Harrison Bergerons

People from different backgrounds and societal norms react differently to similar situations. What is considered acceptable and unacceptable can be defined by culture, government laws, and the accepted truth to the majority. This is very well depicted in the short stories under the science fiction genre, ‘Harrison Bergeron’ by Kurt Vonnegut and ‘The Different Ones’ by Rod Serling. The protagonists in both stories were considered outcasts in their respective society because they do not fit with what is considered as normal in their communities. However, how they were dealt with by the government were totally different due to the existence of different policies and interventions for members of the population who are considered abnormal.

Harrison

Bergeron and Victor Koch, the main characters in these stories were born with abnormalities that are far from the standard of normal human beings. Harrison, 14 years old, is highly gifted mentally and physically compared to average individuals, which made him an extremely dangerous person in a plot where everyone is equal. By government’s decree, all atypical gifted individuals are deliberately handicapped, so no one is superior to others. On the other hand, Victor, 17 years old, is born with a rare physical deformity with horrific facial features of a funnel head and a third listless third eye located at the middle of the forehead. While Harrison is above average, Victor’s features are far below what are considered normal and sane, though his mental abilities are good. His monstrous face as others see him in his community cannot be accepted even in a society where freedom is respected. While both characters were considered extremes, and were heavily discriminated, the first one is on the upper extreme of norms, while the latter is measured below what is regarded as normal facial presentation.
When it comes to belongingness, both can be said to have experienced isolation from the society, with Harrison being imprisoned and Victor being kept at home. Similarly, they were deprived of the chance to socialize with others, develop a sense of being a part of the community, and to be accepted in any social group. There were, however, loved by their parents, where home is the only place where they can be themselves. In contrast, Harrison was in a more disadvantaged position compared to Victor because he has to be forcefully taken by the government to be handicapped, while Victor was in a voluntary seclusion in his room with his parents at home.
In analyzing the degree of freedom of the characters, a distinct similarity is the lack of social freedom to Harrison and Victor in terms of infusing their individualities or personal identities in the society due to lack of social acceptance.

The social stigma attached to their identities based on their unique features is highly suppressive in their opportunities of being themselves in the communities where they are. The difference lies in how these main characters projected themselves to their outside world. Harrison has a high regard for himself as someone superior over the others, even dubbing himself as the emperor who has the capacity to free others from their imposed handicaps. This young person has a highly inflated ego, reflecting a very high level of self-esteem. He harnessed his his full potential in the middle of being restricted. He found ways of overcoming the different restrictions placed upon him by the Handicapper General. On the other side, Victor sulked and shut himself from the outside world even if he was living in a free society because of other people’s overt expression how how they disdain his looks, often bullying him as ‘ugly bird-head.’ He is a bright individual but he just stayed at home with self-imposed house imprisonment unable to fully develop his potentials. Victor had a very low self-esteem, and pitied himself so much, as shown in the scene where he showed himself on the screen to the panel of the Social Uran Problems Office crying expressing how disdainful he is. Therefore, It can be deduced that Harrison achieved a certain level of self-fulfillment before he died even though his freedom was short-lived, while Victor saw himself much as a waste until he gained acceptance in planet Boreon, where the residents there look just like

him.
The final concept of comparison is on law, chaos and government. Inasmuch as both societies where the characters thrive presented discriminating themes, the lot were totally opposite. Harrison’s environment is characterized by absolute equality, where the government fully controls superior individuals to be at par with the average population to prevent competition and chaos in the society. Anyone who does not abide by the rules and norms are immediately ordered for sanction and termination. On the contrary, Victor’s community is very much like our free society where people are not suppressed by law from developing themselves and making decisions. Victor’s father was given alternatives in dealing with the condition of his son even if the choices involve losing his son to another planet, keeping him at home or choosing mercy killing.
In terms of the result, even though both protagonists lived their lives filled discrimination because they are different from the rest of the population, the societies where they thrived are totally opposite of each other, one being a highly controlling government, whereas the other is a free society. Perhaps the authors of both stories want to present how deviation from societal norms impact individuals who are considered by the majority as different. They showed how discrimination deeply affects not only the afflicted persons, but also their families and how the government take necessary measures to respond to the issue, often favoring the good of the majority. Serling also emphasized how different populations react similarly to what is seen as acceptable and unacceptable based on the set of standards they have, such as the acceptance of Victor in planet Boreon where his features are similar to everyone else