Comparing Harrison Bergeron And Old Glory

Science fiction is a genre of literature that specifically discusses possibilities for Earth and Mankind, by advancing the technologies we currently have. Two examples of this genre are the short stories “Harrison Bergeron” and “Old Glory”. “Harrison Bergeron” is a story set in a future United States, where everyone is exactly equal. It tells the story of 14-year-old Harrison Bergeron, who goes on television and renounces the restrictive ways of the government, and is then shot and killed. “Old Glory” is similar, also set in a futuristic United States, where a newly enacted law, called SOS, has sent Duncan’s (The main character) great-grandfather into a frenzy. Duncan watches his grandfather renounce the new law and attempt to burn the new

flag, and gets shot and killed, mostly because Duncan had called what seems to be the equivalent of the police. In both stories, the theme of an individual versus society is developed through futuristic details.

One of the ways both stories develop the theme of an individual versus society is developed is through oppressive government.

The oppressive government in both stories has brainwashed the citizens to think that the government, which by our standards is horrible, is the epitome of perfection. In the story “Old Glory”, when Duncan learns that his Great-Grandfather took down his flag, he is horrified. The flag is a symbol of the government, and taking it down is clearly against either the law or the status-quo. “Suddenly I realized what was wrong with his room. "Where's your flag?" I asked. "I took it down.” I must've looked pretty funny. At least, the look on my face made him snort. "How could you?" I asked in a whisper.” The government has a hold on Duncan, who is a rule-abiding citizen, to the point of getting his great-grandfather shot. Similarly, in Harrison Bergeron, breaking the rules is illegal. At the suggestion of it from his wife, George Bergeron reminds her of the consequences. “"You been so tired lately-kind of wore out," said Hazel. "If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few." "Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out," said George. "I don't call that a bargain." "If you could just take a few out when you came home from work," said

Hazel. "I mean-you don't compete with anybody around here. You just set around." "If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people's get away with it-and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?". Similar to “Old Glory”, the law is strict and restricting. In both stories, the government has the citizens believing whatever it wants them to. It is more clearly evident in “Harrison Bergeron”, but it can still be found in “Old Glory”. When Duncan thinks that his great-grandfather is going to speak out against the government, he goes to a “telivid booth” to call his “Uncle”, which seems to be some kind of police. He tells the Uncle what is happening and then asks him if he would hold it against the rest of the family. It is clear that Duncan was told that acting against the rules or the government could result in a punishment of the entries family. The idea of a government brainwashing its citizens into being completely fine with murder right in front of them is futuristic and helps develop the theme of being controlled by an oppressive power.

An additional way that the theme of being controlled by an oppressive power is developed is life is very restricted. Religion seems to be mandatory, the characters could be monitored the entire time, and the punishments for breaking the rules are severe. We see how religion is mandatory, or at least supported by the government in its widespread use in “Harrison Bergeron”. Hazel thinks about being the Handicapper General and mentions that she would have just chimes played through the machines that stop thinking, in honor of religion. We can infer that religion is mandatory or at the very least government supported, or this would not be legal. We can also infer that religion is mandatory from “Old Glory” because Duncan says that he says the Lord’s Prayer at school, from which we can infer that religion is mandatory, as it is practiced in schools. Additionally, as stated above, breaking the law often results in death. The ending of both stories results in the death of the one trying to speak against the government, by the government. The government legally kills those speaking out against it, which restricts the life of the citizens to very little freedom and very few personal liberties. Moreover, The characters are monitored in their own homes. This can be inferred from George’s reaction to Hazel’s suggestion to taking away from his handicap. He says he knows that the government would find out, from which we can infer that their home is monitored. In “Old Glory”, the house had a “telivid”, through which Duncan talks to his “Uncle”. We can infer that this would not only be used for communication but also surveillance. These things keep the citizens unable to do anything about the oppression they suffer, even if they do not realize how awful a world they live in.

A third way that the theme of both stories is developed is the citizens have no idea what they are missing. The very idea of a free (Well, free-er) world like ours strikes a chord with the main characters of both stories. In “Old Glory”, Duncan discusses the idea of everyone being able to have a voice and is confused by the very notion. “I mean, think about it. What would happen if other people started to believe like Gran‐Da ‐‐ crazy things, like everybody, should be allowed to say whatever they wanted to? What kind of world would that be?” It is clear that free speech is also something that is restricted. Slightly controversy, in “Harrison Bergeron” it is not the idea of free speech that is strange, it is the idea of competition. In the world of “Harrison Bergeron”, everyone is exactly equal on all accounts, so the idea of not being forced to be less than they could be is strange to the main characters. George says that if he breaks a rule, than others may too, and then competition would return. “If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people'd get away with it-and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?". Competition is something that keeps economies, and consequently, countries, alive. We need competition to survive, and a world without it seems as though it would not function properly. This helps develop the theme of an individual versus society because it shows how differently the individual thinks, and why the rest of the citizens were perfectly fine with how it was dealt with.

The theme of an individual versus society is developed throughout both “Harrison Bergeron” and “Old Glory” through the use of several futuristic details. Some of these details include an oppressive government, restricted life, and brainwashed citizens. All of these details tie together, as they are often the result of one another. An oppressive government will restrict the lives of its citizens and will feed them propaganda until they have been sufficiently brainwashed, and then they will support the oppressive regime. While these seem futuristic to us, it may soon be more of a reality then we may have liked (Especially with the way things are going now).