Despite the differences in setting, the authors in both stories have a character who breaks free from restrictions to figure out and embrace their identity. This character is murdered due to their identity.
“On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” and “Harrison Bergeron” differ greatly in setting, one being set on a city sidewalk in the past, and the other in a house in 2081. Both the stories show two different stages of equality in time, in the past where there were many inequalities in daily life, and in the future where everything and everyone is equal. In “OTSB”, Andy the main character wears a jacket whose “lettering across the back of the jacket read THE ROYALS,” a gang. (Hunter 1) Andy is not equal to others, for he is part of an exclusive group …show more content…
In “On The Sidewalk Bleeding,” written by Evan Hunter, Andy gets stabbed and he realizes that he might have been only stabbed because of the jacket; not because of the man inside the jacket. The jacket was just a figurehead, a trophy for someone to say “I killed a Royal.” Andy realizes that “He wanted to take off the jacket;” to be more than a Royal. “The jacket only had one meaning now,” a brand showing him to be one of an elite group, a worthy prize to take down, and that “The jacket was a stupid and meaningless thing that was robbing him of his life.” As one of his final acts of living, Andy decides that “He wanted the jacket off his back,” (Hunter 7) so when hopefully Laura, his girlfriend, and others would find him, they would see him for the man he was, not just a boy in a street gang, an insignificant casualty. Similarly, in “HB,” written by Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron breaks free and reveals his identity. Harrison is one of the most talented people in America. He has been given the most extreme handicaps in order to make him conform to the norm. While George and Hazel are watching a televised dance production, Harrison breaks into the performance, “Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio,” after breaking out of prison. Seeing everyone around him synonymous …show more content…
In “OTSB,” Andy dies from his stab wound shortly after removing his Royal’s jacket, which ended up as being his final act alive. He attempted to liberate himself from the the label of the jacket, and to have his life end as Andy. When a cop finds him “the cop picked up the jacket and turned it over in his hands,” beginning to realize who Andy was and how he possibly died, as “A Royal, huh?’ he said.” (Hunter 8) The policeman immediately sees the jacket and assumed that he had been a victim of gang violence; something routine that occurs frequently. He doesn’t see the boy who attempted to free himself from the jacket. Andy removed the jacket so he would be seen more humanly instead of a boy who got himself into a gang. Andy being a Royal is what killed him; his identity making him a target. The cop dismissed his death is inevitable, that he has joined a gang and chose to make this decision with his life. Because of Andy choosing to join a gang, the cop shows no empathy and compassion towards Laura, Andy’s girlfriend who is sobbing at his body. He is indifferent to the entire episode. In “HB,” Harrison declares himself the emperor because he has released himself from his handicaps and has become the strongest, unburdened, liberated version of himself. Because of Harrison breaking the norm, “the Handicapper General came into the
“On the Sidewalk, Bleeding” and “Harrison Bergeron” differ greatly in setting, one being set on a city sidewalk in the past, and the other in a house in 2081. Both the stories show two different stages of equality in time, in the past where there were many inequalities in daily life, and in the future where everything and everyone is equal. In “OTSB”, Andy the main character wears a jacket whose “lettering across the back of the jacket read THE ROYALS,” a gang. (Hunter 1) Andy is not equal to others, for he is part of an exclusive group …show more content…
In “On The Sidewalk Bleeding,” written by Evan Hunter, Andy gets stabbed and he realizes that he might have been only stabbed because of the jacket; not because of the man inside the jacket. The jacket was just a figurehead, a trophy for someone to say “I killed a Royal.” Andy realizes that “He wanted to take off the jacket;” to be more than a Royal. “The jacket only had one meaning now,” a brand showing him to be one of an elite group, a worthy prize to take down, and that “The jacket was a stupid and meaningless thing that was robbing him of his life.” As one of his final acts of living, Andy decides that “He wanted the jacket off his back,” (Hunter 7) so when hopefully Laura, his girlfriend, and others would find him, they would see him for the man he was, not just a boy in a street gang, an insignificant casualty. Similarly, in “HB,” written by Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron breaks free and reveals his identity. Harrison is one of the most talented people in America. He has been given the most extreme handicaps in order to make him conform to the norm. While George and Hazel are watching a televised dance production, Harrison breaks into the performance, “Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio,” after breaking out of prison. Seeing everyone around him synonymous …show more content…
In “OTSB,” Andy dies from his stab wound shortly after removing his Royal’s jacket, which ended up as being his final act alive. He attempted to liberate himself from the the label of the jacket, and to have his life end as Andy. When a cop finds him “the cop picked up the jacket and turned it over in his hands,” beginning to realize who Andy was and how he possibly died, as “A Royal, huh?’ he said.” (Hunter 8) The policeman immediately sees the jacket and assumed that he had been a victim of gang violence; something routine that occurs frequently. He doesn’t see the boy who attempted to free himself from the jacket. Andy removed the jacket so he would be seen more humanly instead of a boy who got himself into a gang. Andy being a Royal is what killed him; his identity making him a target. The cop dismissed his death is inevitable, that he has joined a gang and chose to make this decision with his life. Because of Andy choosing to join a gang, the cop shows no empathy and compassion towards Laura, Andy’s girlfriend who is sobbing at his body. He is indifferent to the entire episode. In “HB,” Harrison declares himself the emperor because he has released himself from his handicaps and has become the strongest, unburdened, liberated version of himself. Because of Harrison breaking the norm, “the Handicapper General came into the