How Is Harrison Bergeron A Dystopian Society

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Kaitlyn Reed Mr. Smith English I Honors 12 April 2024 Dystopia Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is a satire that delves into themes of conformity, authority, and power dynamics within a dystopian society. Through the perspective of George and Hazel Bergeron, the story reveals how dystopia’s actions affect individuals and the community. Vonnegut exposes how the government controls society, calling attention to the roles of fear and the selfish pursuit of power within the people of the society. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of individuality creating inspiration and innovation for humanity and portraying the consequences of its suppression. Although initially depicting a utopian society, “Harrison Bergeron” demonstrates the elements …show more content…

This acts to prevent the possibility of an inequality in strength or intelligence between the people, turning some to look like inhumane monstrous dogs with the amount of handicaps permanently sealed to their bodies. When offered the idea to remove some of the handicaps, George refuses out of fear of authoritative action and fear of societal effects stating that there is a fee of two years in prison and two thousand dollars for each ball taken out. He also tells his wife that if everyone took off their handicaps and equalized, the world would revert to the “dark ages.” This demonstrates authoritative conformity driven heavily by fear within the people commonly represented by dystopian society. Concerning the contemporary world, this demonstrates the corruption in the government when attempting equality that inevitably derives its power from fear of being able to make immoral decisions. Later, the Handicapper general was in charge of maintaining equality within the nation by issuing handicaps to set extraordinary people down to an ordinary

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