ipl-logo

Differences And Similarities Between 1984 And Harrison Bergeron

870 Words4 Pages

Manipulation of people and oppressive governments are two strong themes and warning signs that these three thought-provoking pieces of dystopian literature, 1984, V for Vendetta and “Harrison Bergeron,” synopsize in their plots. In all three schemes there are totalitarian leaders, meaning each government not only says how the society should run but also depicts the lives of the individuals in it. Although varying with their degree of control, each leader uses perplex tactics to negatively influence and control their community. All three governing bodies including George Orwell’s 1984, James McTeigue’s film V for Vendetta and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” control their citizens using manipulation through intimidation, law enforcement and media. In the novel 1984, the government’s ability to sway the public through blatant intimidation is apparent throughout. It starts right away with a …show more content…

In order to keep everyone in line, there are secret services to enforce strict laws and carry out punishments to those who break them. This is shown in 1984 when the thought police took Winston and Julia away after being caught hiding out in the shop bedroom (Orwell 244). Very the rest of the public knows few of the run-ins with the authorities in this book since they usually end up being twisted into whatever their government wants them to think. One occurrence of the authorities coming into play in V for Vendetta was when V invaded the news station and they were searching for him and Evey (V for Vendetta). As for the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” the secret service came in at the end to handle the escape of Harrison and his dance with the Ballerina. Although the situation in 1984 was kept hush-hush, both of the events mentioned above for V for Vendetta and “Harrison Bergeron” were covered on the

Show More
Related
141 Words | 1 Pages

Harrison Bergeron and 2081 differ in the portrayal of Harrison Bergeron's character. For example in the book Harrison Bergeron on line 52 he cried, " 'Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!’ He stamped his foot and the studio shook"(Springboard 137).

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

The two stories, “Harrison Bergeron” and Fahrenheit 451, both have common themes. The common themes of the stories may include; our reliance on technology can spiral out of control if we let it, knowledge is joyful and painful, and that we can be confined by our own self-censorship. All of these themes are exhibited throughout both stories frequently. Whether it is as Montag has conflict with his wife over books or as Harrison’s parents forget right from wrong in their society. In Fahrenheit 451, their technology definitely gets out of control.

Read More
634 Words | 3 Pages

In both stories Fahrenheit 451, and Harrison Bergeron they have similar themes and ideas with mysterious, corrupt societies all about the concept of knowledge, and not letting people have it with stupid reasons. In the stories, it is all about being born into communist type countries, who really like rules as well as limits on stupid things held by the governments such as in Fahrenheit 451 it is reading books, because the ideas upset you, and in Harrison Bergeron it is just the traits of being smart, ugly, just equality in general is not acceptable because they want people to be mis-uninformed about everything because of amendment #211, and #212 which is equality all in the same way One similarity is when Guy Montag meets all of the homeless on page143 it says "Welcome back from the dead." Montag nodded. Granger went on.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Comparing and contrasting 2081 to Harrison Bergeron Admit it, one time you were bored or sat down with nothing to do and couldn’t help but imagine how life would be if everyone was equal, don’t even try denying it, you’ve thought of that at least once in your life, but as any good writer would do, they’d write their thoughts down and turn it into a story, that’s exactly what Kurt Vonnegut did. Just imagine living a life where no one gets compared to others in any way. We all wish for a society like that, but Kurt showed us how equality can negatively affect our society. But that’s not the our main idea in this essay, our main idea is to highlight the comparisons and contrasts between the story “Harrison Bergeron” and the movie version “2081”. To begin with, Both the story and the movie had the same introduction/ Opening; “Everybody was finally equal.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

Harrison Bergeron was a book written in 1961 that portrayed an abnormal child defying the dystopian government; in 2009 a movie was made, based off of it called 2081 that changed the character both physically and morally. The differences in how Harrison Bergeron, the main character, appears in each story changes how the audience perceives his morality. These changes are easily highlighted in Harrison’s age, dialogue, and appearance. The tone of the story is also changed, resulting in similar changes to what the audience interprets. As both stories continue these differences become more and more apparent and by the end, there is a clear split in what the audience ‘takes away’.

Read More
1515 Words | 7 Pages

Books and movies have been around for many years and lately movie directors have been making more and more movies based off of books. Most people do not know that around 50% of movies are based off of books. Although, it really depends on what people mean when a movie is “based” off a book. Some directors say a movie is based off a book, but has a different plot and seems totally different. So, in order to keep true to the book, directors keep the plot relatively the same, but there are a few times they decide to change the message entirely by changing just a few key events.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

“Repent Harlequin Said the Tictockman” by Harlan Ellison wrote in 1965 is about a time keeping government trying to achieve complete efficiency. The 1961 science fiction short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., is about complete equality, disabling humanity from success. By examining elements of character analysis, tone, plot, setting, and diction, readers can see that these two dystopian stories can be compared and contrasted. “Repent Harlequin…” and “Harrison Bergeron” take place in alternate futures where the government has either taken control of everyone’s schedules or removed things that would make them unequal. Both stories are led by an antagonist and by someone who rebelled against them, but eventually, the rebellion fails and as far as we know the oppression goes on.

Read More
242 Words | 1 Pages

Harrison Bergeron and 2081 completely diverge in Harrison Bergeron’s characterization. Though the initial design for Harrison stays the same, the way the character is presented differ tremendously. In the short story, Harrison Bergeron is a seven-foot tall, fourteen year old, who upon his entry into the story, says, “‘I am the Emperor!’ cried Harrison. ‘Do you hear? I am the Emperor!

Read More
508 Words | 3 Pages

Dystopian texts espouse a variety of didactic messages that depend significantly upon both the context and zeitgeist of the time in which they were created. Differences can be found when comparing the techniques and perspectives the authors have chosen to represent their contextual concerns to audiences. Together both Fritz Lang’s silent black and white film ‘Metropolis’ 1927 and George Orwell’s novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (*referred to as 1984) 1948, confront and provoke audiences to consider the impact that (abusive power + unquestionable control= insert question statement) can have not only on the characters in these two texts, but also on the cultural and political lives of the reader and viewer. By subjugating & dehumanising the lower classes, dictators are

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

This essay will include the ways in which the movie V for Vendetta and George Orwell’s book 1984 portrays totalitarianism in their use of language, and mistakes made in the past. The first totalitarian government that is going to be spoken about is V for Vendetta. V for Vendetta was a movie

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

Orwell intentionally included the thematic concepts of manipulation and authority in 1984 to show the negative effects of a totalitarian government and how it not only tortures people, but also twists and manipulates their

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

Fabricating Opposition: Dystopia Reveals How Totalitarianism Uses Enemies to Control Throughout human history, generating fear has been one of the most successful methods of controlling a group of people. By fabricating an enemy, a tyrannical government can shape the population to its benefit. 1984 shows a totalitarian society where the government has total control over both the physical aspects of everyday life as well as the psychological side of it. Through methods such as extreme surveillance and the Thought Police, the party, Ingsoc, can control the people they believe have the capability to be a threat.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Government Manipulation in 1984 People generally rely on the government as a source of protection and stability. However, the government does not always have the citizens’ best interests in mind, as shown in 1984. The government has the power to distort realities and the ability to detect the truth. They can manipulate, or influence people’s minds without them even knowing. George Orwell’s 1984 uses a futuristic dystopia to show how the government is able to manipulate human values through the use of fear.

Read More
1052 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine being followed everywhere by a government agent. They’re watching your every move, and they’ll report you if you even make a wrong facial movement. This is essentially the case in George Orwell’s novel, 1984. Run by an English socialist government called the Party, the people’s every move is watched through telescreens. Citizens are not individual, but rather an extension of the Party.

Read More
973 Words | 4 Pages

Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.

Read More

More about Differences And Similarities Between 1984 And Harrison Bergeron

Related Topics

Open Document