Comparison Of The Pedestrian And Harrison Bergeron

The Pedestrian and Harrison Bergeron are both set in the future. It is supposed to tell us what is going to happen in the future and how it will be if the government gets too much power. In these stories the society and characters are being controlled. Vonnegut shows them being controlled by government while Bradbury shows them being controlled by TV. This control that is shown in the stories affects the characters and the theme.

In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. everybody is equal. Equality should be shown in rights not in looks or thoughts. “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.”(Vonnegut,1). The

Everyday they just sit and watch TV for hours like the dead in tomb-like houses. Leonard Mead is not letting TV take over his life and walks outside “sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house.” (Bradbury, 1) Technology overtook the future in this story and know people just sit and watch TV instead of playing outside and having fun with friends. In Harrison Bergeron the people are being controlled by the H-G men and the earpiece. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.” (Vonnegut,1) The people of this society are treated as equal and it is impossible to be better than anybody else. “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.”(Vonnegut,1) In the new world equality is a big part in society and they all have to be equal. These characters are living in a controlling society that government has too much power and controls

All of the stuff that happened in the story created a negative outcome on their lives. Harrison was freed from prison and had went to the studio where the ballerinas were dancing. On his way he tried to get most of the things off then while he was on stage declaring himself emperor and telling people to follow his rules he took off all of his physical handicaps. “I am the Emperor! cried Harrison. Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once.”( Vonnegut, 4) He was telling the people that the Handicapper Generals were bad and need improvement. But Leonard Mead on the other hand went against government because he went on walks unlike the people that were not going to stop watching TV. “The street was silent and long and empty, with only his shadow moving like the shadow of a hawk in mid-country.”