Harrison Bergeron And 2BR02B: A Comparative Analysis

In every revolution, there are winners and losers. Every dystopia is a utopia for somebody else. It depends on where you are, and if you succeed in creating a utopia. Hence, we would have created a world without conflict, in which everything is perfect. Nevertheless, if there is no conflict, there would be no stories that would portray the real issue that is occurring in this world. After reading Kurt Vonnegut stories, Harrison Bergeron and 2BR02B, he explains the impact that the government has on people’s lives. It is connected with how individuals work and operate in society and hinders their every movement. Although the stories share similar themes, each has a unique style which gives us the gift of their joys and sorrows, strengths, weakness

and portrays a perfect society.

Both stories explain the impact of government on society. In one, culture goes as far to dictate how people can look, what the maximum IQ should be in the community, and who can be in control. The people of the story in Harrison Bergeron are very restricted in their daily lives and cannot even display their god given talents. Anything above average is silenced and handicapped so that they don't stick out of the crowd; an attempt to make everyone equal. In the second short story (2BR02B), a dramatic reduction occurs to contain only a limited amount of people for society to thrive and help everyone live comfortably.

The Harrison Bergeron story has so much symbolism present in it, having everyone handicapped for the benefit of society makes the reader think of all the abilities and gifts we have and the fact that we are openly allowed to use and polish them. The story ends with quite a bit of irony because despite all of Harrison's efforts to wake up the people, his efforts go unnoticed and everything goes back to normal which is a very depressing thing to think about. Although in the 2BR02B, Vonnegut portrays a different but similar theme; revealing how Edward was a very courageous man who loved his family a lot and would do anything to keep them safe. To the extent of killing himself to save his babies alive and healthy, rather than dead and ill. Vonnegut has revealed how these two stories have one similarity, which is how both the protagonist were very ambitious to achieving their goal. In Harrison Bergeron, Harrison states this “ “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!” He stomped his foot, and the studio shook.""(Vonnegut, H.B, 4. Vonnegut showcases how Harrison was very rebellious to remove all of his handicaps and yell out that he is the emperor, trying to convince the others that being equal is overrated. Harrison has above average intelligence, height, strength, and beauty. To cover up his greatness, he has to wear the big handicaps such as masks and other objects because the government has made everyone in this society equal. Harrison wants to bring this to an end and decides to stand up for the citizens of his country who do not realize how absurd their society is becoming. However, in 2BR02B, Vonnegut reveals the same personality traits through Edward as he did with Harrison. By stating “ The smile faded as he saw that Wheling had just drawn a revolver. Wheling shot Dr. Hitz dead. “There’s room for one--a great big one,” he said. And then he shot Leora Duncan. “It’s only death,” he said to her as she fell. “There! Room for two.” And then he shot himself, making room for al three oh his children.“ (Vonnegut, 2.B, 7). Vonnegut uncovers how Wheling was very strong and courageous to kill Dr. Hitz, Leora, and even himself for the sake of his babies. Vonnegut showcases how these two characters, Harrison and Wheling, are very similar to each other by fighting for what they believe is the right, by sacrificing their own lives to try and change how the government control needs to change their method of choice.

Life comes at us fast, so fast that it is natural to react to life experiences by making the choice that is least painful at the moment.

By choosing to relieve temporary uncomfortableness with a decision to get you out of trouble for the moment. However, most of the time, the fast and easy decision is a wrong decision.As we come across many similarities between Vonnegut stories, Harrison Bergeron and 2BR02B; we noticed many differences as well, on how government control impacts the society in both stories. Both protagonists had a primary purpose for the action they have taken, but both of them being entirely different for one another. In 2BR02B, Vonnegut reveals how “The law said that no newborn child could survive unless the parents of the child could find someone who would volunteer to die. Triplets, if they were all to live, called for three volunteers.” (Vonnegut, 2.B, 5). Vonnegut discloses how his purpose for his action was to save his babies, to do that he needs to kill three adults for them to be still alive. Despite that, even though these two stories are very similar, Harrison had a different purpose for what he did by revealing “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support to support five thousand pounds. Harrison’s scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor. Harrison thrust his thumb under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness. The bar snapped like celery. Harrison smashed his headphones

and spectacles against the wall.” (Vonnegut, H.B, 4). Harrison showcases how his purpose for getting shot was to show the world how unique and precious our God-given talents are, which is why no one should deserve having any handicaps on them. Nonetheless, Vonnegut illustrates how these two characters are willing to do anything to make the world great again, even if it gets them both killed, they do it because it is the right thing.

In a single generation, every person has been given access to the internet giving them the ability to communicate with fellow human beings on virtually any topic, at any time, and in every hole and corner on the globe.

This impressive invention has done this without surrender to government control. Vonnegut reveals in both stories how the government has power on mostly everything in both societies, and how each story was demanded to follow the government rules, or else they die. Showcasing how at the beginning of both of the stories the author mentions how the society is perfect. Vonnegut states “ and everybody was finally equal. They weren't equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way.” (Vonnegut, H.B, 1) This line discloses how our society evolves in "Harrison Bergeron," people are greatly affected by the role of the government. The society believes in and depends on complete equality amongst all of the people. To accomplish this, people must use handicaps. If a person is above average in intelligence, they are forced to have sounds played loudly in their ears frequently to disrupt their thoughts. If a person is beautiful, they have to wear ugly masks. If a person is strong or fast, they have to wear weighted bags to counteract their strength. The goal of this is to make everyone feel equal and so that no one would feel inferior or superior. Overall, this change takes away everything that made a person an individual. It makes it so that what once could

have been an interesting character trait is taken away and replaced with sameness. George and Hazel, in particular, are affected negatively because they are unable to discuss or even process that their son Harrison has been killed. This is caused by Hazel's mind being average, and George's handicap keeps him from thinking too deeply. Harrison, of course, is very negatively affected by the society's rules. He was born to be strong, incredibly strong, and very attractive, but society has tried to destroy all of this. He is forced to use many handicaps, and when he finally lashes out and tries to be the great ruler that he was destined to be, he is murdered for disrupting the peace of the society. Vonnegut also reveals how setting plays a crucial role in the short story. By stating “Everything was perfectly swell. There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples, no poverty, no wars.” (Vonnegut, 2.B, 2). This showcases how the characters live in a society where aging has been cured. People never die or grow old. The government controls the population because the population in the United States had reached forty million. However, this represents the how the government in this story was much more laid back preferably in the other story. Instead of being forced to kill an adult, they have time to choose who gets to die for his babies to live, that includes killing himself. This short story is great because it connects to how China had the same policy. China was once afraid of overpopulation that they had a system that families were only allowed to have one child, except twins or triplets. Not only did China have the one-child policy but they also had the one girl law, where the Chinese citizens were only allowed to have one daughter. China also believed that they were one of the most excellent places to live because they considered it to be normal, just like in this short story except there is always that one person who no matter what, they do not believe that their home is the greatest. There is still a flaw in anything, or anyplace you feel is perfect. Nevertheless, Harrison Bergeron and 2BR02B showcase the difference on how both governments have their methods in controlling the citizens in the community to maintain having an ideal society.

In conclusion, “Harrison Bergeron and 2BR02B” written by Kurt Vonnegut portray many similarities and differences between the two stories. Even though, Vonnegut is known for his science fiction novels, which apparently played a very significant role in how this dystopian society impacts the future in both positive and negative ways. By sacrificing their lives to the extent of getting shot, also being rebellious and trying to create a difference, yet the government only wants a perfect society. Therefore, having an ideal society is overrated, we need to be more optimistic about what will occur in the future and try to prevent our government from creating a utopian society.