Dystopian stories, such as “Harrison Bergeron,” have always intrigued me due to the fact how realistic some of them can be or how close they’re set to the present. This short story, by Kurt Vonnegut, was set 66 years into the future and divulged the importance of disparity. The government was castigating those who dared to speak out about the unfairness of having to be average, such as the above average and outspoken Harrison Bergeron. I admired him for having the courage to rise against an unfair and authoritative figure to give the people a rare taste of the unordinary; that is the type of courage I want one day. I don’t want to have to appease my parents my entire life, and that is the type of courage and conviction I will require to have my parent’s concur that my goals and dreams are reasonable. On another note, the execution …show more content…
The extraordinary were feared because they had to the power to overthrow the government and destroy the order. Due to the people’s fear and insistence for equality, the “abnormal” had to succumb to handicaps so they could live as ordinary citizens. Anyone who wouldn’t do so was a criminal and now a danger to the public. “Ballerinas, technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, expecting to die” (Vonnegut 1). They cowered out of terror of the unknown power and influence of Harrison Bergeron and the prospect other rebels. Unfortunately, terror from the unknown can also lead to irrational acts of violence, which is shown when “Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun… fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor,” (Vonnegut 1). It’s disappointing to see people react to the unknown in such terror when the unknown may be the key to an improved
Harrison Bergeron is a short story that has a deep meaning to it. To begin with, the short story Harrison Bergeron was made in 1961 and is written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The whole short story is set in the far future of 2081. 2081 is a time where everybody is finally equal and when the government finally has full control over everyone. If you aren't equal you would have to wear handicaps to limit your extraordinary strength and smarts. As the story progresses, Harrison Bergeron is trying to send a message about society.
These handicaps not only took away their emotions, but gave them seriously horrible headaches. They gave the people something that they described as,"visions". The people would have screeches in their handicaps. Harrison Bergeron does not deserve to be known as the crazy man who jumped on the stage and ripped off his handicaps. He should be known as the brave man who was willing to take off his handicaps. Bergeron might have seemed like a threat at the moment. But he is a hero. Other people might think of him as a threat to society, but they need to read the story more carefully, because it is unreasonable to describe someone as a threat when they are just trying to be
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.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” was created during the time frame of the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War and encompasses the definition of the word satire. Though the story itself is set in the distant future, the year 2081, one can see the influence of the past in this dark satirical portrayal of an American society. The author satirizes the very elements he was exposed to in his own environment and lifetime. Vonnegut mocks forced ideas of equality, power structures, and oppression, ideas that were prevalent and thriving in the atmosphere of his time of writing “Harrison Bergeron”.
...y are not prisoners, they are mere citizens that must constantly live lives of punishment in order to achieve equality. They can not think for themselves, or excel at anything in life, because they are all equal. Each of them is just like the next citizen. In Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” the United States in 2081 are not a society, but a Panoptic prison where the citizens are held and guarded like inmates, and this is no way to live.
The theme statement of Harrison Bergeron is that egalitarianism is inefficient, and will eventually be resisted by society. Competition is what drives society forward, and if everyone is equal, we are not developing as one. Many of the people in the story are unable to complete their basic tasks or jobs. “It wasn’t clear what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.” this is unreasonable as it is the announcer’s job to broadcast the news, and when he is unable to do so, he has lost his purpose (61). Equality is everyone receiving the same, while justice is everyone receiving what they require. “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.” This is an example of the corrupti...
Kurt Vonnegut, a modern American writer, composed stories about fictional situations that occurred in futuristic versions of today’s world. His stories included violence, both upon oneself and one another, and characters who sought out revenge. In “2BR02B” and “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut conveys physical violence most likely experienced while a prisoner of World War 2, as a way to show how war brings pain and destruction.
Never would I thought that we have a dystopian-like society in our world. Don’t know what a dystopia is? It is a society set in the future, typically portrayed in movies and books in, which everything is unpleasant. The novel Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian story of a fourteen-year-old boy named Harrison who grows up in a society that limits people’s individuality. When he is taken away from his parents, because of his strong idiosyncrasy, his parents do not even recall his presence because of the “mental handicaps” that the government forces onto them. Harrison eventually escapes from his imprisonment and tries to show others that they can get rid of the handicaps and be free. Though the government official, or Handicapper
Next, making others less able does not improve a nation. Handicaps were worn by many only made their life dark and dull. No one would be smart enough to invent and create. The people above average makes the impossible possible. The handicaps did not allow anybody to achieve anything or do anything. Everyone was similar. For instance, Hazel describes the dance as, “a real pretty dance.” the text says “They weren't really very good-no better than anybody else would have been anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked.” This was said because they made sure no one would be jealous of one and other. Kurt shows no one could get better, this resulted into no advancement to the nation. If everyone thought the same a nation would not
Your heart can make you do crazy things. Antoine de Saint-Exupery expressed in his book, The Little Prince, that “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.” By saying this, he means that you should always follow your heart and do what you believe. I agree because the wants of the heart truly represent your opinions and thoughts about things you come into contact with. In Twilight, written by Stephenie Meyer, the main character, Bella, falls in love with a vampire named Edward. In the beginning, they both try to fight their love for eachother, but in the end they both give into the wants of their hearts, and end up together. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison does not agree
Kurt Vonnegut’s dark and futuristic short story, “Harrison Bergeron” expresses through theme and plot a futuristic dystopian society where freedom of thought, intellectual ability, physical beauty and strength, and creativity have been manipulated through pervasive and coercive technology and by government decree. He opens the story with this descriptive Orwellian narrative about social equality in the future,
In the story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut clearly shows the consequences of the society which lacks the power to oppose
“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves,” said Henry David Thoreau. Disobedience is said to either promote social progress, the foundation of liberty and how citizens live, or it is said to create chaos. It is strongly believed disobedience is used to change how society works, and it can turn people who are against a cause to supporting the same cause. From disobedience, social freedom can be created or improved. Although disobedience can lead to trouble, it can also be used to increase social standings, get people on your side, or to prove a point.
“Harrison Bergeron” is an extreme critique of equality that aims to warn against oppressive government control and the danger of total equality. To achieve equality, people handicap the extraordinary instead of augmenting and improving those who are naturally handicapped. Vonnegut is trying to suggest that an enforced equality that suppresses individualism and a diverse range of perspectives can often hinder progress and, even worse, operate as a pretense for oppressive government control. In this world, no one is allowed to be different. However, it is ironic because our differences allow us to work together and help and support each other. Though only momentarily, Harrison’s rebellion represents the way that individualism can never truly
Although the comparisons are well hidden, both today’s society and the story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ share similar qualities. They both deal with equality, which leads to problems and consequences. A second similarity is the struggle of competition and trying to prevent it from occurring, which also leads to problems. Lastly, both struggle with normality, and the fact that it’s hard to accept that different is okay now.