Throughout our daily lives, equality is becoming an over exaggerated idea. There are constantly articles talking about unequal pay wages, gender and racial inequality. Everyone is striving for equality but nobody truly knows what would happen if it would be achieved. Kurt Vonnegut tries to illustrate what full equality would look like by making it the main focus point of life in a futuristic society. The short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, presents a futuristic dystopia in which the long-awaited equality is finally achieved, the author uses setting, symbols and characters to help convey the idea that true equality is misleading and unattainable. Its consequences, along with the process are destructive as they lead to even more
…show more content…
All the situations, no matter the severity, do not express too much depth or feelings. At first the mood could be sensed as pleasant when he mentions, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren 't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way”. The story could pass for a futuristic utopia rather a dystopia, but then in the next paragraph he states, “Some things about living still weren 't quite right, though”. He begins mentioning the little flaws in the system. Vonnegut explains how humans no longer have the ability to express themselves, to have thoughts and greatest of all - to feel. This then creates an empty and defeated mood because they can not change anything about the situation. Alone, these two elements already mock the idea of equality, thus developing the theme that true equality doesn’t do any good, but rather ruins lives by robbing them of their …show more content…
She has the average mind of someone in the society, unlike George and Harrison who have multiple weights and handicapped restricting their abilities and individualities. The government wants everyone to be just like Hazel, anybody that is better, is a threat. They fear the dreamers, the rebellious, the different, for they are the ones that go beyond all restrictions and rules. They are the ones that refuse to be the same. Harrison Bergeron, Hazels and George 's son, was the biggest threat to the government. He wore the heaviest of all burdens and yet he refused to follow the government 's orders. He represents the spark of individuality that still existed in some. He refused to be defeated, instead he was a brave 14 year-old, hungry for power. When he bursted into the TV studio, he announced that he is the greatest emperor of all time. His bravery and arrogance was feared in the society, those type of people were a threat to equality. For this, Harrison got killed, thus murdering the idea of individuality, freedom and real equality. The kind that was first talked about in the Constitution, the kind that governments were built upon: life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The author reveals that in a society of full equality, there is no room for individuality or
All the situations, no matter the severity, do not express too much depth or feelings. At first the mood could be sensed as pleasant when he mentions, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren 't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way”. The story could pass for a futuristic utopia rather a dystopia, but then in the next paragraph he states, “Some things about living still weren 't quite right, though”. He begins mentioning the little flaws in the system. Vonnegut explains how humans no longer have the ability to express themselves, to have thoughts and greatest of all - to feel. This then creates an empty and defeated mood because they can not change anything about the situation. Alone, these two elements already mock the idea of equality, thus developing the theme that true equality doesn’t do any good, but rather ruins lives by robbing them of their …show more content…
She has the average mind of someone in the society, unlike George and Harrison who have multiple weights and handicapped restricting their abilities and individualities. The government wants everyone to be just like Hazel, anybody that is better, is a threat. They fear the dreamers, the rebellious, the different, for they are the ones that go beyond all restrictions and rules. They are the ones that refuse to be the same. Harrison Bergeron, Hazels and George 's son, was the biggest threat to the government. He wore the heaviest of all burdens and yet he refused to follow the government 's orders. He represents the spark of individuality that still existed in some. He refused to be defeated, instead he was a brave 14 year-old, hungry for power. When he bursted into the TV studio, he announced that he is the greatest emperor of all time. His bravery and arrogance was feared in the society, those type of people were a threat to equality. For this, Harrison got killed, thus murdering the idea of individuality, freedom and real equality. The kind that was first talked about in the Constitution, the kind that governments were built upon: life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The author reveals that in a society of full equality, there is no room for individuality or