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Government Control In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Decent Essays

In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, a society is being controlled by the government through handicaps. Throughout the story, several examples are displayed that show how effective the government’s power is towards the people. It was 2081 and a time that most thought was finally equal.The government wanted power, control and all intelligence to be equal, therefore forcing the people to wear handicaps. Although the people believe they are wearing handicaps to make them all equal, they fail to realize that the handicaps’ real purpose is to control the people. In “Harrison Bergeron”the control of the government is the primary issue throughout the story. In the story, if intellectual thinking occurred the government would increase the tune …show more content…

In the story, citizens were afraid to take off the bands in fear of the consequences and punishment that they could potentially receive. They could be fined, arrested, and could even be executed. If a person were to think about life without the bands, an alarm would go off inside their head, causing them to forget the thoughts. George is having a conversation with Hazel about what would happen if everyone took of their bands, and he begins to question how chaotic the world would become. “The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” (Vonnegut 1389). A scene in the movie that supports this topic is when Harrison goes to the Head House and takes off his band. He was being monitored and when he took it off, and alarm sounded and he eventually was knocked out and taken to the National Administration Center, where he saw a glimpse of life as the government. He could think intellectually, he could control his mind, and could make the choices he wanted. However, he was still being watched by the government. The government wanted to have the power to control everyone, all people. They even went as far as regulating what they aired on television. They made sure that what people were watching was stupid and required no immediate thinking to occur. When George and his family were in the living room watching television, it became clear that the government would only allow certain …show more content…

Most people were oblivious to what was going on, and the fact that they were being controlled by the government, the people just thought it was natural. However, if they had the ability and freedom to take off their bands, they would see what Harrison has grown to realize. The government is manipulative and when people like Harrison start to figure out what they are doing, they want to make it known so others will understand as well. In the movie, when Harrison sees how controlling the government is and how big of an effect the government has on the people’s thoughts, he starts rebelling. He made a broadcast with his band off and it was aired on television so others could see what it was like to live without the band on. Although the citizens saw what Harrison was doing, it did not take long before the people forgot what had happened, and in them was still that fear of punishment that began to distract from what they had been previously exposed

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