Individuality In Ray Bradbury's Harrison Bergeron

Society hates individuality, but individuality needs society. History holds an important account of the debate between the value of the individual and the value of society (thefreedomthinker). In “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut talks about how everyone is equal, and “they were not only equal before God and the law, but they were equal every which way” (627). Harrison Bergeron is the individual trying overthrow society. In “The Murder,” Ray Bradbury, talks about how society is so caught up in technology that there is no way to escape it once the individual has entered that world. Society is cruel to the individual being that society is a killer to the individual. The individual has certain standards that society might not accept; likewise

In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut proposes that total equality it not worth striving for, for the individual. “The government in this story likes to challenge its citizens to achieve physical and mental quality for the Americans. The beautiful must wear masks or disfigure themselves, the intelligent must listen earsplitting noises that impede their ability to think, and the graceful and the strong must wear weights around their necks at all hours of the day” (sparknotes). The citizens in “Harrison Bergeron”, begin to dumb themselves, down or hide their special attributes, because they fear that the government will penalize them gravely if they display any extraordinary qualities. The outcome of this pursuit for equality is disastrous. Government officials are more or less trying to dispatch the extremely talented for no fear or reprisal. Equality is more or less accomplished, but at the cost of freedom and individual

individuality, there is always noise everywhere you go. In the story of “The Murder,” Bradbury talks about how society is so caught up in technology, that once the individual has entered that world, there is no way to escape. The individual, Albert Brock, hates technology so much that he goes as far as to 'murder' them. In this story, Bradbury, gives us insight into the future and what it may be like with technology. Bradbury, uses the wrist radio, which is what we call a phone now. Bradbury's character, Brock, makes it clear that it is not technology that he is against per se, but its misuse. Although there are various examples of humor throughout the story, the message and theme is serious (annanacademyenglishdepartment). Bradbury suggest that we are in danger of assigning too much importance to devices originally to improve our quality of life not to diminish it. In this story, the wrist radio is a direct parallel to the mobile phone- the must have accessory. The mobile phone is undeniably a useful gadget, it allows us to contact others, like our parents. It is this dependence that the story, for all its humor, is warning us about.