The Completely Equal Societies; Proving They do not Work Many societies strive to make every person as equal as possible to the next, believing that this makes everything fair for everyone. In all truth though, society cannot function in this way; no matter what, there will always be someone or some group that has more power than everyone else. Equality should only concern the important issues, such as equal rights for all races and each gender. Both the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell and the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. are the quintessence of inequality and prove this point; all equal societies do not work. There are many similarities the book Animal Farm shares with the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, one …show more content…
For example, Hazel suggests to George that he takes out a couple lead balls that are in a weight hanging around his neck but he is afraid of the two year jail sentence per lead ball taken out and two thousand dollar fine per lead ball taken out. Also, to manipulate them in way that is almost like sedation, the government uses the T.V. by showing television shows that don’t require you to think at all. Lastly, in both societies, the characters of Animal Farm and “Harrison Bergeron” stand by and let terrible things happen without any disagreement from them. In Animal Farm when the “veterinarian” comes to get Boxer “Some of the animals had noticed that the van which took Boxer away was marked “Horse Slaughterer,” and had actually jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was being sent to the knacker’s. It was almost unbelievable, said Squealer, that any animal could be so stupid. Surely, he cried indignantly, whisking his tail and skipping from side to side, surely they knew their beloved Leader, Comrade Napoleon, better than that?... The van had previously been the property of the knacker, and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old name out. That was how the mistake had arisen” (Orwell 125). Convincing the animals is an easy task, Squealer says Boxer was not slaughtered, but he had actually been given the best care with expensive medicines. Every animal accepts this explanation without any further questions. Even
Imagine a world where every person is equal: everyone has the same possessions, everyone shows respect to each other, no one kills anyone else, and no authority rises over others to give dictating commands. It sounds wonderful doesn’t it? George Orwell’s haunting book Animal Farm shows however, the near impossibility it is to make that idea a reality. In this fairy tale, a group of oppressed farm animals revolt against the tyrannical bonds of their evil master Farmer Jones, chases him off the farm, and attempt to make a society based on the idea listed above. But instead of having this incredible society, the pigs decide to make one instead where they are the ultimate authority. This book highlights the dangers of trying to establish an
Have you ever pondered over the equality of everyone? Well, if you believe that equality is important, you may want to think again. In the dystopian short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut, the author, uses satire to convey his message. Satie is something meant to make fun of or show the weakness of human nature or a particular person. Vonnegut’s message is that not everyone must be equal in every way.The character, Harrison Bergeron, wants to make everyone understand that being equal comes with a consequence, the decline of freedom and individuality, but he got shot so metaphorically the idea of freedom and individuality died with him.
Mr. Jones, the farmer, goes to sleep drunk one night when the most respected animal calls a meeting. Major, as the pig is called, waits until everyone is settled to begin describing the gist of the dream he had had the night before. He tells them that their lives are much harder than they need be. The only reason why they aren’t happy is that they must deal with humans. He says humans are useless and profit off everyone else’s hard work. Unless they rebel, their lives and those of their children will never get better. The group decides that all four-legged or winged animals are friends and will not be harmed when they eventually rebel. Then, Major sings a lively old song that everyone immediately loves, Beasts of England, but they all
If everyone in society was expected to be equal, how would it make you feel? Author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. emphasizes throughout Harrison Bergeron that uniqueness is essential to society's development, therefore a society devoted to equality is bound to encounter major problems. Through the imposition of handicaps on individuals, the impact of these handicaps on individuals, and the uprising of characters, such as Harrison Bergeron against the repressive system that the government imposes on equality. In the narrative of, “Harrison Bergeron,” the government takes drastic measures to ensure equality among its citizens, mandating the imposition of defects to guarantee uniformity.
The line “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”, indicates an imbalance ownership of the wealth amongst the animals, (Orwell, 1945).Similar to that superior and powerful people in society owns the wealth and property. The group of few people represents the masses and takes over the ownership of the properties .In the story animal farm, it is depicted through pigs controlling over the farm and having the properties. The other animals (proletariat) have no right to own and enjoy over the production they made with hardships. Due to an imbalance of power rich becomes richer and poor poorer. Thus, it causes class
Throughout the short story, Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Vonnegut tries to spread a general theme. In Harrison Bergeron, the audience meets several characters in a utopian society. In this utopian society, everyone is equal. If someone had an above average intelligence, they were handicapped. These handicaps were not to be taken off, but to be worn at all times. They all had to be on the same level. In the end, people try to break free, and the government did not want the society to be like this, so they killed them. Today our society is trying to equalize, but we have not been successful. The theme in the short story Harrison Bergeron is that equalizing is not always good to do in a world like we have today.
Do you think society would improve if everyone was equal? Even though people may argue with me, I say that everyone isn’t truly equal in the story, Harrison Bergeron. I say this due to how people that are naturally born with above average intelligence, strength, and looks gorgeous has to wear handicaps to hide their unique abilities. Another reason is that some people are either respected or disrespected because of their special talents. Thirdly, some people in the story does not need to follow the law, even if they are a citizen of the United States, which means that everyone does not have equal rights.
All of this proves that the government in Harrison Bergeron has created a society of sameness, not of equality. “Harrison Bergeron” is a story that depicts a society of sameness, not a society of equality. An equal society refers to every citizen having equal resources and making sure no one is given less than anyone else. This is so that everyone has an equal chance to get where they want to be in society. In Harrions society, everyone is instead made the same through a variety of handicaps.
Picture a society, far in the future, where everyone, by government control, must be on the same level. Would this be Hell or a utopia? This is the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”. In this society, the gifted, strong, and beautiful are required to wear multiple handicaps of earphones, heavy weights, and hideous masks. In turn, these constraints leave the world equal, or arguably devoid of, from brains to brawn to beauty. With the constant push for equality among all people, Vonnegut reveals a world that society is diligently working toward. “Harrison Bergeron” is written as a form of satire with heavy irony, to demonstrate the clear difference between equity and equality in society. “Harrison Bergeron” is
Imagine a world where an oppressive government captures what many call diversity. Where ugly is known as beauty and intelligence is insignificant. “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) This is the future that Harrison experiences, in the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the year 2081 and the government handicaps every citizen with make up or weights to create equality. Where there are over than 200 amendments and the government has full control of all citizens, this is indeed against what America had been
The idea of equality is one that has been entrenched into the hearts and minds of the citizens of the United States since the days of the founding fathers. The thought that one person is better than another is an ideal that as a nation, the founding fathers strove to overcome. They believed that each person should have the identical rights and opportunities of every other person in our society. This sentiment becomes grossly perverted in Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron”. In the tale, the American government has taken the idea of equality to an extreme that is not only inhumane, but in essence takes away our freedom and individuality, the very fabric of what we consider American.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire that exposes and criticizes the corruption of the Russian Revolution by using animals to represent political figures. The novel symbolizes a time of darkness in Russia as one that resulted in a government more controlling, totalitarian, and deadly than the one it overthrew. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” is set in the year 2081 where thanks to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments, everyone is equal to each other. Although the two works of literature may sound to be very distinct from one another, they both are full of social commentary.
Napoleon, the leader of all the animals of the Rebellion, can be compared and contrasted with Big Brother, the leader of all the people of 1984. Both Big Brother and Napoleon show the qualities of a cruel ruler. Similar to Big Brother, Napoleon is a secretive plotter who works behind the scenes rather than openly. However, unlike Napoleon, Big Brother periodically appears on the television screen. Napoleon and Big Brother both work continually to weaken their rivals, whether it is by removing Snowball or eliminate Rutherford. Both place importance on complicated ceremonies and parades to prevent their workers from thinking about their schemes. Napoleon’s control over animal farm is not as powerful as Big Brother's
1984 and Animal farm are acutely similar books. They both revolve around a dictatorship government. There are two main dictators in these stories, Big Brother and Napoleon. The pigs are aggressive and big brother is always watching what the people do. In these novels the leaders start out with using the ruling to use it for good but then focus on corruption of power that Napoleon and Big Brother use it for the worse and not the good. 1984 and Animal farm the totalitarian governments used dehumanizing tactics like using television to hypnotize the animals, take away rights and using fear to show the people and animals that the government has the power.
In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, a major turning point in the novel was when Napoleon used his secret police force, his dogs, to exile Snowball. Snowball had previously been trying to improve the animal’s lives for the future by building a windmill. After Snowball was exiled, Napoleon became leader and everything immediately went amiss. Orwell stated that: "Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer- except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs" (p.86). In other words, no one was benefiting from the animal’s labours apart from the pigs and the dogs because the amount of authority the dogs and the pigs, especially Napoleon had, was corrupt. Frighteningly, if Snowball had been