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Inhumanity In 2081, By George Orwell And Kurt Vonnegut

Decent Essays

The world that is overrun with tyranny creates the capacity for people to be forced to live in inhumane conditions. This often involves a leader who silences people by restricting their power and limiting them to a lifestyle that is unsatisfactory compared to the elite in society. Through the novel 1984 and short story 2081, authors George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut introduce readers to the idea of inhumanity by means of mentally incapacitating citizens and holding them at equal rankings through means of oppression. In Orwell’s 1984 and Vonnegut's 2081, inhumanity is imposed on the citizens by the higher powers in each society to mentally handicap those of lower rankings. For example, while George watched the ballerina program on television with his wife, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm”(Vonnegut 1). Due to George's mental handicap radio, he isn’t able to think for too long before a loud buzzing sound is sent throughout his body. George’s intelligence is well above average, yet because of his handicap, he is unable to carry out any thought process that goes against the Handicap General. Forbidding people to have thoughts that vary in ideas and complexity, is a malicious act that decreases one’s mental capacity. Unique intelligence is arguably the most significant trait that makes one human, so what happens when that trait is lost and mentality is weakened? Civilians are stripped of the most basic human

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