Harrison Bergeron Essay

689 Words2 Pages

What impacts do external forces have on developing individuals? Ideologies of complete fairness and control are the root of the loss of individual development. This was displayed in “Harrison Bergerson,” by showing the drawbacks of equality, the effect of the media, and the power and control of the government. Foreign forces can unfavorably impede and negatively distort an individual's growth, altering the way citizens interact, view, and connect with the world. P1- Drawbacks of complete equality Total Equality limits personal expression and destroys individuality among people. If everyone were to act, think and look the same, the world would be black and white. In “Harrison Bergerson” uniqueness is no longer a beautiful aspect of every individual …show more content…

Most people live with control over their lives and how to live them, but what if we didn’t? If the government had complete control over every aspect of our lives, how would we develop as people? With no variation among people, the world would become dim. In the story, the government has implemented handicaps to keep everyone equal. Their authority over citizens is cruel and unfair. This was shown during the conversation between Hazel and George where he mentions the penalties for taking out weights from the large sashweight bags they were forced to carry. The fine was two years and two thousand dollars for every weight taken out, a steep price to pay for brief moments of comfort. Handicaps disturb everyday comfort for the people of this dystopian society and have distorted their view of the world significantly. During Hazel and George's conversation, they talked about the “dark ages” before the use of handicaps. A time where everyone was competing with one another. Their use of negative connotations makes it seem like life with their handicaps is better than before. Yet, the loss of human competition has completely shattered society. Contestation used to inspire people to work harder, do better, think smarter, but now society has no universal driving force, causing people to not be motivated to evolve. George and Hazel's son, Harrison, represented everything the society was trying to destroy ; exceptionalism and originality. He was above average in every aspect the government was trying to even out. He was hauled off and taken to prison for being the example of what the government was suppressing, but when he appeared on the tv show, empowered even with his handicaps, he appeared as a pillar of color amongst the gray gradient of society. This representation of power disrupted how the media wanted to be

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