Short Story 'Ten With A Flag' By Joseph Paul Haines

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In the short story, “Ten with a flag”, by Joseph Paul Haines, it maintains, “Your child is a ten sir. Tens can’t be a burden on the state by definition. They are the ones that make the state better,” (Haines, 26). This is a perfect example of what a child that is a ten is meant for. The novel is about a society that has a system, which can determine what your future will be like before you are born. The main characters are a couple whose baby is a ten, but also has a flag. This dystopian society is built around a system where the government is available to know far to much information about the society, due to the fact, their technology is much greater than anything we have today. People need their freedom and rights. With having the …show more content…

As people come to the topic of citizen’s rights, the majority of us will readily agree that rights are very much needed in a society. It has become common in today’s society for the government to try and take away its citizens rights. “The flag is just an indication that the parents will have to make a sacrifice. Sometimes it means the child will be handicapped, and the parents will have to work additionally hours to make up for the burden on the state,” (Haines, 26). The flag is symbolizing family’s ability to take the best path in making their future better. Whether it is having the baby and knowing they will to make a sacrifice, or if it is not having the baby to help society as well as the families case. Therefore the people believe they have rights, even though the government already knows the future because of technology. In this dystopia’s society, a ten with a flag baby is very rare. “Your child is a ten sir, that should be enough to make you forget about the flag,” (Haines, 26). The ten with a flag baby is so significant and rare due to the fact that it is very hard to understand how a baby that is perfect could have a problem like a flag. Also, just having a baby that is rated a ten is ridiculously rare. Having rights in a society is what allows the citizens to have

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