Harrison Bergeron Power Analysis

Throughout the history, individuals who have the power are the ones who usually rule over the others. I believe, one of the only things that enable a human to control another human being is the possession of power. Power is when a person or a thing has an ability to control everything going around in his or her surroundings. Thus, individuals who have less power are not able to express themselves freely and become the victims of unnecessary suffering. Examples of characters facing such a situation are seen in the short stories Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, and A&P by John Updike. In the story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut clearly shows the consequences of the society which lacks the power to oppose

In the story, rulers are seen controlling every single aspect of people’s life. “They weren’t only equal before the God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else” (604). This quote shows that the government shaped everybody in such a way that nobody can compete with anyone in any way and shows the miserable side of giving someone with total authority. Power plays a very important role in this story since every person has their own special abilities, but due to government’s control, every person is forced to be equal. I believe, it is not only the government, but the society’s reaction to the situations which is allowing this to happen. At one point in the story when Hazel asks George to take one of the handicap machines off, and instead of taking it off, George replied that “if I tried to get away with it… we’d be right back to the dark ages again.” This reaction by George shows that people have given into the thoughts of the

A person instinctively realizes that parents and boss has power over them. In the story A&P, by John Updike, the narrator shows an example of the relation between a manager and an employee. Lengel, the A&P store manager, seems to have the most power in the story, whereas Sammy is an employee working under Lengel. Since Lengel is the manager, he thinks he has power to do whatever he wants. When three girls enter the store wearing a bathing suit, Lengel reprimands them for wearing nothing except swimsuits in the store. They argue with him, but he tells “That makes no difference… After this come in here with your shoulder covered” (602). I think Lengel was feeling the need to say this so that employees around him feels his presence as manager and respect him more. He needs to do this to maintain his position as manager in the store. He thinks he has the power to publicly humiliate people who he thinks don't dress or act appropriately. Also, I believe if he didn't say anything, he would be allowing such behavior once and opening the door to many more. When Sammy tells Lengel that he is quitting, he replies by saying that he has the power to make his life hard. Lengel replied in such a way because he wanted to emphasize his power over the simple cashier Sammy. This example from the short story A&P shows that power plays a crucial role in a person’s everyday life; occasionally