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Similarities and Differences of Harrison Bergeron
A reflection essay on harrison bergeron by kurt vonnegut
Similarities and Differences of Harrison Bergeron
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In the short story, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, the theme of not falling to conformity is present throughout the entire story. The Bergeron family consists of George, Hazel, and their son Harrison. The father, George, has an above average intelligence compared to many of people that are a part of the dystopian society. Due to his higher intelligence, the government has issued him a radio in his ear that would prevent him from developing any meaningful thoughts. It is safe to presume that anyone else in a similar situation was also handicapped like George was. The dystopian government effectively made all its people the same, different kinds of intelligence could not be expressed, along with woman’s beauty being hidden through the use of masks. …show more content…
No one was better than anyone else.
These hindrances and forcing conformity on the people of the dystopian society would not bring any variety to its people. If one wanted to grow as a person they would not be able to. Even if they wanted to they would be stopped by the government and either be punished or brought back to their state of “sameness”. Harrison, an anarchist, was taken away from his parents at a young age and jailed. However, he escaped sometime later; as readers find out from a government message during a ballet show. Soon during the ballet performance, Harrison comes crashing in revealing his motives of going against the conformist government. Simply because he sees things differently and does not want to be like everyone else, he is seen as a public enemy and is considered very dangerous. Bergeron reveals true beauty through the dancer he interacts with. Which shows how important individuality is in everyday lives. However, the Handicapper General shortly shoots both Harrison and the Dancer down; not caring what they stand for. The government cuts the television abruptly and Hazel along with George does not understand what they missed and carry on with their “normal”
lives. In conclusion, the corrupt dystopia that the Burgerons live in prevents any growth within the people. Everyone appears to be the same and there is little to no variety. No one can be smarter or stronger than any other person. It shows that being like everyone is actually unoriginal, no matter how relevant or standard the conformity is. Being an individual with their own personality is much better than being like everyone else. It shows that one is not afraid to be different and express their own feelings and opinions. Agreeing with everyone else does not always show uniqueness or originality within a person. To grow as a person one needs to have their own opinions, ideas, and personalities.
The short novel “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut presents a futuristic portrayal of a world where everyone is equal in every way possible. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut displays the clear flaws in society that lead to the creation of a horrific dystopia that lacks genuine human emotions, fails to develop as a civilized community and is strictly government At the beginning of the story we are introduced to George and Hazel who are an ordinary couple that consequently suffer from handicaps. They are recalling the time when their son, Harrison Bergeron, was taken from his home by the handicapper general. It was an unhappy thought “but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard” (Vonnegut 1) due to the mental radio that separated the two from regular functioning emotions. Although Hazel was not affected by the handicap itself, it became a societal norm to act almost robot-like.
……………Most of the numerous and very disparate urban utopias imagined since antiquity, claim more or less a social justice combining equality, fairness, and freedom. However the methods invented to reach this social justice often lead to more binding law, sometimes up to the absurd, that limited the abilities and capacities of the citizens. Thus, behind the mask of an ideal equality, is concealed in fact, a tremendous social injustice. In “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut’s shows us the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality by using the story of an excessive utopia to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists, is not only oppressive, but also static and inefficient. Vonnegut exemplifies the image of fairness
Harrison Bergeron goes against conformity to try and brake the equality of everyone. It states in the story “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds.” -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. In this quote it shows the power he has to try and brake away from everyone else and try to do what he wants instead of being like everyone else. By doing this, he is going against conformity in the society to be himself and not like others.
Harrison Bergeron’s mother, Hazel Bergeron, is the definition of the Handicapper General’s “normal” and model for enforced equality. Everyone must be leveled and thereby oppressed to her standards. Hazel’s husband, George Bergeron, is no exception. “‘I’d think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds,’ said Hazel, a little envious. ‘All the things they think up.’” (Vonnegut 910). George suffers from his own comically ludicrous mental handicap. The fact that this incites jealousy in Hazel reaffirms the artificial equality Vonnegut ridicules. The author satirizes oppression in American society through his depictions of misery and restraint exhibited in his characters’ ordeals. “The different times that George is interrupted from thinking, and his inner monologue is cut, we have a sort of stopping his having dialogue with himself. So he can’t have a unique personality, which itself involves his worldviews” (Joodaki 71). Not being able to know oneself epitomizes
The most important theme that we can easily notice in the story is the lack of freedom, which is extremely significant to the American ideals, and Harrison demonstrates it as his escapes from jail, remove his handicaps, and influence others around him. In order to have a completely equal society in Harrison Bergeron’s world, people cannot choose what they want to take part in or what they are good at because if a person is above average in anything, even appearance, they are handicapped. These brain and body devices are implanted in an effort to make everyone equal. However, instead of raising everyone up to the better level, the government chooses instead to lower people to the lowest common level of human thought and action, which means that people with beautiful faces wear masks. Also, people with above average intelligence wear a device that gives a soul-shattering piercing noise directly into the ear to destroy any train of thought. Larger and stronger people have bags of buckshot padlocked a...
Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian fiction, or a type of fiction in which the society’s attempt to create a perfect world goes very wrong, “Harrison Bergeron” was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1961. This story is about Harrison Bergeron, who is forced to diminish his abilities because they are more enhanced than everyone else’s. This short story is an allusion of a perfect society and it is maintained through totalitarian. The author expresses his theme of the dysfunctional government of utopia through his effective use of simile, irony, and symbolism. Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential American writers and novelists, and his writings have left a deep influence on the American Literature of the 20th century. Vonnegut is also famous for his humanist beliefs and was the honoree of the American Humanist Association. “Harrison Bergeron” is about a fictional time in the future where everyone is forced to wear handicapping devices to ensure that everyone is equal. So can true equality ever be achieved through strict governmental control?
People with above average intelligence are forced to wear transponders, which send signals with sharp noises to distract them and keep them in line with the rest of the people. George Bergeron is one of those individuals who wears such transponders and also carries a heavy bag around his neck because he is more intelligent and stronger than his wife Hazel Bergeron. Hazel is a person of below average intelligence, but a very kind and loving wife. The couple has a fourteen-year-old son, Harrison Bergeron, who is in jail. He tried to overthrow the government because he disagreed with egalitarian policies.
In a society where the talented are so handicapped that they cannot even function, the theme reflects the impracticality and dangers of egalitarianism. Harrison Bergeron symbolizes defiance and survival next tot eh TV symbolizing brainwash. The third person narrator creates an effective and fair method of detailing all the events in this futuristic society. Harrison Bergeron’s conflict creates an understanding of the result of total equality. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. emphasizes the need for competition and individuality in society, in order to live with freedom and prosperity.
Just like in Harrison Bergeron, television and/ social media in today’s society has become the fastest way to receive information on what is going in the world. In Harrison Bergeron, the entire society was watching a television program of ballerinas dancing when “it was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin” (Vonnegut). The announcer, who had a speech impediment, just like every other announcer, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read. “The ballerina must be extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous, and it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred pound men” (Vonnegut). In this society, the government, named the Handicap General, forces people who are beautiful and strong to wear weights and masks to suppress their talents and beauty to make their uniqueness equal to the “average person.” People are required to wear handicaps in order to get an imperialistic world completely equal; Kurt Vonnegut uses Harrison Bergeron’s character to express an ironic symbolism in the story Harrison Bergeron. He is no ordinary human in this futuristic society, as he is portrayed as “a genius and an athlete… and should be regarded as dangerous…instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap he wore a tremendous pair of earphones…scrap metals hung all over
There are many gender stereotypes in this world and how women are treated less than men. Women are shown as weak, dumb, and helpless while men are shown as strong, smart, and leaders. People try to be in an equal society but are not truly equal. Through the portrayal of gender equality shown in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron,” the leader create an unequal gender society. Where people are unable to be who they are and losing their voice, resulting in a society where equality rules. Vonnegut’s short story suggests that people strive for equality and diversity is a necessity. People want to be in a society where they can be free to express their emotions and their personality.
In the story Harrison Bergeron which was written by “Kurt Vonnegut” And The story is about A man whose name is Harrison Bergeron who makes everyone think that everyone is equal, but actually he wants to feel that he is stronger and smarter than everyone else. He also controls people by putting chips/microchips into people’s ears but, later in the story something happens not expected at all.
In 2081, everyone in society was finally created equal, nobody was smarter or better looking due to the handicaps assigned to them by the Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers. Harrison Bergeron was a young 14-year-old boy who lived at home with his parents Hazel and George. He was an ambitious young man who did not like how the world was being run and was removed from his home and placed in jail. On day on television, he was announced that he escaped from jail. “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.” It was believed he was trying to overthrow the government and felt if he was locked up he would not be a harm to society.
Politician, George Mason, once stated, “We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it” (Brainyquote). People would assume that this task was far too easy; to leave the world as equal beings. The short story, Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut, is about a man and a woman, George and Hazel, who are living in a futuristic dystopian society. George, having an above average intelligence, is forced to wear a mental handicap radio to keep him from thinking for too long; while Hazel, having an average intelligence of thinking in short bursts, is not required to wear a handicap. Harrison, their son, has escaped the restraints that were attempting to keep him equal to everyone else. On live television, Harrison rebels against
Kurt Vonnegut gave his characters all a handicap bags because he wanted everyone to be equal. Beautiful people had to wear masks because it wouldn’t be equal if they were prettier than another person. Much like the United States government, the government in “Harrison Bergeron” is pushing equality and making sure that everyone is the same. Equality is beautiful, but Vonnegut suggests that equality can be dangerous. People in the society that he has written about can’t have a better appearance, behavior, or achievement. The government has full control of every citizen, they aren’t
The short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut can be understood differently depending on the person’s perspective and the background information they know. After doing some research on the author Vonnegut i got a closer perspective of his life and to what might have influenced him to write this short story. While i was reading this story i realized it was satirical, there was a lot of exaggeration and irony. My understanding upon this story was that in the year 2080 everyone was finally equal in every aspect. Those who were brighter, better looking, or more talented were provided with handicaps that eliminated any advantages and to average out to everyone else. Vonnegut took the concept of equality to an extreme but there was a lot behind it..