Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
harm of technology in our society today
harm of technology in our society today
the pedestrian ray bradbury analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: harm of technology in our society today
Millions of people around the world have been questioning the statement, “Which is better, the individual or the society?” Many people debate this question today and even well known authors who have written novels and short stories about this topic. Many of these authors have proven their beliefs by warning their readers what the world could become if society is not controlled properly. In other words, if people rely on technology and equality too much in the future, then society will face multiple consequences that will affect many people’s lives. Another question that frequently appears is, “Why is fear of government pressure control such a huge problem with many sci-fi societies in books, movies and short stories?” The authors Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Wimmer all portray societies where original ideas and freedoms are suppressed because they believed that society could eventually take control of individuals’ freedom and rights to life through technology and equality.
First of all, my first story which proves that society could potentially take control of people’s lives is The Pedestrian. Ray Bradbury writes this story in the perspective of the main character, Leonard Mead, who goes for a walk in the evening. Unfortunately, society at that time is too lazy or “screen controlled” to understand why people need to go for a walk or simply get some fresh air like Leonard does. Bradbury describes the scene of this society by writing, “The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them,” (Bradbury 3). This quote illustrates many individually aligned houses all dark and lonely with a touch of colorful light inside...
... middle of paper ...
...ogy and equality can rule society faster than humanity may think because people today are so inclined to allowing the latest innovations to perform and simplify work for them. Vonnegut, Bradbury, and Wimmer predicted correctly that the world has changed significantly since these stories were written by them. Someday, these stories may come true because people are unaware of the consequences that are coming from excessive amounts of equality and technology in people’s everyday lives. To prevent this from happening, people need to limit their use of technology, to increase their activity level, and to refrain from judging people based on their looks or interests. Remember, if society fails to maintain a good balance with technology and equality, then the nation will become eaten up by using people as hosts.
Works Cited
(Bradbury 3)
(Vonnegut 3-4)
(Wimmer 2002)
……………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
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty (Gandhi). The power society has over citizens is explored in the two texts Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. The story Fahrenheit 451 depicts firemen who start fires instead of stop them. In this society censorship is valued and books are a main reason firemen burn. Books give you knowledge and knowledge is power which is what this society tries to prevent. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” the topic similarly is about censorship in a more extreme way. People must wear masks and handicaps to prevent them from being different or unique. Intelligent people get a sharp noise in their ear every twenty seconds to prevent people from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
The society that Vonnegut has created takes equality to a level most of us cannot comprehend. "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. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else." Equality is a great thing that the world should embrace; complete equality though is another issue. In a world of absolute equality, every human would be looked upon nothing more or less than the person beside him or her. Vonnegut highlights these issues of how equality can be taken to the extreme with the handicaps. The handicaps are brutal and seem almost primitive or medieval. Bags filled with lead balls that are attached around Georges neck, or the masks that the ballerinas are forced to wear. The goal is to try and manipulate the population in such way that humans will produce children that are all relativity average and the
In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author creates a picture of a society that resembles our present-day society in a variety of ways. Although a society in which government has total control over its citizens seems to be a little extreme, there are definitely clues that can be seen today that suggest that we are headed in the same direction. Some of the resemblances between the society in Fahrenheit 451 and our society today are the governments’ hypocrisy, the gullibility of the citizens who fully support the government, and the fact that books are becoming rather extinct due to advances in modern technology.
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.
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 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.
Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told from being children to adults 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. People having skills and differences is key to life. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law, however people must be allowed to be unique and have different skills.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was written as a social criticism of 1950s America which was effectively constructed through Guy and Mildred Montag, and Captain Beatty, representing censorship, conformity and alienation. This American classic warns against the dangers of suppressing thought of becoming a totalitarian society, conveying the dangers of censorship and government control is as relevant as today as it was first written. ‘Oppressive government, left unchecked, can do irreparable damage to society by limiting the creativity and freedom of its
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
An individual’s role in society can vary with the number themes the characters exhibit. When there are signs of fate, cruelties, weaknesses, and desires for justice and catharsis the role of an individual becomes more complicated. In Antigone, most of those themes are shown thus a single person’s influence or role on society is very small and complicated to attain. However in The Lottery the society has most of the control and there is not many signs of those characteristics so the role of a person is simplified because they are nothing compared to the society combined. Finally, in The Penalty of Death, there are signs of many of the themes but since it is the societies influence against that of an individuals, it is simplified because they have to work together.
In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley’s Brave New World, the authoritative figures strive for freedom, peace, and stability for all, to develop a utopian society. The Utopian society strives for a perfect state of well-being for all persons in the community, and over-emphasizes this factor, where no person is exposed to the reality of the world. As each novel progresses we see that neither society possesses family values nor attempts to practice them. Neither are passionate nor creative in factors such as love, language, history and literature. Our society today, in general, is unsure about the future: The nightmare of total organization has emerged from the safe, remote future and is now awaiting us, just around the next corner. It follows inexorably from having so many people. This quotes represents Watts’ fear for the future; George Orwell and Aldous Huxley both explore the future state of civilization in their novels. They both warn us of the dangers of a totalitarian society. Both books express a utopian ideal, examine characters that are forced into this state and are compelled to dealing with this society and all the rules involved.
The individual is required to comply with society’s ideals. In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut sets the scene in this futuristic community when he begins, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal … They were equal every
This book was written in the 1940’s as a warning to society against the danger of allowing a totalitarianism society and even though it is fictional in nature, many of the dangers warned against are still real today. Throughout the world, many live with extreme governmental interference in their daily lives, unable to freely speak their mind without fear of reprisal. Governments use modern technology to invade the privacy of their citizens. There were many aspects to the book that left this reader feeling just a little bit uneasy.
...y to write a novel that so clearly shows the power of the state and diminish of the individual send chills to those who read his book. Even in the future, every reader is faced with the reality of the possibility of such a society existing. With technology advances and many history defining issues arising, the possibility of elements of the book coming true seems to become more and more of a reality.