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Utopian societies in literature
Examples of dystopian texts
Literature reflecting changes in society dystopia
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Throughout human history, many have believed the key to a utopian society is egalitarianism. In Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut comments upon the ridiculous and inconceivable aspects of total equality through highly controlled diction and development. Written in 1961, a meager three years after the Second Red Scare, Harrison Bergeron was Vonnegut’s way of denouncing communism’s ideals and totalitarian regimes (History Staff, 2010). Though the story first appears to be a comical allegory featuring a dystopian society, further inspection uncovers Vonnegut’s message as revealed through language. In the beginning of the story, Vonnegut’s words lack development and figurative language, yet he manages to fully establish a theme for readers. Vonnegut …show more content…
For example, Vonnegut attempts to provide context to George’s and Hazel’s domain in the opening paragraph when explaining that “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution...” When Vonnegut penned Harrison Bergeron, only 22 Amendments to the US Constitution existed (“Constitution,” 1998). In a short 120 fictional years, Vonnegut imposes at least another 190 Amendments on his characters. The sheer quantity of Amendments, 190, is completely ridiculous, something Vonnegut fully intends. This hyperbole establishes the story’s satirical tone which is meant to reflect the preposterousness of total equality. A reader knows Vonnegut does not believe in universal equality because he says “Nobody was smarter than anyone else… Nobody was better looking than anybody else... Nobody was stronger or quicker than anyone else,” ‘Some things about living still weren’t quite right.” Basically, some things can never be changed, with or without equality. Vonnegut specifically mentions how April always fall short of Spring, an allusion to opposing facets of
The theme of the text “Harrison Bergeron” is equality has its pro’s and con’s,the author's use of similes and metaphors helps develop the theme.First off,one element that help support this theme is honor. Humor helps support the theme because in the text,”Harrison Bergeron” it shows how employees can’t even do their jobs because they have their handicaps on,but Know one earns a better profit because they're the same.Another type of element the author uses is similes .In the text it says,”but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard”.That helps support the theme because if the leader or government puts handicaps com people they will get mad and try to escape their state or country.The theme in the article is equality has its pro’s and con’s this
Critics often suggest that Kurt Vonnegut’s novels represent a man’s desperate, yet, futile search for meaning in a senseless existence. Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, displays this theme. Kurt Vonnegut uses a narrator, which is different from the main character. He uses this technique for several reasons.
middle of paper ... ... It is clear that although Vonnegut's picture of the modern man is often bleak, he never totally abandons the glimmer of hope that accompanies the fact that life has its moments of grandeur. He encourages the modern reader to escape the question "why me" and urges us to embrace a philosophy that consistently reminds us that even in the midst of the most cruel (and the most celebrated) events, humanity retains all of its virtue and vice.
In a reality where the government strives to establish total equality, there are bound to be an immense amount of rebels and protesters who questions the newly established system. It is expected for the mass majority of individuals to be demeaning the so-called “equality” and demanding for change. However, this interpretation is far from the case in the fictional text “Harrison Bergeron”, where there appears to be daily brainwashing of the population, as well as law enforcement through putting bullets through people’s heads. The allegory attempts to depict a world where the government’s primary focus is to ensure that each and every individual is absolutely equivalent to one another. Taking place in 2081 America, there are several
Harrison Bergeron is a short story that creates many images and feelings while using symbols and themes to critique aspects of our lives. In the story, the future US government implements a mandatory handicap for any citizens who is over their standards of normal. The goal of the program is to make everyone equal in physical capabilities, mental aptitude and even outward appearance. The story is focused around a husband and wife whose son, Harrison, was taken by the government because he is very strong and smart, and therefore too above normal not to be locked up. But, Harrison’s will is too great. He ends up breaking out of prison, and into a TV studio where he appears on TV. There, he removes the government’s equipment off of himself, and a dancer, before beginning to dance beautifully until they are both killed by the authorities. The author uses this story to satire
Hattenhauer, Darryl. “The Politics of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Harrison Bergeron’.” Studies in Short Fiction. 35-4. (1998): 387. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Vonnegut and Jackson, through the use of well written short stories, have managed to address concerning issues in today’s societies. Through the use of Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut was able to address the growing issue of equality, this is a very important issue as many people in modern societies view the idea of equality to be incredible. Shirley Jackson through The Lottery addressed the concerning issue of societies blindly following religions and traditions due to superstitions and the unwillingness to change. These dystopian texts demonstrate the inevitable outcome these problems will eventually cause.
Greeley, Barbara. "New Insights into Vonnegut's Thinking: Slaughterhouse-Five and The Sirens of Titan." Psychology Today June 1990: 1+.
Vonnegut's writing style throughout the novel is very flip, light, and sarcastic. The narrator's observations and the events occurring during the novel reflect a dark view of humanity which can only be mocked by humor. At the beginning of the novel the narrator is researching for a book he is writing. The book was to be about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the lives of the people who created the bomb. The narrator travels through the plot of the story, with characters flying in and out, in almost a daze. He is involved in events which are helplessly beyond his control, but which are inevitably leading to a destination at the end.
The danger and the risk that comes with enforcing something, like total equality, is an idea Vonnegut presents as a picture-perfect proposition not worth striving for. Peter Reed, author of The Short Fiction of Kurt Vonnegut claims the time era in which Vonnegut wrote Harrison Bergeron was the time of the cold war,
……………Most of the numerous and very disparate urban utopias imagined since antiquity, claim more or less a social justice combining equality, fairness, and freedom. However the methods invented to reach this social justice often lead to more binding law, sometimes up to the absurd, that limited the abilities and capacities of the citizens. Thus, behind the mask of an ideal equality, is concealed in fact, a tremendous social injustice. In “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut’s shows us the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality by using the story of an excessive utopia to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists, is not only oppressive, but also static and inefficient. Vonnegut exemplifies the image of fairness
Kurt Vonnegut Served as a sensitive cell in the organism of American Society during the 1960's. His work alerted the public about the absurdity of modern warfare and an increasingly mechanized and impersonal society in which humans were essentially worthless and degenerated. The satirical tone and sardonic humor allowed people to read his works and laugh at their own misfortune.
In conclusion, the complete freedom and absolute equality have been a goal of innumerable societies throughout human history. However, these two ideal cannot exist together in their most perfect forms because the perfect forms of either freedom or equality represent total chaos or total oppression, as we can see in “Harrison Bergeron,” the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality. The author uses the story of this imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists is not only oppressive, but also inert and unproductive. Using his futuristic scenario, the simplicity of the society, and the actions of his characters, Vonnegut makes his point of view of a repressive society. In addition, societies that try to create total equality have almost always proven to be oppressive, such as China.
In his novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut dips his words in satire and sprinkles them with hidden themes that can only be understood if one takes the necessary steps to seek them out. Upon dissecting these themes, I have come to find Vonnegut’s novel as one that unveils the mediocre reality of how society acts and thinks and offers suggestions on how the it should actually be. Such themes are also found in other pieces of literature, that when compared, evoke a better understanding of Slaughterhouse-Five. Such works of literature are Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical address to a graduating class at Bennington College in 1970, Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If,” and Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s “The World Is a Beautiful Place.” These writer’s ideas lie
Merrill, Robert and Peter A. Scholl. “Vonnegut’s Denunciation of Tralfamadore.” Social Issues in Literature: War in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, edited by Claudia Durst Johnson, Gale Cengage Learning, 2011, pp.89-98.