Harrison Bergeron Resilient

Fight The Good Fight Imagine a man who was recently laid off from his job at an oil and gas company and can no longer financially support his family. The decision this man makes to either push through this adversity to find a new job or let his life go in a downwards spiral will be determined by if the man is resilient or not. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word resiliency means, “capacity to recover from misfortune, shock or illness.” However I believe the definition for the word resiliency goes much deeper than what the dictionary says. Resiliency is the ability to push through physical, mental, and emotional challenges. People should always strive to be resilient and never give up in any situation and to always stay positive

Harrison is the main character of a story set in 2081. He lives in the futuristic United States, which is now ruled by the Handicapper General. The General believes everyone should be equal to avoid competition. Therefore the General created handicaps for anyone with above average characteristics such as intelligence, strength, speed, or appearance. For example if a person happened to be much faster than everyone the Handicapper General would place weights on his or her shoulders to restrict their speed. Harrison was considered a threat to the community because of his very intelligent brain, size, and strength. As a result of Harrison’s above average characteristics the Handicapper General took Harrison from his home at a young age, secluding him from the rest of the citizens to prevent Harrison’s capability of overthrowing the Handicapper General. However Harrison eventually portrays physical resiliency by escaping. The author says “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds” (Vonnegut). Harrison intended to show his true magnificent abilities. He then proceeds to cause havoc throughout the land trying to create change and get rid of the handicaps. Along the way Harrison recruits a partner. His partner is a beautiful ballerina whose beauty is blind to her and everyone around her because of the mask she must wear. Together they attempt to bring a stop to the Handicapper General. Unfortunately they are both shot and killed (Vonnegut). That just goes to show not everything is going to the way we want. In order to continue being resilient in the story of Harrison Bergeron other people with similar attributes would need to rebel and break away from the restraints holding them