Harrison Bergeron Essay On Equality

Equality is a term that can be perceived in multiple ways depending on the circumstances and an individual's personal interpretation. Some will agree with the dictionary definition of equality which is: the quality or state of being equal as likeness or sameness in quality, power, status, or degree; however, others might see that equality isn’t always about treating everyone the same but about giving people equal opportunities to obtain similar outcomes. Harrison Bergeron takes place in the year 2081 when people are finally equal, not only before God and the law, but in every aspect imaginable. This story portrays a government that has absolute control over society by handicapping the more gifted, therefore regressing them to those who aren’t

as fortunate or incapable; furthermore, the world depicted is one where the survival of the fittest no longer exists. In our current society, we are already starting to develop somewhat of a similar issue. Children are given rewards such as participation medals, so that it can be “fair to everyone”. Actions like these remove elements of competition, individuality and uniqueness, which are crucial to survival. When everybody is equal in every aspect and those elements are missing, the normal cycle of life is interrupted, thus leading to a dystopia.
First and foremost, competition has been around since the beginning of time and our world has always revolved around it. For instance, mating and reproduction are based on competition, so are sports, and our day-to-day activities, such as in the work field or school. In his book On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin discussed his theory on the struggle for existence:
Hence, as more individuals are produced than can possibly survive, there must in every case be a struggle for existence, either one individual with another of the same species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or with the physical conditions of life… Although some species may be now increasing, more less or less rapidly, in numbers, all cannot do so, for the world would not hold them (54).
Through his story, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., creates a dystopian world where competition has completely vanished. The people in this society are all set to the same level which removes anything that might seem “unfair,” thus broadening opportunities for those who are less gifted by considering them equally capable to accomplish tasks. For example, in Harrison Bergeron, the announcer on television is unable to pronounce “Ladies and Gentlemen” because he has a speech impediment. This situation is surprising since occasions such as these aren’t acceptable in our present society. On the other hand, Hazel’s response to the announcers attempt to pronounce the words properly might be familiar, “That’s all right— … he tried. That’s the big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard.” Hazel’s reaction and mindset are like the issue currently surrounding the children’s reward system, both situations depict a loss of hope in humanity by settling for mediocrity. If competition were to be removed from our world, society wouldn’t function properly and would end up like the one found in Harrison Bergeron. Nonetheless, a world solely based on the survival of the fittest wouldn’t function either because there wouldn’t be any balance. The “weaker" wouldn’t survive and the “stronger” would eventually die or end up killing each other battling to remain the strongest.
Secondly, the characteristics that differentiate people from one another: individuality and uniqueness. Humans are supposed to look and act different, have their own thoughts and varying levels of intelligence. In his book On Liberty, English philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote:
Human beings are not like sheep; and even sheep are not indistinguishably alike. A man cannot get a coat or a pair of boots to fit him unless they are either made to his measure, or he has a whole ware houseful to choose from: and is it easier to fit him with a life than with a coat, or are human beings more like one another in their whole physical and spiritual conformation than in the shape of their feet? If it were only that people have diversities of taste, that is the reason enough for not attempting to shape them all after one model… Such are the differences among human beings in their sources of pleasure, their susceptibilities of pain, and the operation on them of different physical and moral agencies, that unless there is a corresponding diversity in their modes of life, they neither obtain their fair share of happiness, nor grow up to the mental, moral, and aesthetic stature of which their nature is capable (93).
A properly functioning society needs individualism to thrive as a whole.

Some people are meant to be leaders or geniuses, while others are meant to be constructors or artists. Humans progress because of individuality. In Harrison Bergeron, the government handicaps those with higher intelligence or better physique, which led to the nonexistence of individuality. The ballerinas for instance, “They were burdened with sash weights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” The people in this story no longer have an individual identity. Our current society has been experiencing a similar problem since the rise of social media. Platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, revolve around people posting the highlights of their lives. Ultimately, this becomes a vicious cycle where conformity continues to perpetuate being that everybody is posting the same type of picture to make it seem like they’re living a perfect life and aren’t missing out on any of the trends. There must be individuality to balance everyone out, or the world and humans wouldn’t progress nor evolve, and our society would resemble the one depicted in Harrison Bergeron.

Lastly, equality has always been desired by society, not in a sense where humans are completely equal, but have equal rights and opportunities. In his book Leviathan, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes

asserted:
Nature hath made men so equal in the faculties of body and mind as that, though there be found one man sometimes manifestly stronger in body or of quicker mind than another, yet when all is reckoned together the difference between man and man is not so considerable as that one man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not pretend as well as he. For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination or by confederacy with others that are in the same danger with himself (93).
We are not all born equal. Therefore, it is logical that we are not all at the same level of competency. However, we are all born with equal rights. Granted, there would probably be less conflict around the world if people were more equal, but only to a certain degree because society revolves around diversity, individuality and competition, making it nearly impossible to live in a world where everybody is the same.