Although they bear some superficial similarities, the differences between The Big Trip Up Yonder and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut are clear. They display disparate themes but use the setting of a futuristic society to show flaws in varying ideas of perfection. The society in Harrison Bergeron shows a “perfect” society through the concept of everyone being equal while The Big Trip Up Yonder shows the idea of living forever. Both of these stories show a possible outcome for popularly explored concepts.
The theme of Harrison Bergeron is that equality is an unattainable goal. The society shows the flaws of trying to gain equality. The government forces citizens to carry handicaps that prevent them from using their natural abilities that might …show more content…
The theme is much different from Harrison Bergeron. When the natural order of life is altered in any way, it throws the way society functions into chaos. Unfortunately, in this story, the danger is not for those choosing to live forever, but those that come after them. The government has raised taxes so high, that families all must live together. In the family displayed in the story, 11 couples in the family live in one cramped apartment owned by the patriarch of the family, who is 175 years old. They all use a substance called anti-gerasone, which stops the aging process. The society is overcrowded, so not only can people not afford to live away from family because of the government’s heavy taxation, there is no where available if they were able to afford it. This is displayed through this family’s struggle to inherit the coveted private room in the apartment when he finally decides to die. There is a tremendous amount of manipulation that goes on on everyone’s part, consequently, this shows a breakdown in family, society, and social norms, ““Lou had glimpsed what was in his hand—Gramps' enormous economy-size bottle of anti-gerasone, which had apparently been half-emptied, and which Morty was refilling with tap water.” (“The Big Trip Up Yonder” 12). Both stories display what happens when there is a breakdown in the important elements of culture, although the ways the disintegration …show more content…
Vonnegut uses a dim future to display the dangers in both perverse concepts, equality and immortality, that people aspire to achieve. Man has always wished to find a cure for death and aging. While it may seem like ideals that would lead to happiness, his futuristic society in The Big Trip Up Yonder shows us otherwise. Likewise, the futuristic society in Harrison Bergeron shows that the goal of equality would come at a steep price. The price that would be paid for equality would be a loss of freedom and progress. As a result, both societies are an example of what the future could be like if people keep striving for these ultimately unnatural goals. Using a future society to display these themes is compelling because it’s difficult to disprove a possibility for the
The theme of Harrison Bergeron is that equality is an unattainable goal. The society shows the flaws of trying to gain equality. The government forces citizens to carry handicaps that prevent them from using their natural abilities that might …show more content…
The theme is much different from Harrison Bergeron. When the natural order of life is altered in any way, it throws the way society functions into chaos. Unfortunately, in this story, the danger is not for those choosing to live forever, but those that come after them. The government has raised taxes so high, that families all must live together. In the family displayed in the story, 11 couples in the family live in one cramped apartment owned by the patriarch of the family, who is 175 years old. They all use a substance called anti-gerasone, which stops the aging process. The society is overcrowded, so not only can people not afford to live away from family because of the government’s heavy taxation, there is no where available if they were able to afford it. This is displayed through this family’s struggle to inherit the coveted private room in the apartment when he finally decides to die. There is a tremendous amount of manipulation that goes on on everyone’s part, consequently, this shows a breakdown in family, society, and social norms, ““Lou had glimpsed what was in his hand—Gramps' enormous economy-size bottle of anti-gerasone, which had apparently been half-emptied, and which Morty was refilling with tap water.” (“The Big Trip Up Yonder” 12). Both stories display what happens when there is a breakdown in the important elements of culture, although the ways the disintegration …show more content…
Vonnegut uses a dim future to display the dangers in both perverse concepts, equality and immortality, that people aspire to achieve. Man has always wished to find a cure for death and aging. While it may seem like ideals that would lead to happiness, his futuristic society in The Big Trip Up Yonder shows us otherwise. Likewise, the futuristic society in Harrison Bergeron shows that the goal of equality would come at a steep price. The price that would be paid for equality would be a loss of freedom and progress. As a result, both societies are an example of what the future could be like if people keep striving for these ultimately unnatural goals. Using a future society to display these themes is compelling because it’s difficult to disprove a possibility for the