Comparison Of The Pedestrian And Harrison Bergeron

The Pedestrian and Harrison Bergeron are both set in the future. It is supposed to tell us what is going to happen in the future and how it will be if the government gets too much power. In these stories the society and characters are being controlled. Vonnegut shows them being controlled by government while Bradbury shows them being controlled by TV. This control that is shown in the stories affects the characters and the theme.

In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. everybody is equal. Equality should be shown in rights not in looks or thoughts. “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.”(Vonnegut,1). The

agents of the United States Handicapper General (H-G) men and some of the future amendments made everyone equal and gave them earpieces to keep the same thoughts as everyone else and when it happens to George he describes it as “...someone hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer.” (Vonnegut,2). Everyone was equally rich, nobody was better looking than anybody else, nobody was smarter than anybody else, and nobody was faster than anybody else. In the story Hazel and her husband George are watching ballerinas dance on TV. One has a masked face to hide her beauty. Later in the show a seven feet tall boy comes on stage named Harrison Bergeron and talks about how handicapping is not right. He happens to be Hazel and George son, he takes off all of his physical handicaps and the mask of the ballerina he chose to be empress while he is emperor and in control of everyone. One of the Handicapper General shoots the ballerina and Harrison Bergeron. The parents see this happen on TV and do not realize that it is their son that just got shot because of their handicaps. Hazel does not know why she is crying, “George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. "You been crying" he said to Hazel.
"Yup," she said.
"What about?" he said.
"I forget," she said. "Something real sad on television."
"What was it?" he said.
"It's all kind of mixed up in my mind," said Hazel.
"Forget sad things," said George.
"I always do," said Hazel.” (Vonnegut,6)

In the Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury people are controlled by TV and watch it everyday for hours. This story makes people think they will be watching TV their entire lives and not do anything because technology will overfill the world in the future. The main character Leonard Mead is not into technology and the TV so he takes walks and writes. He has been taking walks for a long time. In the story the author Bradbury describes Mr.Mead taking a walk at night in year 2053. Bradbury uses very descriptive words so we can imagine the walk Mr.Mead takes. “...faint push of his soft shoes through autumn leaves with satisfaction, and whistled a cold quiet whistle between his teeth, occasionally picking up a leaf as he passed, examining its skeletal pattern in the infrequent lamplights as he went on, smelling its rusty smell.”(Bradbury,1) All that can be seen is the light from the TV in the people's homes because no one goes out anymore. While he is walking around and whispering quietly to himself, the police car comes around…not just any car but a robot cop car the reason for this robot is because crime was reducing and it was getting safer. “The police, of course, but what a rare, incredible thing; in a city of three million, there was only one police car left..” (Bradbury,2) This robot car does not understand Mr.Mead and has him get in the car and takes him to a Psychiatric Center.”The car hesitated, or rather gave a faint whirring click, as if information, somewhere, was dropping card by punch- slotted card under electric eyes. To the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.” (Bradbury,4) The car drove by Leonard Mead house and it was not like any other house in the city. His house had all the lights on and had a yellow illumination. “...but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness.” (Bradbury,5).

In the Pedestrian the society is controlled by the TV.

Everyday they just sit and watch TV for hours like the dead in tomb-like houses. Leonard Mead is not letting TV take over his life and walks outside “sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house.” (Bradbury, 1) Technology overtook the future in this story and know people just sit and watch TV instead of playing outside and having fun with friends. In Harrison Bergeron the people are being controlled by the H-G men and the earpiece. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.” (Vonnegut,1) The people of this society are treated as equal and it is impossible to be better than anybody else. “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,1) In the new world equality is a big part in society and they all have to be equal. These characters are living in a controlling society that government has too much power and controls

everybody.

Harrison Bergeron and Leonard Mead the protagonists in these stories both went against the government.

All of the stuff that happened in the story created a negative outcome on their lives. Harrison was freed from prison and had went to the studio where the ballerinas were dancing. On his way he tried to get most of the things off then while he was on stage declaring himself emperor and telling people to follow his rules he took off all of his physical handicaps. “I am the Emperor! cried Harrison. Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once.”( Vonnegut, 4) He was telling the people that the Handicapper Generals were bad and need improvement. But Leonard Mead on the other hand went against government because he went on walks unlike the people that were not going to stop watching TV. “The street was silent and long and empty, with only his shadow moving like the shadow of a hawk in mid-country.”

(Bradbury,2).