Forced equality America was founded on the promise that all men are created equal in Harrison Bergeron; Kurt Vonnegut uses satire to explore the theme of equality in a fatalistic dystopia. Society in which we live today in this dystopia Harrison a genius and an athlete is forced to wear handicaps to bring him down to a level of equality with others around him, affect and interrupts equality. Although equality may seem like a necessary component in modern progressive society forced equality could have a negative impact on the society itself by eliminating competition, individuality, and motivation. 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 …show more content…
There would be no people trying to be different than each other. No one would walk, talk, act, or even breathe different. Because the government would get them in trouble and tell them to be the same as everyone else. In the article “everyone’s a winner” it says no single human could reign supreme at least not for very long time. So with equality there would be no such thing as individuality. Individuality is what makes our county great, because we can be different than anyone else without the government saying anything to us. So that is the reason I am against equality. If we had equality there would be no such thing as motivation. Because you couldn’t be better than anyone else, nor win anything so there would be no reason to be motivated. At first you would get motivated then eventually you would realize that you would never win, you would just always tie. So you would not want to get motivated for anything. In the article “growing up when everyone’s a winner” it says everyone gets an A, that’s the philosophy of injecting American children. That is one reason I am against equality and will always be against it. My conclusion is that equality is wrong and would be very bad for our nation. I am against equality because of the reasons stated above competition, individuality, and motivation. If we got equality the kids growing up would become miserable. And that is why I am against
Equality is something that people have been fighting for for a long time, but is it really the answer to prejudice and pride? In the story "Sucker" Pete and Sucker live together like brothers, but their relationship does not reflect that. Pete treats Sucker like property, instead of a person. The distance between them that is a result of Pete’s mistreatment of Sucker is eventually closed by a period of peace, a short time when they both discover each other and begin to function together in a loving and brotherly way. This balance is soon broken by an outburst of Pete’s. The fight causes Sucker to give up passionately following Pete and rethink their relationship. Suckers revelation leads him to become a more sociable person. Sucker trusted Pete to a fault, the fight is the solution to Suckers gullibility and mindless following because it forces him to grow up and away from his childhood idol, Pete. When looking at the situation briefly, it seems the answer is equality. Equality seems to solve Pete’s mistreatment and dominance over Sucker, and it would also prevent Suckers great change and the permanent tension between sucker and Pete that resulted. But is equality a solution, or a problem all its own? The cause and the solution to his problems both start with the mistreatment of Sucker and his inferiority to Pete.
At the first glance, an image of the society portrayed in the “Harrison Bergeron” short will put the reader at a halt. This short story depicts a nation that has made the world a place of pure equality. “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). The government had completely taken over the nation and its people. There were handicaps for those who had advantages over anyone else. Power was non-existent in this land. Mainly because all of it belonged to the government. If there was ever a time to see the imbalance of power it would be now. This story is not only a fictitious short to entertain the reader. This Short is a warning to the world providing a view of the consequences of power. “Ironically, no one really benefits from these misguided attempts to enforce equality” (Themes and Construction: "Harrison Bergeron"). Even on the television programs, beautiful women with handicaps placed on their faces. “They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” (Vonnegut). An elaborate handicap had been placed over the whole country and the public was fine with it! Power causes more than a hardship if not detected. It ruins lives. The people of this short will never know what it means to be
Equality appears to be the ideal factor that can perfect a society. It eliminates the need to feel envious of any human or their qualities. Nevertheless, with impartiality comes lack of diversity and ambition. Inequality is the entity that provides individuals with the passion to strive for a better life. If everyone has already reached their full potential there is no purpose for living.
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.
“Harrison Bergeron” is a society focused on leveling three characteristics of an individual that is proven to be the hardest to equalize; intelligence, physical beauty, and athleticism,
Aristotle said, “ The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” True equality is hard to come by when there are so many things that make people so different. The word equality has a very general meaning. That meaning however, can be interpreted in many different ways. To some, the interpretation can lean more towards a sense of freedom. This freedom has been something society has been fighting for throughout the entirety of history. To others, such as author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., it could mean the complete opposite. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut portrays equality as a sort of societal imprisonment.
Kurt Vonnegurt’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron” is set in 2081, where everyone is equal. No one is smarter than anyone else, better looking than anyone else, or better in any way than anyone else. If you were smarter than someone, you would have a handicap to make you average to everyone else. If you were strong, you would have a handicap to make you weak. In this world, equality is everything. The government does this because they don’t want others to become envious of their peers. One lesson that can be taught through this story is, people will always be jealous of what makes you different from them because, everyone wants to be better than the person sitting next to them.
Ever since the beginning of time, Americans have been struggling to obtain equality. The main goal is to have a country where everyone can be considered equal, and no one is judged or discriminated against because of things out of their control. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Plays with this idea of total equality in his futuristic short story, Harrison Bergeron. The setting is in 2081, where everyone is equal. No one is allowed to be better than anybody else. The government makes anyone who would be considered above average wear a transmitting device to limit their thoughts to twenty seconds at a time, which is considered average in this day. They also must wear bags of buckshot shackled to their necks to ensure no one can be stronger than anybody
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.
In the United States, true equality has never existed. From the Declaration of Independence to modern times, the US legal system has failed at any attempt at equality. ‘...all men are created equal...’ may be what the Declaration says, but ‘some men are more equal than others’ is how the legal system really interprets that phrase. The actual reality of the Declaration of Independence is that all free, white, landowning men are created equal. Therefore, inequality has always existed in the united States’ legal system and continues to exist today; however, the inequality presently in the system is not as blatant as what it once was. Slavery continued in the United States for nearly ninety years after the Declaration, and African Americans still feel the sting of inequality today.
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
After writing my newspaper article on the NAACP, I realized that the African American community needed a renewed sense of belonging, like all the other communities have in this day in age. This sense of being is better known as equality. Webster’s dictionary defines equality as having the same rights, social status and opportunities as others. The African American community has yet to reach a plateau were they are seen as equals. Equalities for African Americans are still a foreign subject, but hopefully will progress in the future.
The first sign of disapproval toward Equality’s abnormal talent starts very young at the House of the Students. Equality lived and was taught at the House of the Students, from the age of five to fifthteen. He was always disliked by his teachers because of his ability to learn more information and in a shorter amount of
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).
Diversity, equality and fairness are the latest buzzwords being kicked around in academia and the media. Everybody is supposed to achieve the American Dream today, regardless of who you are, where you came from, or what you do to get there. According to their math, equality of opportunity equals equality of outcome, and if it doesn't, rig the formula so it does.