Equality Is Not Ideal In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut

Equality Is Not Ideal Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliant story, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† takes place in the year 2081. Thanks to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments â€Å"Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else†(Vonnegut 1). Everyone seems to have equal looks and abilities but to make this happen; they have to limit people so they can be equal to other people. People with natural beauty, gifted intelligence, or high strength have to use handicaps so they can be average like anyone else. They give people mental radios, masks, and sashweights so no one will get jealous. Because of these visible handicaps, people can tell who is stronger, prettier, and smarter. In the story, they describe one of the†¦show more content†¦Since people have handicaps, it is hard for them to be their self and good at something. When the television program was interrupted the announcer â€Å"like all announcers, he had a serious speech impedimentâ₠¬ (Vonnegut 3). The announcer eventually gave up speaking on the announcement because his handicap was making it hard for him to speak, so he gave it to a ballerina to read. And when George watches the ballerinas dance he realizes that â€Å"they weren’t really very good- no better than anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked†(Vonnegut 1). This quote shows that they were just as good as anyone else would have been since they were weighted down by birdshot and their beautiful faces were masked so no one would be jealous of them. The two other reasons complete equality is not possible and not ideal is because society cannot develop and people can tell who is better than who by looking at their handicaps. Since people have these handicaps, everyone has equal ability, and everyone is mediocre. There is no one with ideas or visions for the future. Without unique people with ideas and thoughts, society cannot develop or build. This leaves everyone feeling stuck in the same year forever since there is no process being made. The world can not become a better place or change if everyone has to stay equal. People who have above average beauty, smarts, or strength haveShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. s Harrison Bergeron1500 Words   |  6 Pagesthe actions of others, as we make choices in an effort to satisfy others and ourselves. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† offers a dark insight into an idealistic utopia, and the consequences of a ruthlessly equitable society. Although equ ality provides a beneficial component to a desirable society, forcing it upon society would ultimately be at the expense of individuality. Initially, Harrison Bergeron is physically constrained by society, however through his willful arrogance and determinationRead More`` Harrison Bergeron `` By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.1184 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. gives the world a glance at the horrors of enforced equality through its simplistic and blunt storytelling. Stephen Moore and Peter Ferrara discussed in The American Spectator how â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† shows how â€Å"a society that puts equality ahead of freedom and prosperity will be in the end an unhappy one† (30). Therefore, it is easy to reason that any attempt to craft a utopia through government enforcement will end in only brutality and absurdity. VonnegutRead MoreThe Life Of Harrison Bergeron By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.892 Words   |  4 PagesFor this paper assignment I will be discussing the short story of Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The short story was published in 1961. I chose this short story out of all our readings because I found the story very interesting. When I was reading Harrison Bergeron, I read straight through it because the story drew me in and in the other readings I would usually take a few breaks as I was reading. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut uses humor to explore and exposes several problems that can happenRead MoreHandicap Each to His Ability1129 Words   |  5 Pages Kurt Vonnegut paints a picture of American society 120 years past 1961. Society has made a gradual change, but it is a drastic one nonetheless. After nearly two hundred amendments to the constitution, everyone is supposed to be equal in every way. â€Å"Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.† (232 Vonnegut). In this landscape Vonnegut shows that people wi ll never be completely equal, and trying to force equalityRead MoreHarrison Bergeron By Kurt Vonnegut Analysis936 Words   |  4 PagesLaw and Order: Symbolism in Kurt Vonnegut â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† Can society truly exist with everyone being equal? For decades, society fought for equality dealing with the issues of race, gender, and religion. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, Kurt Vonnegut explores the concept of being equal in every aspect of their life in the futuristic world of 2081. With equality being forced on American society , Vonnegut focuses on how the government create equality by altering beauty, strength, and intelligence. EveryoneRead MoreHarrison Bergeron By Kurt Vonnegut707 Words   |  3 PagesHarrison Bergeron by â€Å"Kurt Vonnegut† is set in the year 2081, where all the people have been made equal through mental and physical handicaps. No one is slower, weaker, or smarter than anyone else. Harrison Bergeron who is taken from is family when he was fourteen years old has escaped. He takes off is handicaps, declares himself emperor and chooses one of the ballerinas to become his empress. After dancing and flying, Handicap General Diana Moon Glampers s hoots them both dead. The theme of thisRead MoreThe Subject Of `` Harrison Bergeron By Kurt Vonnegut1507 Words   |  7 PagesThe subject of â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut is equality. The theme of this short story is that society should make an effort to value individuality and fairness, in which everyone receives what they need to prosper, instead of universal equality. The forms used to elevate this subject and theme are point of view, syntax, characterization, irony, and humor. The point of view in â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† is third person with limited insight. The focal character is George Bergeron, the titular character’sRead MoreTheme Analysis : Harrison Bergeron907 Words   |  4 PagesENC1102 18 September, 2016 Theme Analysis: Harrison Bergeron In the literary piece â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut, we enter a futuristic dystopian society in which all citizens have been forced into equality by a government that rules with corrupt omnipotence. From the very beginning of his hauntingly prophetic tale, Vonnegut lures us in by revealing what our society has devolved into at the hands of the wrong system in power. In the name of equality, the attractive are mutilated, the strongRead MoreDefinition Of Handicap In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut1052 Words   |  5 Pagesensure equality. Both, Harrison Bergeron and Maysoon Zayid, revolve around being a handicap. Whereas one person takes on handicaps due to the law, and the other struggle to overcome them. Vonnegut and Maysoon both use language to express their ideas. Handicap has a huge impact on the society of Harrison Bergeron and the reality we live in, from what the word means to how people overcome it, Maysoon and Vonnegut both use humor to show the worl d what being handicap means to them. Harrison BergeronRead More Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Essay522 Words   |  3 PagesHarrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut In Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut depicts a society in which everyone is mentally, physically, and socially equal. Throughout the history of our country, Americans have sought racial, gender, and socio-economic equality. On paper such a society seems ideal. Through the story one might infer that Vonnegut views the concept of total equality as ludicrous. Equality can be interpreted many ways. One point of view is the American belief that everybody