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Harrison Bergeron compares and contrasts to today's society
Harrison bergeron social statement
How does harrison bergeron relate to our society
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Hazel Bergeron in “Harrison Bergeron” is perhaps not the most obviously important character, when compared to the intellectual abilities of George Bergeron, she does not stand out. When comparing her to the great force that is Harrison, or the great beauty of the ballerina, again, she does not stand out. However, Hazel stands for much more than any of the other preceding characters, even Harrison himself. In the story of “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut establishes Hazel Bergeron as the light, sympathy, and, in some ways, foundation of the story; illustrating the kindness of humanity in the worst of times. It is easy to forget about Hazel Bergeron, though her character is one of the more prominent ones she is, upon first glance, a rather …show more content…
As Hazel is the only sympathy portrayed in the story –other than what could possibly be construed as sympathy from the ballerina towards Harrison; or otherwise is a deep desire for freedom– she also seems to be the only one who is truly human among them. George, too, may be sympathetic if he were allowed to, but Hazel is the one who truly stands up for what she believes to be right, even if she does not know it. An example of this is when Hazel says the following to George after she sees him in pain from his mental …show more content…
Her character shows a relatively normal being who has been so indoctrinated by the thoughts of total equality –the thoughts of the times– that she can do nothing but agree with them. This is shown when Hazel says she thinks society would fall if people were to start cheating at the rules, and that it would be like the “dark ages” again (Vonnegut, 1961). Really, Hazel is the “good” in the rather broad theme of good versus evil of the story. Though Harrison is the main protagonist, Hazel plays an important role in the story. She gives the reader an unfiltered look on the world she lives in, and the thoughts and feelings of the time, and for these reasons she becomes a crucial part–a
Their different personalities and mindsets created a nice balance between them. Their differences explained why, “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she could think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter.” (Vonnegut 226). This proves how cruel this government is. They do not want the smartest individuals to defeat the government so they make it mentally and physically impractical for them to do so. For normal people, like Hazel, it does not matter what they think or say because it is not like they will follow up on their thoughts. That is how the government is keeping everyone in check without any backlash. The fact that George is wearing forty seven pounds of balls in a bag is worrying Hazel. She says, “’If you could just take a few out when you come home from work, said Hazel… ‘If I tried to get away with it, said George, ‘‘then other people’d get away with it-and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”’ (Vonnegut 228). This whole conversation is the reason why the government knew that this new futuristic society would benefit them. Hazel knew that what
Kurt Vonnegut’s science fiction, short story, “Harrison Bergeron” satirizes the defective side of an ideal, utopian American society in 2081, where “everyone was finally equal” (Vonnegut 1). When you first begin to read “Harrison Bergeron”, through an objective, nonchalant voice of the narrator, nothing really overly suggests negativity, yet the conclusion and the narrator's subtle description of the events show how comically tragic it really is. Vonnegut’s use of morbid satire elicits a strong response from the readers as it makes you quickly realize that this scenario does not resemble a utopian society at all, but an oppressive, government and technology-controlled society. “A dystopian society is a
From the first day that Hazel and Augustus encountered, the two are practically inseparable. The basis of their relationship ended up being Hazel's beloved book, An Imperial Affliction. She required Augustus to read it and in return, he required her to read the book that was the basis of his favorite game. Hazel related to the character in the book, Anna, because she had a rare blood cancer malignancy. Augustus and Hazel bonded within the book because both of them had a burning desire to determine how the story ended, because the author stopped the book before providing the conclusion on what happened to every one of the characters.
The story “Daisy Miller” is a romance of a love that can never be. The character Annie P. Miller (known as Daisy Miller) is portrayed as a young naive wild yet, innocent girl who want to do nothing more but have fun with the company she please. The story “Daisy Miller” is a lot like The Age of Innocence. In both the movie and the book the leading lady was shunned from society because of their behavior. Both Daisy and the Countess Olenska were misunderstood and out-casted because they were saw as different. These women did not want to conform to what the society thought was proper and good, they had their own opinion and was bold in their time to state it.
At the end of the book when Augustus dies, Hazel has to realize that life must go on. She feels like she was robbed of her one true love. Even though what she feels is incredibly painful, she is there to support Augustus’s family. She realizes that she is not the only one hurting, even though she lost the love of her life.
Hazel is a fiery little girl. She is strong-willed and openly opinionated, and believes that “when you got something on your mind, speak up and let the chips fall where they may” (Bambara 297). Although she is still very young, she has principles of what she believes to be wrong and right. She believes that her Hunca Bubba is not who he used to be since he has fallen in love and become engaged. Hazel feels betrayed by Hunca Bubba because when she was a little girl, he promised he would marry her. He is no longer Hazel’s Hunca Bubba; now, he is Jefferson Winston Vale. Hazel is befuddled with the entire situation. She is heartbroken that he seems to undermine the importance of his promise, by saying, “I was just teasin’” (298). He seems to be completely unaware that by breaking this promise, he has distorted Hazel’s entire outlook on trustworthiness. Hazel expresses her concrete belief that people should follow through with what they say, when she is commenting on the incident at the movie theater, “ I mean even gangsters in the movies say My word is my bond. So don’t nobody get away with nothing far as...
The people who were directly affected were George and Hazel based on their relationship with their son Harrison. Another direct effect was the moment of Harrison and the ballerina dancing freely on stage. This moment directed attention to them because they were dancing to send a message and to direct attention to the public about the idea of equality in a dystopian society. Harrison had an intention while doing all this which was to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. The outcome of this dilemma was the death of Harrison himself and the people who were affected by this tragedy including George , Hazel , Harrison and the public who was watching. According to the theory of moral rules and duties, Harrison was trying to do what in his mindset thought was right to change the way of everyday living. This action was morally justified because he felt like it was his duty to do this action because of how the government was treating him and his kind of people that were known as intelligent. His intentions of this action were to produce the greatest amount of good by having a voice for the public. The ballerina represents the role of thinking of kind of person she should be when Harrison asks for volunteers that dare to dance with him . She makes the ethical decision of whether or not to go up there a be
Cancer limits her chances at being a normal teenage girl with a normal life. As reluctant as she was to go to support group, she meets other teenagers going through the same stuff. Hazel gets to experience the flirting, adventure, and excitement of teenage life. She allows herself to be immature and careless. Gus’s death reminds her how unfair the world is but she doesn't regret her choices. In her eulogy at the funeral, Hazel says “I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.” (Green 260). This quote shows she doesn't regret becoming close to him; even with the unfortunate fallout she’s thankful for the time and experiences. Hazel matures because of her relationship. She got the chance at “normal” and love. Caring for someone with cancer helped her mature.
Imagine it is the year 2081, where society is thriving in an undesirable society that is being controlled by a government deeming everyone equal by handicapping unique abilities.(Vonnegut) How would a person feel under these conditions? At one time or another, individuals may have felt trapped in not being able to fully express their uniqueness without the fear of humiliation. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, highlights the causes and effects of this disturbing dystopia that regards to future happenings. Nevertheless, The short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, highlights three prominent themes that greatly influences the story such as the resulting damage of equality on the people imposed conformity
The reader sees how detached Hazel appears to be from other women in this story. She can’t understand why they are allowed to be sad but when she appears sad she’s told to smile and how nobody wants to hear about other’s troubles. In fact there are only three women who Hazel holds conversations with at all in the story. The first is her neighbor who lives across the hall while she is married to Herbie. In Mrs. Martin she finds herself an escape from her trapped and unfulfilling life. They drink and play cards with a group of men referred to as “the boys.” This appears to be the only real friend she has through the entire story although they have a falling out based on the men in their life. The next woman is Mrs. Miller whom upon an exchange in the bathroom leads Hazel to the pills she will use in her suicide attempt. The final character is Nettie the colored maid who nurses Hazel back to life after she tries to take her own life. This appears to be a way for the author to explain the tension among women at this time. All the women in Parker’s story are trying to maintain the appearance that society has allotted them. Were some might think this would draw women together in fact made them further separated because they were all afraid of showing the crack in their own “good sport” personalities.
Costume design is the overall image of the character regarding style. In act one Hazel does not put any effort into her appearance. Costume Designer Mary Claire Hannan dressed Hazel’s over sided plain outfits formulate the theme isolation through the colors and her style. In addition, the isolation is caused by her cancer, she does not enjoy the little things in life anymore. Hazel, cannot see the positive side of life and it is displayed through her clothing and attitude about cancer. The outfit Hazel wore to the second time she went to the support group meeting was a white long sleeve with a jean jacket and grey sweats. The outfit implies her dull life, the same routine of waking up, drinking medication, doctor appointments, watching TV and
The first principle character in this play is Blanche DuBois. She is a neurotic nymphomaniac that is on her way to meet her younger sister Stella in the Elysian Fields. Blanche takes two 2 streetcars, one named Desire, the other Cemeteries to get to her little sisters dwelling. Blanche, Stella and Stanley all desire something in this drama. Blanche desired a world without pain, without suffering, in order to stop the mental distress that she had already obtained. She desires a fairy tale story about a rich man coming and sweeping her off her feet and they ride away on a beautiful oceanic voyage. The most interesting part of Blanche is that through her unstable thinking she has come to believe the things she imagines. Her flashy sense of style and imagination hide the truly tragic story about her past. Blanche lost Belle Reve but, moreover, she lost the ones she loved in the battle. The horror lied not only in the many funerals but also in the silence and the constant mourning after. One cant imagine how it must feel to lose the ones they love and hold dear but to stay afterwards and mourn the loss of the many is unbearable. Blanche has had a streak of horrible luck. Her husband killing himself after she exposed her knowledge about his homosexuality, her advances on young men that led to her exile and finally her alcoholism that drew her life to pieces contemplated this sorrow that we could not help but feel for Blanche throughout the drama. Blanche’s desire to escape from this situation is fulfilled when she is taken away to the insane asylum. There she will have peace when in the real world she only faced pain.
During the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan about Daisy, she is talked about like she is a possession to be won over. During the argument Nick “glances at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband” (Fitzgerald, page 143). Gatsby and Buchanan tell Daisy what to say instead of allowing her to tell her own truths, and if she does start to speak up for herself she is quickly quieted down. Daisy states at the beginning of the novel while talking about finding out the sex of her child that, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, page 16). Daisy is the only female character in the novel who understands that no matter what a woman accomplishes, she will always be downcasted based on her gender. This outlook is what allows her to be controlled by Gatsby and Buchanan, because she doesn’t believe that anything she can do will make her more of a human to them. Myrtle on the other hand, while still a married woman, isn’t able to see her powerlessness. She feels powerful enough to stand up to Tom and chant Daisy’s name over and over again until he breaks her nose (Fitzgerald, page 37). This scene demonstrates the way that men handled women if they ever did feel confident enough to speak for themselves. One final scene from the novel that really
One common point which is similar in both movie and the drama text is that it in a way sympathizes with females who are powerless by highlighting how they are dependent on men. Blanche who is shown more as an insecure female in her 30’s hides her frustration, and anger by masking herself as a women belonging to rich-upper class section of society. Similarly in Stella despite of being abused by her husband she continues to rely on him because of no other support in her life.
Michael Lancaster, Hazel's father: Michael Lancaster is incredibly emotionally invested in Hazel's survival, though he must continue working to support the family and so appears less in the novel and knows less about Hazel's illness and treatment. Hazel's father cries often, leading to more guilt on Hazel's part that she is going to leave her family devastated when she dies.