Collectivistic Government Fails
Is the system of government deemed as corrupt? Is it true that people are created equal? Is collectivism more important and better than the individual? The novella Anthem by Ayn Rand features a man by the name of Equality 7-2521 who lives in a dystopian society and he’s held back due to his superior brain power. He is forced into a job that no one would want, such as street sweeper to force him down the totem pole. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Harrison is sent to a prison because of his superior strength. Throughout both Anthem by Ayn Rand and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, one can see that the equality movement leads to a government uprising by few, and makes their society weak and vulnerable. …show more content…
In Anthem, the text proclaims “And we were punished when the Council of Vocations came to give us our life Mandates which tell those who reach their fifteenth year what their work is to be for the rest of their days” (Rand 24). On Equality’s 15th year the Council of Vocations hand the job of street sweeper to Equality, even though he is easily one of the smartest people in the school. He quickly forms a couple of friendships and uses a tunnel to make an invention that no one knows about, all of which are against the society’s laws. He even is captured and sent to their version of a prison, because of his actions in the tunnel, all of which happens leads to his escape. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the text voices “‘Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,’ she said in a grackle squawk, ‘has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government’” ( Vonnegut, 3). With the government treatment given to Harrison, giving him handicaps not ever known to man, it is easy to see why he wanted to escape. The government tried to contain the only thing that can exterminate the equality movement, yet he still realized his potential just like Equality did and tried to make a change. If the government corruptness wasn’t so strong, then the society would be a better place and wouldn’t be the current
Is the system of government deemed as corrupt? Is it true that people are created equal? Is collectivism more important and better than the individual? The novella Anthem by Ayn Rand features a man by the name of Equality 7-2521 who lives in a dystopian society and he’s held back due to his superior brain power. He is forced into a job that no one would want, such as street sweeper to force him down the totem pole. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Harrison is sent to a prison because of his superior strength. Throughout both Anthem by Ayn Rand and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, one can see that the equality movement leads to a government uprising by few, and makes their society weak and vulnerable. …show more content…
In Anthem, the text proclaims “And we were punished when the Council of Vocations came to give us our life Mandates which tell those who reach their fifteenth year what their work is to be for the rest of their days” (Rand 24). On Equality’s 15th year the Council of Vocations hand the job of street sweeper to Equality, even though he is easily one of the smartest people in the school. He quickly forms a couple of friendships and uses a tunnel to make an invention that no one knows about, all of which are against the society’s laws. He even is captured and sent to their version of a prison, because of his actions in the tunnel, all of which happens leads to his escape. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the text voices “‘Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,’ she said in a grackle squawk, ‘has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government’” ( Vonnegut, 3). With the government treatment given to Harrison, giving him handicaps not ever known to man, it is easy to see why he wanted to escape. The government tried to contain the only thing that can exterminate the equality movement, yet he still realized his potential just like Equality did and tried to make a change. If the government corruptness wasn’t so strong, then the society would be a better place and wouldn’t be the current