Compare And Contrast All Summer In A Day And Harrison Bergeron

Society is the explanation of why “different” people are frowned upon. Ray Bradbury uses “All Summer in a Day” and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. uses “Harrison Bergeron” to emphasize the extraordinary truth in the previous statement. In “Harrison Bergeron,” a youth is labelled an outcast because he does not fit the expectation of an equal community. Harrison decides to reveal to the people and the government his true identity on live television to inspire others to be themselves and show their uniqueness. In “All Summer in a Day,” a child named Margot is dealt unnecessary punishment by the other kids on Venus because only she claims to remember the description of the sun. Out of a jealous rage, the children prevent Margot from witnessing the one day the sun is predicted

to appear before the passing of another seven years. Outcasts sometimes are the solution to society’s problems.
Ray Bradbury uses comparisons in “All Summer in a Day” in the fifth paragraph on the first page to create descriptive details and imagery.

In the story it says, “About how it was like a lemon, it was, and how hot . . . I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.” This connects back to my idea that outcasts are sometimes the solution to society’s problems. Due to this quote, Margot’s statement about the sun is what makes her an outsider in the eyes of society. Later in the passage, it is revealed that Margot’s statement about the sun was correct and solved the problem of what the children think the sun resembles.

Vonnegut Jr. uses metaphors to build up the tension in “Harrison Bergeron.” The passage claims, “Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood . . .” The story also says, “I am the Emperor!” These excerpts are significant for it shows the inspiring rebellion of Harrison. He claimed he was an emperor because he knew that equality should be overruled and as a start, the people needed a loyal ruler. He was attempting to use his intimidating “clanking, clownish, and huge” appearance to gain the attention of the people- and become a much needed ruler for the dystopian government of

equality.
Without an expectation set to be called an average citizen, people would not rise above the ranked criteria, stumble below the specific ideals, or even meet exactly with the expectation. Those that are admired for positioning above average are commonly known as intelligent overachievers, and those unfortunate to land below basic are called labels such as outcasts or different. The stories “All Summer in a Day” and “Harrison Bergeron” both report cases of issues dealt upon rejects and support the outsiders proceeding to face those problems. Society tends to blame the outcasts for many of the dilemmas caused but similarly has a habit of not considering the possibility that outcasts are sometimes the solutions to society’s problems. Many of the difficulties occurring on the daily news all tie in with so-called outrageous acts performed by outsiders, but no one ever withdraws time or questions the reasons of why the different people executed those movements.