Equality is a tricky thing. It seems nice, but have you ever considered a life in total equality? Everyone is exactly the same, all liking the same things, wearing the same things, doing the same things… it could be a total nightmare. As Samuel Johnson once said, “It is better that some should be unhappy rather than that none should be happy, which would be the case in a general state of equality.” Without new ideas, life would quickly get boring, and dull. If everyone were equal, people wouldn’t be any better than sheep. When one sheep does something, all the others follow. If one sheep jumps off a bridge, all the others will do the same. That is what the world will turn into if everyone is equal. No one with the power to think on their own. …show more content…
In The Giver, a boy lives in a community that is completely equal (except for genders). He is accepted into a very powerful job and learns things that help him realize that equality might not be the best thing for everyone. Another book where this is the case is a book called “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut. Here, people are forced to wear weights and masks, so that all people are equal. But, someone powerful and strong is able to escape prison after he takes off his weights, and takes them off once more, and says that he is the emperor, not the government. After he says this, the government comes and kills Harrison, returning people to their previous state of depression, and misery. The quote from Samuel Johnson represents The GIver and Harrison Bergeron because, in both books, equality can lead to no one having an exciting, or life worth …show more content…
In the book The GIver, the scene takes place in a world where the whole world is equal. Jonas, a young boy, starts to realize that equality might not actually be a good thing. He realizes this because he got picked for the most important job of them all in his community. The Community (the people who are in charge of Jonas’s community) actually prevents people from having real feelings, which Jonas experiences through his job, from seeing color, from hearing music etc. Jonas realizes that this is not how life is supposed to be and starts to dislike the idea of equality. “Jonas, you and I are the only one who have feelings”, (Lowry 154). This relates to the quote from Samuel Johnson because, in the book, no one is able to feel feelings, since everyone is equal (except for Joans), leading everybody to be in a state of somewhat sad, somewhat happy, and somewhat all of the other feelings there are. But no one is truly happy. This is just as what Samuel Johnson said would happen in a state general equality. Another reason The Giver relates to the quote from Samuel Johnson as, in the book, Jonas, before he gets picked for his job, is a clueless as anyone else, that music, color, and other things in life exist. After he starts to learn that these things exist, it acts like a weight is lifted off his shoulders: he becomes actually happy, sad, and angry, as he finally starts to feel real emotions. He then realizes that
Ensuring equality among the people promotes fairness and reduces conflict and jealousy. By treating everyone equally we maintain our respect and are able to work together better. The rule we create treats everyone the same and does not provide any special treatment to any specific person. As long as everyone does what is required of them they will obtain what is rightfully due to them.
Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” Kurt Vonnegut portrays Aristotle’s philosophy brilliantly in his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” The story depicts the American government in the future mandating physical handicaps in an attempt to make everyone equal. Vonnegut describes a world where no one is allowed to excel in the areas of intelligence, athletics, or beauty. Yet, the inequalities among the people shine even brighter. Vonnegut uses satire to explore the question of whether true equality can ever really exist.
...was perfect equality then your choices would not influence your life, because nothing is better than anything else. Life would become shallow and unfulfilling. Humanity needs someone to love and someone to hate.
What would happen to the world if everyone in our society was equal in every aspect? Would this create utopia or hell? In this short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. America has finally achieved full social equality, and living up to the first amendment fully. In this futuristic society, handicaps force this equality, the strong, the beautiful, the intelligent are forced to wear weights, masks, and headphones. These constraints force equality among the American people from beauty and brains, to strength. Harrison is the symbol of defiance and individuality, and represents the aspects of the American people that still want to try hard, out do their peers, and show off their attributes. The story criticizes the policy of equality
First of all, the story makes it quite clear that complete equality should not be pursued, and that every
The goal of countless societies throughout human history has been to establish both complete freedom and absolute equality. However, this goal is, by its very nature, unachievable. These two ideal states cannot coexist in their most perfect forms. Also, the perfect forms of either freedom or equality represent total chaos or total oppression, respectively. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” we see the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality. Vonnegut uses the story of this utopia gone wrong to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists is not only oppressive, but also static and inefficient. He makes this point using his futuristic setting, the simplicity of the society, and the actions of his characters.
The short story Harrison BERGERON is written by Kurt Vonnegut. This work of science fiction is a satire about an egalitarian society in the future where the government has made amendments to the United States constitution, so that everyone is equal. The force equality is enforced by United States Handicapper General by a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. People who are beautiful are forced to wear ugly masks to hide their beauty. Those who are strong and athletic are forced to wear heavy bags that are filled with lead balls to make them weaker. People with above average intelligence are forced to wear transponders which send signals with sharp noises to distract them and keep them in line with the rest of the people. George Bergeron is one of those individuals who wears such transponders and also carries a heavy bag around his neck because he is more intelligent and stronger than his wife Hazel Bergeron. Hazel is person of below average intelligence, but a very kind and loving wife. The couple has a fourteen year old son, Harrison Bergeron, who is in jail. He tried to overthrow the government because he disagrees with egalitarianism policies. Harrison is above average in every aspect, he is a very intelligent, seven feet tall, extremely good looking and very athletic. George doesn’t remember too much of him because his memory has been destroyed by the continual barrage of noises from the transponder. The couple was watching ballerinas dancing on television when the show was interrupted with an announcement. Harrison has escaped from the prison and the government pronounced
Equality is about an individual’s rights, giving people choices and respect. It is about ‘creating a fairer society, where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential’ (DoH, 2004).
Actions of equalization only makes life worse and more miserable for the people of the victimized society. Uniqueness and individuality is a right
If we had equality we would have no competition. There would be no reason to play sports. You could never win anything; every game would be a
Set one hundred and twenty years in the future, Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian world short story “Harrison Bergeron” is about the outcome of what happens when the government takes over due to people in society pleading for equality. Ranging from physical looks to one’s intelligence, it seems that people are continually unsatisfied with themselves when compared to others. However, there is one boy who refuses to conform to the laws set in place by the Handicapper General. Harrison Bergeron is that boy. The story tells of his capture, rebellion, and his demise due to breaking free from the laws of equality. In whole, Kurt Vonnegut wants his readers to assess the issue of equality in society before the made up world of his story turns into reality.
Its male dominating world, and equality can only be achieved if both the gender work together towards it. For examples, even if men’s want to be stay-at-home dads, they don’t get supporting network. They don’t know how to raise a child even if they desire due to society pressure. In sum, women and men has to work together and bring the equality 50/50 in every role and responsibility. There’s a very famous African proverb, if you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation). In other words, creating equal opportunities would help to reduce poverty, rise in economic growth, and control over violence and abuse
We live in a world full of many societal issues. The aspects that determine whether one will have a successful or unsuccessful life is due to their characteristics such as race, gender, and social status. In the book Is Everyone Really Equal, Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo’s exigence is to express the following issues and to encourage the reader to work upon changing the world through social injustice, oppression, power, and community.
By giving everyone the same, equal treatment, mankind will already be winning the fight for equality. “All I’m saying is, kindness don’t have no boundaries,” Abileen states in the renowned period novel “The Help”, which has served to shed some light on that era and discourage against racism (Stockett 312). If people applied that simple concept to civil rights and equal opportunities, the world would not face such high rates of inequality and injustice. Kindness, like equal treatment, should be given to all, regardless of barriers such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. This does not necessarily mean that all members of society should be seen as the same; that shortcut completely distracts from the problem at hand. It means that all members of society should receive the same respect, kindness, and rights that all human beings are entitled to. This unequal treatment can be summed up by this statement:
Equality: Equality is a word that is generally used to describe that all men are born equal and therefore should be treated the same way. However, scientifically, it is not true. Not all men are born with the same cognitive or physical capability. Equality in my view is when people of the society, regardless of their caste or creed, race or religion, rich or poor enjoy: