Differences And Similarities Between 1984 And 2081

In dystopian literature, the societies people are living in are often corrupt, and the worlds of 1984 and “2081” are no exception. In 1984, the main character Winston lives in a world where the citizens must love their leader Big Brother or be subjected to severe penalties. Similarly, the society of “2081” is completely equal, with no one stronger, more beautiful, or more intelligent than another thanks to the handicaps the citizens are forced to wear. In the novel 1984 and the short story “2081”, inhumanity in their societies is shown through the memories that are taken from their people and from the cruel ways they are punished.
The two civilizations both brainwash their citizens by changing their memories. For instance, in “2081”,

the smart people were all given devices to disrupt their thought process and take away their memories. They do this in order to make them dumber so they are only as smart as the average person; consequently, these handicaps make the general public easier to manipulate. The government is afraid of a person’s independent thought since they believe it could lead to rebellion and chaos, so instead of letting this be a hazard, they get rid of all intelligent thinking. By not letting their citizens demonstrate their intelligence, they are being stripped of their humanity since being smart and being able to think for theirself is a basic human right. Additionally, in 1984, when talking about his job, Winston says, “All history was...scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary,” (Orwell 40). By changing the past in records and releasing these to the public, the public then has a distorted notion as to what really happened, and chose to believe what is in writing instead of their memory. Due to the destruction of the past, the Party is able to make it seem as though they know everything and are all mighty and powerful, which helps to brainwash people into loving Big Brother more. Freedom of thought and speech is a basic human right, and by influencing people this way, the government is being inhumane to its citizens. By taking away or changing their memories, the societies are oppressing their people.
The societies both have ruthless punishments that revealed their inhumanity to the reader.

For example, in “2081” when talking about the punishment for taking weights out of the handicap, George says , “‘Two years in prison and two thousand dollars for every ball I took out,’” (Vonnegut 1). In their world, citizens can become criminals for trying to remove any of the handicaps that are meant to weaken them and make them more like the average. This fear of jail time and fees causes all of the citizens to always wear their handicaps out in public regardless of whether they want to or not. If one citizen steps out of line, others could follow, so in order to prevent this, the government make their punishments harsh for even the smallest of crimes. Keeping their citizens in line with the use of intimidation is brutal, and by not letting them be themselves, their government is stifling their humanity. Also, in 1984 when Winston is in the Ministry of Love, he observed another prisoner was, “dying of starvation,” (Orwell 35). Besides starvation, the Ministry of Love would beat up and torture prisoners using electric shock and the prisoners’ greatest fears to get what they wanted. Subjecting someone to these barbaric conditions and causing someone to have physical and psychological pain is a form of inhumane torture. By using scare tactics in both worlds, their governments are able to keep better control over their citizens since they live in fear of their rulers’

punishments.
Using methods of brainwashing and torture, the two nations are able to keep their residents in line, but they therefore live in a world with seemingly no humanity. People without compassion from their leaders are more likely to have a lower quality of life, just like how they are treated in the novel and the short story. These examples help to showlearn to treat each other with kindness and respect, and listen to what others have to say instead of shutting them and their ideas down. Additionally, these stories help to prove why a fair judicial system is important since in today’s society, there are laws against cruel and unusual punishments. In these corrupt societies, the citizens are expected to keep their opinions to themselves if they have any at all considering that most of the public has been propagandized, or they could be exposed to horrific disciplinary actions.