Depending on the type of rule, a society can either lose its ability to function freely through celebrating the unique opinions of its citizens. Authoritarian rule such as that of Hitler’s time, can utilize ultimate scare and control to brainwash the citizens into believing of a false reality where safety can be guaranteed through conformity. This control powers the central authority, wiping away any traces of individualism in the society. Through constructing a dystopian world with communistic tendencies in “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut highlights the theme of losing individualism through absolute conformity and control of society, in an effort to warn individuals of dangers that can arise with absolute authority in societies.
By molding a …show more content…
Although the dystopian society in “Harrison Bergeron” emphasizes the equality of people in relation to each other, a hidden irony skims at the surface of this false reality. To emphasize this dystopian setting, Vonnegut highlights that “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal” (Vonnegut). Vonnegut establishes the fact that no one is stronger than another in any trait to shed light on what a dystopian environment centered around a communist ideal embodies. In addition, he also emphasizes the year of the story taking place in the future, again forewarning the readers that the events in the story could result if individuals allow authority to gain too much power over the citizens. Although the short story establishes a sense of equality between all humans in this unrealistic …show more content…
People are required to hide their strengths to remain equal to everyone else as “they were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked” (Vonnegut). Although the ballerina who represents grace and beauty is made to hide these identifying traits, the mask and weights instead allow the readers to believe that she possesses traits differentiating her from others. According to Joseph Alvarez, the very existence of this dystopia presents itself as an element of hypocrisy. He states that “if everyone were equal in every which way, the various handicaps would not be necessary” (Alvarez). The handicaps explain the weaknesses of the central authority in absolute conformist environments. A communist or socialist rule requires to cover the strengths of the individuals to protect their own power at the expense of individuality and
By molding a …show more content…
Although the dystopian society in “Harrison Bergeron” emphasizes the equality of people in relation to each other, a hidden irony skims at the surface of this false reality. To emphasize this dystopian setting, Vonnegut highlights that “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal” (Vonnegut). Vonnegut establishes the fact that no one is stronger than another in any trait to shed light on what a dystopian environment centered around a communist ideal embodies. In addition, he also emphasizes the year of the story taking place in the future, again forewarning the readers that the events in the story could result if individuals allow authority to gain too much power over the citizens. Although the short story establishes a sense of equality between all humans in this unrealistic …show more content…
People are required to hide their strengths to remain equal to everyone else as “they were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked” (Vonnegut). Although the ballerina who represents grace and beauty is made to hide these identifying traits, the mask and weights instead allow the readers to believe that she possesses traits differentiating her from others. According to Joseph Alvarez, the very existence of this dystopia presents itself as an element of hypocrisy. He states that “if everyone were equal in every which way, the various handicaps would not be necessary” (Alvarez). The handicaps explain the weaknesses of the central authority in absolute conformist environments. A communist or socialist rule requires to cover the strengths of the individuals to protect their own power at the expense of individuality and