Non Equal in Harrison Bergeron
Imagine the United States in 2081, where everyone is equal by handicaps. Do you think handicaps can make a society equal? In the story “Harrison Bergeron”, it is 2081 and everyone is finally equal because of the handicapper general. These handicaps are able to prevent people from doing what they are good at so they can be average like others. I believe the society in Harrison Bergeron is not equal due to the fact that some people in the story still have advantages, even with handicaps.
To begin, I think the society in Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut, is not equal because the character George has handicaps, which prevents him from having freedom like his wife, Hazel, has. According to the text, it says “He was required by law to wear it at all times,” and “send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantages.” The text proves that the society is not equal because George does not
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Based on what I read, it says “every few seconds, a transmitter would make a sharp sound to stop George from thinking”, “That was a pretty dance, Hazel said”, and “George toyed with the idea of ballerinas shouldn’t be handicapped.” This is significant by the reason is that in twenty seconds, George was still able to think of how the ballerinas should not be handicapped when he has handicaps stopping him from thinking a few seconds later. As for Hazel, all she can think of was how the ballerinas dance beautifully. While others may believe that handicaps can control and maintain people to be equal, what they should think about is about the intelligence each person has. For example, George is above average and is able to have the advantage to think of many things.CONCLUSION
Kurt Vonnegut wrote a short story called “Harrison Bergeron.” This story takes place in a world where everyone is one hundred percent equal through restraining anyone with an above average natural anything. It start of with the George and Hazel Bergeron watching television. Then a strong and intelligent young man named Harrison Bergeron made the choice to appear on that broadcast and speak against the handicaps before getting shot by the Handicapper General. This story shows that individuality makes perfect equality an impossibility, because human nature can 't be suppressed.
First and foremost, only the gifted of “Harrison Bergeron” had to wear handicaps. To elaborate, George, a very intelligent person had to wear handicaps, while Hazel didn’t have to. This is because she was perfectly average, and didn’t feel the pain of what George had to. This is corroborated in the text when it says “Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself; she had to ask George what the latest sound had been.”
Personally i think equality is giving everyone the same opportunities and rights regardless of their differences. I do not agree with the idea of equality in Harrison Bergeron. In the story they were trying to make everyone equal but even with all their handicaps the people in harrison bergeron were still not equal. For an example the handicapper generals in the story were not handicapping people based on the trait of leg length so one person could have less of a chance of being late because he or she is taller than most people in which he or she would take bigger steps resulting in arriving at their destination faster. although this is an extreme example it still gets the point across that equality is an impossible goal. Instead of trying
While reading "Harrison Bergeron," I received a feeling that total equality is an idea not worth aiming for. In the story, smart, beautiful, talented, and strong people must be tortured to be equal with everyone else. Even when George and Hazel's son dies, Harrison Bergeron, his mother, who had short memory loss, could not remember the tragic incident right after she saw what had happened on-screen. Equality is more or less achieved, but at the cost of freedom and individuality of the people. The setting of the story is not my ideal place that I had thought of. Instead, I felt a very painful and sad feeling from this story. Also, this narrative made me rethink about the future and how the time ahead could be more brutal and more grating.
In "Harrison Bergeron" everyone is believed to be equal, but I see things in a completely different way. I see everyone has been given a unique handicap and also a unique talent/gift. My belief is that nobody is created equally. We were created to be different not the same. We are meant to be unique and different its what makes us humans in the end.
One of the themes of this book is that equality is difficult to achieve. The author tells readers that it is difficult for everyone to be equal by demonstrating that American society where everyone is equal. Mr.Bergeron is not average and so does some special people in the United States. The agents of the United States Handicapper General had to force to make them equal by putting them in the handicap. The author shows to reader Harrison protest to Vonnegut in the television show that system will be collapsed by more people who are intelligent and stronger. Failure of systems and individuals what author wanted to tell readers.
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.
“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal.” these are the first words read in the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. The story is about a future where everyone in the world is, “not only equal in front of God and the law”, but also equal in every which way. Knowledge and looks and physical ability, etc. In the story, a couple is watching tv and witness their arrested son break into a ballet and dance a wonderful dance then shot dead by the handicapper general herself. That leaves a question, what the reader can easily tell from the story is that the author believes that equality is a bad thing that will corrupt our world, but is equality as bad or as good as everyone thinks? To finish, equality is not what we should need one hundred percent, but give everyone an equal chance and see where they take it.
In America everyone is free, there are laws. Nevertheless, no one is a burden because of these laws. Everyone isn’t equal, however, they aren’t treated differently by the government. Those who are different get treated differently by society. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances”. The difference between today and the society in Harrison Bergeron is that those in society treat each other equally. George, Harrison’s father, is intelligent except he was also handicapped by the government. He is handicapped with objects used to make him equal with the rest of the society. “They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else.” The narrator of Harrison Bergeron states. Forcing those who are above average to be like everyone else is not equality. In today’s society, those above or below average are treated differently by society, this era is not perfect, although equality has been severely needed. As a result of non-equality in both worlds, both are a dystopia. This era is a free yet society does not treat one another equally. In the Harrison Bergeron era the intelligent plebeians of the society are a burden of the government yet,
Society should not be equal because we are all different even if they did put use in groups based on are similarities there still would be some difference. In the story ”Harrison Bergeron” the main characters has a son and he is different and they want him to be equal so they lock him up and but all these device on him to make him just like everyone else. “. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.” “ Harrison Bergeron single the ones that look or talk different or dance better “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred pound men”.They want everyone to be the same so they make the special people handicap so they won't be different.
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
Vonnegut sets his story in 2081, where everyone is equal. No one is smarter, more talented, stronger, or better looking. The government in his story controlled everyone and how they acted and thought with machines. Those who were smarter had a mental handicap radio’s in their ear that made a noise every so often throwing them off the train of thought. The stronger ones had to carry around weight at all times, to make them equal to the weak. Those who were beautiful had to wear mask, or were made to look less beautiful. All competition was gone. However, Vonnegut shows that trying to control everyone, so all are equal is impossible, and can lead to disastrous things. In the story, Harrison Bergeron was arrested for suspicion of overthrowing the government. He escaped jail and on the TV episode of the ballerinas, people watched him take over. He allowed himself and others to take off the equipment controlling them and everyone became an individual again. Until, the leader came in and killed Harrison and the beautiful ballerina as they were dancing. Things became equal again, but not perfect.
In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, the government creates an oppressed society by making everybody equal. Set in 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments are added to the Constitution to create true equality. The strong are required to wear weights, the intelligent are required to wear radios that emit painful noises, and the beautiful are required to wear masks. This shows that the government is trying to create physical and mental equality by handicapping the gifted to the level of the average. This creates an oppressed society because instead of improving
Some may argue while equality is still a hinderance; it still is universally equal, instead of being unequal as the theme displays “equality” to be. They may argue this because of the supposed success of the handicaps, because they inhibit thought, strength, or agility, making sure nobody is superior to anybody else. This is shown by Hazel and George within the text. Hazel is extremely dull, and George is exceptionally smart, but they are both equal, thanks to handicaps. However, this is not always the case, as shown with Harrison and his would-be bride. Harrison’s handicaps are extremely heavy, to ensure that he is equal to everyone else. But he isn’t, being significantly stronger and smarter than everybody else, even with his handicaps. This displays the hindrance that is equality to be unequal.
The point of view in “Harrison Bergeron” is third person with limited insight. The focal character is George Bergeron, the titular character’s father. The story is written to show two settings: the living room of George and Hazel Bergeron, and the scene they are watching on their television. This point of view helps to develop the theme by showing what we assume to be an average couple in a futuristic setting, and by establishing a societal norm for the dystopian setting. The mundane point of view contrasts nicely with the very outrageous personality of Harrison Bergeron and his theatrical antics. This point of view also gives the reader a relatively objective look into the conflict between Harrison and the United States Handicapper General. The use of George as the focal character gives the reader insight into the mind of a man who wears a mental and a physical handicap. This allows the reader to see into George’s thoughts and how they process with the mental handicap in place, “every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking advantage of their