Similarities Between A & P And Harrison Bergeron

556 Words2 Pages

The two Authors I chose for this essay are both from the postmodernism period. First is Kurt Vonnegut with his story “Harrison Bergeron”, the theme of his story being that equality in terms of strength, beauty, and intelligence is not what the world needs as it ruins individuality and creativity. Second is John Updike with his story “A&P”, the main theme of Updike’s story is developing and having your own individuality. Although both stories have entirely different approaches, their themes have a common stand point of individuality.
Kurt Vonnegut was a World War ii veteran who earned a purple heart for his military service. His life in the war contributed to his absurdist writing style and his dark humor. In “Harrison Bergeron” people are given handicaps to make them less intelligent, uglier, and weaker, so no one would be any better than anyone else. Harrison is apprehended for being too smart, strong, and good looking, despite the handicaps on him, he still escapes confinement and defies the government for a short while on TV before being killed. The story brings out how despite no one being better than anyone else, the world is still far from perfect, for peoples freedom, individuality, and natural talents have been suppressed. …show more content…

Using his own background, he bases most of his stories settings in small towns, which is no different in his story “A&P”. In “A&P” you observe Sammy, the stores cashier, discerning all of the different thought and personalities of the people who walk in. Sammy mainly focuses on three girls who walk into the store wearing swimsuits, everyone is amazed, until the store manager rebukes them. Sammy ends up quitting his job to defend them from embarrassment, however they don’t even notice. The three girls went against the expected standard of clothing for walking around, showcasing their individuality from the people around

Open Document