More handpicked essays just for you.
Harrison bergeron essay of equality
Harrison bergeron essay about freedom
Harrison bergeron essay about freedom
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Harrison Bergeron: Freedom and Forced Equality
Freedom has always been a very important aspect in American culture, it allows people to have the opportunity to speak, act, and pursue happiness without having any restrictions forced upon them. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” freedom is no longer known as one of the most important foundations to American culture, like it has been for generations. Now in this futuristic society depicted by Vonnegut, enforcing the law that makes those who are “above normal” equal to those who are “normal” has become one of the main priorities. This type of equality that is forced upon these people is only focused on altering beauty, strength and intelligence instead of concentrating on the main problems
…show more content…
of race, religion, and sex, the true issues we face as a society. Although many people believe total equality is something that we should all strive for and an idea that will make the world we live in a better place, it is just a misguided goal that is both dangerous in execution and outcome. To accomplish physical and mental equality among all Americans, the government forces its citizens to wear handicaps so everyone can meet this certain standard the government and the United States Handicapper General has set out for them to follow. Kurt Vonnegut illustrates the theme of freedom in “Harrison Bergeron” by describing how the government can easily take away their freedom by enforcing the law that makes those who are “above normal” equal to those who are “normal” by making them wear physical handicaps on their bodies. In Vonnegut’s mock society, equality has reached its peak by the year 2081 causing those with exponential intelligence to become equipped with mental and physical handicaps. The government has forced equality laws on people’s lives, this equality is not achieved but forced into their lives by the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments of the Constitution. Everybody was finally equal. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General (“Harrison Bergeron”). “Anyone who is more than average in intelligence, beauty, or strength is forced to wear handicaps which makes them normal.
Being normal is getting deformed in a way. So equality and freedom are achieved through government force, becoming unnatural and manmade” (Equality versus Freedom in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut: A study of Dystopian Setting). The beautiful, like the ballerinas on the television must wear hideous masks or disfigure themselves so no one will feel inferior to them, “They were burdened with sashweights 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” (“Harrison Bergeron”). By law the intelligent must wear a little mental handicap radio in their ear, and listen to earsplitting noises that hinder their ability to think,
George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required to wear it by law at all times. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking and unfair advantage of their brains (“Harrison
…show more content…
Bergeron”). This idea of forcing equality upon these individuals ultimately deprives them of their talents and their own identity by employing masks, loud noises, and weights in an attempt to level the playing field for the less talented.
(The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story). The government is trying to put all members of society on the same level as the inferior, so no one will feel ugly, stupid or unathletic. A process that is overseen by United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, whose primary goal is to rid society of anyone who might threaten mediocrity and inadequacy. (The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story). This way of thinking, that forcing equality on individuals is the only way everyone can be equal is false because not only are human beings not all equal; but every human being has characteristics, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses that ultimately make them unique in their own way. In this society equality is not the only issue that is being disrupted by these new laws. Their freedom is also being disrupted, because it can be so easily taken away, especially since this forced equality has been authorized by Amendments to the
Constitution. These handicaps are to be worn at all times and are enforced by law to equalize all human beings. Vonnegut makes Harrison very handsome, strong, and intelligent. Because of this he is forced to wear an abnormally large headset, huge weights, large glasses, a red rubber nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off and cover his white teeth with black caps just to offset his good looks. Instead of a little handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to stronger people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds (“Harrison Bergeron”). If a handicap law is ever broken, the Handicapper General- Diana Moon Glampers, who wears no handicaps and carries a shotgun, tracks down the perpetrator and kills him. This corrupt equality by Vonnegut is created on an attribute basis and can only be carried out through force. In this society depicted by Vonnegut
The theme of the “meaning of freedom” is a common theme between the two stories “A&P” by Updike, and Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut. In both stories, the characters are take different routes to rebel from the standards of society. In A&P, gender roles are heavy, and Sammy is expected to conform, but he does otherwise by leaving his job. Harrison Bergeron takes place during a time where the human population is expected to be equal, but Harrison steps beyond these limits. These characters show that conforming to society truly does not make you free, in fact it holds you back from your full potential.
At the first glance, an image of the society portrayed in the “Harrison Bergeron” short will put the reader at a halt. This short story depicts a nation that has made the world a place of pure equality. “They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” (Vonnegut). The government had completely taken over the nation and its people. There were handicaps for those who had advantages over anyone else. Power was non-existent in this land. Mainly because all of it belonged to the government. If there was ever a time to see the imbalance of power it would be now. This story is not only a fictitious short to entertain the reader. This Short is a warning to the world providing a view of the consequences of power. “Ironically, no one really benefits from these misguided attempts to enforce equality” (Themes and Construction: "Harrison Bergeron"). Even on the television programs, beautiful women with handicaps placed on their faces. “They were burdened with sashweights 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.” (Vonnegut). An elaborate handicap had been placed over the whole country and the public was fine with it! Power causes more than a hardship if not detected. It ruins lives. The people of this short will never know what it means to be
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.
Moreover, within the text, the significance of symbolism is apparent as there are indications of the presence of different handicaps. Notably, those with above average physical attributes and above average intelligence are required by law to wear handicaps. Thus, the application and enforcement of handicaps are metaphors for sameness, because individuals with advantageous traits are limited and refrained from using their bodies and brains to their maximum abilities, for that is considered to be unfair to those who does not possess the same level of capability. Several main examples of handicaps includes “...47 pounds of birdshot… ear radios… spectacles intended to make [one] not only half blind but to [provide] whanging headaches”. Therefore, the intensity of the handicaps is a sign of the government’s seriousness in the field of administering disabilities onto their own citizens. Unfortunately, in order to maintain the sickly “equality”, the people are stripped off of their freedom. When announcers are unable to speak properly, and ballerinas are unable to dance properly, and musicians unable to perform properly, and people are unable to formulate thoughts properly — it is not a matter of equality, but a matter how low society
“Harrison Bergeron” starts with explaining the society within the story. It begins, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way,” (Vonnegut 158). With this startlingly different introduction, Vonnegut explains that everyone is equal but does not include how during this time. As the story progresses, the reader begins to see exactly how the citizens are “equal.”
……………“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal…They were equal every which way” (1224). Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, is the guardian of this equality. She represents the symbol of fairness in the society, the one that prevent the society to fall back into” the dark age”. Although the story only mention her in a few sentences, it is obvious that she is the one who is running the show. Her job is clear and she is tough in accomplishing it. She shot to death Harrison Bergeron, the self proclaimed emperor and his empress the ballerina, with double barrel shut gun, and ordered the orchestra musician to put their handicaps back on immediately. Far to say that this lady is dumb and ugly, because we don’t have enough evidence in the story to confirm so, we can assume that she is the personification of the lowest mediocrity in this futuristic society. The story never mentioned her “handicaps” and that makes us apprehend that maybe the society assumed that she has already enough of natural
The society that Vonnegut has created takes equality to a level most of us cannot comprehend. "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren 't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else." Equality is a great thing that the world should embrace; complete equality though is another issue. In a world of absolute equality, every human would be looked upon nothing more or less than the person beside him or her. Vonnegut highlights these issues of how equality can be taken to the extreme with the handicaps. The handicaps are brutal and seem almost primitive or medieval. Bags filled with lead balls that are attached around Georges neck, or the masks that the ballerinas are forced to wear. The goal is to try and manipulate the population in such way that humans will produce children that are all relativity average and the
Freedom is one of the many great qualities of life, but when it is taken away, life could turn out to be anything but great. Freedom to think, repent, and refuse should be incorporated in ones daily routine, but under an authoritarian dystopian society, these freedoms are only dreamt of. When society draws such attitudes and lifestyles upon its citizens, one adapts and accepts these requests, but not without a compromise. In Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece ‘The Lottery’ and Kurt Vonnegut’s exceptional story ‘Harrison Bergeron’, human life is so often sacrificed and withdrawn that is becomes a norm in society. Forcing people to agree with someone else’s ideology of harmony and success cannot be achieved without discarding the non-believers. Both dystopian societies possess excessive force on their civilians, with harsh consequences resulting in death. Traditional values and dictatorship laws forcefully overcome the mass population’s beliefs, resulting in obedience and respect to the laws of society. By comparing and contrasting the short story ‘The Lottery’ and ‘Harrison Bergeron’, it can be derived that these societies have strict rules and regulations, citizens of the society have become so adapted that they are afraid of change, and there is a severe lack of freedom.
Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told starting as children that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. Complete equality has too many issues for it to be viable. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law. However, complete equality should not be pursued because taking away the differences between people is a clear mistake.
In conclusion, the complete freedom and absolute equality have been a goal of innumerable societies throughout human history. However, these two ideal cannot exist together in their most perfect forms because the perfect forms of either freedom or equality represent total chaos or total oppression, as we can see in “Harrison Bergeron,” the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality. The author uses the story of this imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists is not only oppressive, but also inert and unproductive. Using his futuristic scenario, the simplicity of the society, and the actions of his characters, Vonnegut makes his point of view of a repressive society. In addition, societies that try to create total equality have almost always proven to be oppressive, such as China.
Have you ever wondered what life would be if everyone was equal? Well, in the year 2081, the government made everyone equal with handicaps. In the story “Harrison Bergeron”, the government makes people with special talents or abilities wear handicaps. I agree with the claim,”Everyone was not truly equal in “Harrison Bergeron”. Some reasons why I believe that this statement wasn’t true is that the handicaps don’t take away your abilities, handicaps are not useful, and it is not fair for the people with abilities to wear handicaps. Everyone is truly equal in “Harrison Bergeron” because it made average people and below average people feel equal to the higher and better people.
Have you wondered what the world would be like if everyone was forced into the government’s opinion of equality? In Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s story “Harrison Bergeron”, it is the year 2081 and the government has altered the society into being physically and socially equal. The most charming people are left to wear hideous masks, the intelligent are to be equipped with a earpiece that plays ear piercing noises, and the strong people have to wear excessive heavy weights so they resemble the weak. I believe that the society of “Harrison Bergeron” is not truly equal, because no one can be changed unless they want to be.
What would actually happen if everyone was forced to be equal? Kurt Vonnegut envisioned the fatal outcome in his masterpiece, “Harrison Bergeron.” The story illustrates “what would happen if a government or some other power takes this notion serious” (Mowery). The protagonist, Harrison, who is arrest for “exuberant individuality,” escapes from prison and goes on national television station to declare himself emperor, only later to be killed by the handicap general Diane Moon. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut satirizes the movement toward egalitarianism and the effect of television on people.
In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, in order for all people to be equal, the average citizens are handicapped hence “ ”. They do this so that the less intelligent or weaker people don’t feel like they’re unequal, so they turn the average citizens into technically mentally and physically disabled people so the others feel equal.
A future where everyone is completely equal in every aspect may sound like an amazing idea to implement into society, but an interpretation about how this may work out reveals a frightening future. The short story Harrison Bergeron and the film 2081 both depict a futuristic society obsessed with equality and consequently extracting individuality from almost every citizen. One significant difference was how Harrison’s speech to the audience was constructed after he broke into the show within the film- as a result making Harrison appear stronger and giving the film a more serious tone.