versus 1984, it becomes clear that
Harrison Bergeron, projected on a stage representing the conformity of a society with a system of Government based on equality for the weak, which are monitored and controlled by a dictatorial Government.
The novels Utopia by Thomas More and 1984 by George Orwell and short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut explore the Utopic and Dystopic genre through the structure and regulations of their societies. In Utopia, More provides us with a contemporary understanding of society and human nature, with an indepth study of morals, values and beliefs in England around the Renaissance Era. 1984 was published while the Second World War was fresh in people’s minds, creating fears amongst society with Orwell emphasizing the possibility of such a dehumanised and controlled
It is important in a normal society to treat everyone in a humane way. However, the stories 1984 by George Orwell and 2081 by Kurt Vonnegut share the opposite viewpoint. In both of these stories, the government does not treat the citizens humanely. They stripped them of almost every freedom they had, and due to the lack of independent thought, they were preventing people from realizing their true potential. People in 1984 are punished for their thoughts; especially, if they are against the government. In 2081 the citizens are handicapped physically if they have any special talent or trait above the average citizen. These types of restrictions in the government are supposed to help contribute to the construction of a utopia, but instead they are tearing the people apart and depriving them the qualities of being a human being: their individuality. These stories are similar in the ways the government punishes their citizens inhumanely and creates unnecessary emotional stress in their lives.
In “Old Glory” the government is effective at doing this and it managed to make the main protagonist call the SOS men on her great-grandfather for speaking freely in public. In “Harrison Bergeron” the citizens like Hazel and George believe that the government is doing right by limiting the physical appearance and abilities for equality. Both of these governments get the citizens belief that they are doing good for them. The way that “Harrison Bergeron” does this is with the limiting of intelligence. In “Old Glory” the story doesn’t give as much detail about the
Every human being has a unique characteristic about themselves. In order for everyone to be mentally and physically equal, limitations on the way you think, the way you act, everything that make you human have to be placed. I wrote “Harrison Bergeron” to give my readers and the world a look into what our lives will end up in the next couple of years. The way I see it, our world is headed into fascism. In my story, George Bergeron’s intelligence was above normal therefore, he had to be handicapped with a government issued ear piece in order to be the same intellectually as everyone else.
In a world where citizens are equal, if an individual is seen as different, an almighty power will come either to convert or to exterminate them. All governments are aiming for a society that is balanced, but certain rulers take this too literal. In order to reach this sense of utopia, there are a select few who are willing to do anything. In most cases, these attempts cause chaos and distrust in the government. What these governments fail to realize is that they are creating a dystopian society.
1984 by George Orwell is an extremely negative outlook on a futuristic, seemingly utopian society. People inhabiting the land of Oceania are enslaved to the government, most without even realizing it. The Party uses its many members to enforce its methods of control on the population. While a bit extreme, Orwell was attempting to warn people about the dangers of totalitarianism.
They find various ways of determining if people are having incorrect thoughts such as watching them as they sleep to see if they sleep talk. This assures them that the words that are being said are their true inner thoughts and the Thought Police would arrest them for it. Richard Mynick replies in his post “A comment: Revisiting George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty- Four in 2010” of the World Socialist Web Site that, “Party members . . . had to master the art of doublethink to avoid committing thoughtcrime. A Party member was supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatred of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories, and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the Party”. Even the party had some rules to abide by to be able to participate in the Thought Police. Room 101 is a torturing chamber in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst nightmare resulting in breaking down their resistance where they can mentally cure them but end up killing them anyways. The reason for this is that the party persuades these victims to believe in what everyone else believes before they leave the world to content themselves as if they won the dispute.
Flaw in belief of totalitarian rule, the brainwashing is an exaggeration of loyal communists and, the simplistic idea how the USSR functions and ruled was inaccurate, however Orwell’s imagination was fit with what people thought at the time after WWII. Another issue with 1984 is the thought that language will
The world of 1984 is different from the world we live in today. The world perceived by Orwell is a land of complete control by one group who controls the rest of the people’s lives. In this world the thought police are the people who control what people can say. They feel that individualism is a bad thing, and if you express individualism you are breaking the law. The thought police are there to make sure there are no words of overthrowing or badmouthing Big Brother and they are like the sheep in “Animal Farm”. They are there to silence the opposition and make sure there is no doubt that who is in control is the rightful leader. The thought police are there to prevent individuals from thinking whatever they want. If you think bad about the