What would actually happen if everyone was forced to be equal? Kurt Vonnegut envisioned the fatal outcome in his masterpiece, “Harrison Bergeron.” The story illustrates “what would happen if a government or some other power takes this notion serious” (Mowery). The protagonist, Harrison, who is arrest for “exuberant individuality,” escapes from prison and goes on national television station to declare himself emperor, only later to be killed by the handicap general Diane Moon. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut satirizes the movement toward egalitarianism and the effect of television on people. Egalitarianism can be absurd and detrimental to American society. In the story, heavy weights are put on strong people, and grotesque masks are put on attractive women. Also, many other people who have an above average intelligence often listen to loud noises which render them from completing a thought (5-7). Harrison’s father, George, compares the noises to, “somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer.” Darryl Hattenhauer of Arizona State proposes that “The story satirizes the American definition of freedom as the greatest good to the smallest number.” Unfortunately, the sacrifice of the individual to the good of society doesn’t improve conditions for the above average, average, or below (Alvarez). Joseph Alvarez suggests that, “the result [of the] power vacuum [is] a ruthless central government created by legislative controls people’s lives, which have become as meaningless as if they were machines.” In addition, the American dream that is described as moving up social and economic class through hard work and education; turn into a nightmare (Hattenhauer). For example, Kurt Vonnegut infers that the ballerina who reads ann... ... middle of paper ... ...rison Bergeron.” Discovering Collection on Student Resource Center. Gale Group. Heritage HS, Conyers, GA. 20 Feb. 2011 Mowery, Carl. “Overview of Harrison Bergeron.” Discovering Collection on Student Resource Center. Gale Group. Heritage HS, Conyers, GA. 13 Feb. 2011 Schatt, Stanley. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Boston: Twayne Publishes 1976. “Themes and Construction: Harrison Bergeron.” Discovering Collection on Student Resource Center. Gale Group. Heritage HS, Conyers, GA. 30 Jan. 2011 Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Bergeron. Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 1961 5-10 Wood, Karen and Charles Wood. “The Vonnegut Effect: Science Fiction and Beyond.” Discovering Collection on Student Resource Center. Gale Group. Heritage HS. Conyers, GA. 30 Jan. 2011.< http://www.galenet.com.>
“Harrison Bergeron” starts with explaining the society within the story. It begins, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way,” (Vonnegut 158). With this startlingly different introduction, Vonnegut explains that everyone is equal but does not include how during this time. As the story progresses, the reader begins to see exactly how the citizens are “equal.”
An impartial society: Utopia or Hell? What would happen to the world if the people were literally equal in every aspect of their lives? In the futuristic short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the world is finally living up to America’s first amendment of everyone being created equal. In this society, the gifted, strong, and beautiful are required to wear handicaps of earphones, heavy weights, and hideous masks, respectively. Thus, these constraints leave the world equal from brains to brawn to beauty. With the world constantly pushing for equality among people, Vonnegut reveals a world that society is diligently working toward. Through this foreshadowing of the future, Vonnegut attempts to
Vonnegut’s story is set in a dystopian future where, after the passage of “the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution” “everybody [is] finally equal” (7). Equality is realized by suppressing natural gifts, such as athletic prowess or great intelligence. The eponymous character is singularly gifted and, as a result, is burdened with the most
A future where everyone is completely equal in every aspect may sound like an amazing idea to implement into society, but an interpretation about how this may work out reveals a frightening future. The short story Harrison Bergeron and the film 2081 both depict a futuristic society obsessed with equality and consequently extracting individuality from almost every citizen. One significant difference was how Harrison’s speech to the audience was constructed after he broke into the show within the film- as a result making Harrison appear stronger and giving the film a more serious tone.
In Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, the reader is given a rather brumal glimpse into the future where “everyone [is] finally equal”. In this world, people are forced to live mediocre lives so they may be “equal”. At the climax of the story the title character escapes prison and executed because he represents everything that society should be. Although Vonnegut’s gallant protagonist isn’t successful in his attempt to “overthrow” the government, he is successful resurrecting things that have been eradicated from society; such as communication, beauty, dance, free will and love.
In the story of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, we are introduced to a society where “…everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way” (Vonnegut 1). In this futuristic society, a utopia has been created through the process of handicapping. At first glance, it appears that the citizens of this society approve of this control over the population. For example, George, one of the main characters of the story, reacts to his wife’s suggestion of taking off his handicap by saying, “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 1). This quote
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.
Harrison Bergeron is a futuristic story based on the idea that equality is not as ideal as it seems. Harrison Bergeron centers around a time in America where everyone is made “handicapped” or equal. So the strong are made weakened using weight bags, the beautiful have to wear masks or are disfigured and the smart have to wear transmitters to disrupt their thinking process. Throughout the story the government shows their extreme power achieved through the total equality.
“Everybody was finally equal.” This is what all people want, but true equality should never be reached. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the year is 2081 and government has finally made all its people equal. The government puts handicaps on those who are stronger and smarter than the average person. The character Harrison Bergeron strongly disagrees with this. With Harrison’s rebellious and forceful ways, he tries to overthrow the government because he feels this is unjust.
We often use terms like “level the playing field” and “redress the balance” in order to argue for social and/or economic equality. But what would it look like if we were to achieve the total-sum of equality? And if we had it, would we really want it? In Kurt Vonnegut’s 1961 short story, “Harrison Bergeron,” the author argues that implementation of true equality would not only bring an end to individuality, but also the end of exceptionalism as a whole. Through the use of biting satire and borderline slapstick comedy, Vonnegut theorizes that the lack of equality, rather than the inverse, drives humanity towards greatness. However, I chose to examine this story as a cautionary tale of all forms of extremism, rather than merely a story about equality. Through this lens, I believe “Harrison Bergeron” becomes a more vital and compelling piece of fiction.
Do you really know what means total equality? Will you stand to live in a society that is totally equal? Can you imagine that the government could take away what makes you different? “Harrison Bergeron” is a story where equality is the number one priority. This story shows that is not right or even good to be exactly the same as everybody. When you do not have anything that differences you from others, do you have any reason to live or to fight for? “The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal” (Vonnegut 1). In 2081 total equality was good for average people but bad for above average people. For average people total equality was good because other people cannot shine more
Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told starting as children that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. Complete equality has too many issues for it to be viable. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law. However, complete equality should not be pursued because taking away the differences between people is a clear mistake.
In "Harrison Bergeron", Kurt Vonnegut investigates the topic of constrained balance in American culture not long from now. Vonnegut makes a world in which all living individuals are equivalent in all ways. He concentrates on making uniformity by changing excellence, quality, and knowledge rather than managing race, religion, and sex, the genuine issues of correspondence in the public eye. He composes this story to instruct the lesson that all individuals are not equivalent, but instead, they all have qualities and shortcomings making each exceptionally person.
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.
Every time he or another intelligent person thinks in a way that surpasses the thinking ability of an “average” person, they receive a loud, disturbing noise in their ear. This is put into place to prevent the academically gifted from taking advantage of the average people, but really it prevents any forward thinking. With this handicap, no new ideas, philosophies, or inventions can be created. This atrocious attempt at equality does not better the community, it hurts it, not allowing it to grow and flourish. Finally, this theme is developed through the main focal point of the story, Harrison Bergeron. Harrison is what Diana Moon Glampers considers highly dangerous, because he is genetically gifted in all aspects of life. While most societies would enjoy having a man such as he, this dystopian society sees him as a threat. Instead of using him to further improve their civilization, they tried to put him in line with the rest of them. If he had not been shot, he would have done brilliant things, but involuntary equality held him back. In conclusion, the ballerinas, George, and Harrison Bergeron all help develop the theme of “Equality is meant for human rights and not physical or mental attributes” because they all show how they are not able to rise above due to the handicaps forced upon them