Inequality is not desired in society, nobody wants to be left out in the darkness. When a particular cultural group gains strength and ground, other groups will start fighting for themselves to maintain equilibrium. However, if society is equal, there would be a lack of diversity in this world. There would be no competition or drama as everyone will be the identical. In the story “Totem”, Thomas King uses totem poles as symbols to represent a scenario in which a certain culture group is isolated from society. On the other hand, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” uses an image of “Harrison smashing his headphones and spectacles against the wall”, to deliver a message stating that equality is not necessarily a favorable thing.
The symbolic monumental sculptures of totem poles in “Totem”, coming to life demonstrates a first nation’s fight for recognition in society. When the first nations do not acquire the amount of attention compared to other cultural groups, the totem poles begin to make “gargling” noises to acquire the staff’s attention at Prairie Museum. As the museum staff “cut through the base” of these totem poles and carry them down to the basement, a particular “totem …show more content…
Hence, inequality is nonexistent, due to the absence of cultural groups. Moreover, every human is also equal. Nobody is considered to be the smartest or dullest. Individuals are equipped with certain handicaps so everybody possesses “a [perfectly] average intelligence.” Although no one will have to fight for their place in society like how the totem poles did for first nations in “Totem”, there is a lack of character and diversity among individuals. Character traits shatter when everyone is considered to be the same person with identical strengths and weaknesses. When equality is emphasized to the extreme, it defeats cultural diversity and
The symbolic monumental sculptures of totem poles in “Totem”, coming to life demonstrates a first nation’s fight for recognition in society. When the first nations do not acquire the amount of attention compared to other cultural groups, the totem poles begin to make “gargling” noises to acquire the staff’s attention at Prairie Museum. As the museum staff “cut through the base” of these totem poles and carry them down to the basement, a particular “totem …show more content…
Hence, inequality is nonexistent, due to the absence of cultural groups. Moreover, every human is also equal. Nobody is considered to be the smartest or dullest. Individuals are equipped with certain handicaps so everybody possesses “a [perfectly] average intelligence.” Although no one will have to fight for their place in society like how the totem poles did for first nations in “Totem”, there is a lack of character and diversity among individuals. Character traits shatter when everyone is considered to be the same person with identical strengths and weaknesses. When equality is emphasized to the extreme, it defeats cultural diversity and