Julie Hagerty

Is it possible to have equality and maintain freedom? Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is a satirical science fiction short story that takes place in the American future of the year 2081. Vonnegut’s story is seemingly a utopia from the opening line that “everybody was finally equal” but is quickly revealed to be a dystopia due to the severe limitations placed on civilians in order to maintain equality. Vonnegut mentioning of the specific traits to which every American is equal is reflecting the American values. “Harrison Bergeron” ironically conveys that the concept of equality in the culture of American ideology is fundamentally flawed and is corrupted by the misunderstanding of opposing political philosophies like communism and socialism. The types of traits, and qualities that a culture deems important has a huge influence on the level of equality of that society. Vonnegut specifically satirizes intelligence, aesthetics, and physical ability as “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” It is important to distinguish these properties are specific to the individual, not integral to overall societal governance and are subjective. The focus on these almost superficial qualities as important enough to create amendments to the constitution is a jab at what Americans deem important. Important characteristics of equality that are absent from the story are equality in education, income…

The story Harrison Bergeron takes place in America, and in 2081. In the story Harrison Bergeron everybody is equally the same, no one is better looking, stronger, and smarter than everyone else. Also if your better looking, stronger, or smarter than everyone else you would have to wear these things called handicaps which kept you from being better than everyone else. This makes me think that equality isn’t always good. First of all in the story Harrison Bergeron the government tortures the…

Harrison Bergeron versus 2081 We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson. We in the United State hold this line of the Declaration of Independence to be a pivotal part of our country. We have went to war many times to uphold the right that everyone to be equal. Many men and women have died to help ensure that…

People have different opinions on whether everyone was or was not truly equal in Harrison Bergeron. Harrison Bergeron is a short story about everyone becoming equal in the year 2081. In 2081, society is made “equal” by putting handicaps on the more talented people, and making them have consequences if they take the handicaps off.I believe that people aren’t truly equal in Harrison Bergeron. I believe that people aren’t equal in Harrison Bergeron because of handicaps, handicaps on certain people,…

The meaning of freedom is self-explanatory when first mentioned, however it has a deeper meaning for an individual rather than a group of people. “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, is dystopian fiction, in which the story takes place in the future, but society is broken. Kurt Vonnegut based his story on a society that had attempted to create the perfect world of equality, but it went awry. In the short story, “A&P,” by John Updike, 19-year-old Sammy works as a grocery store clerk in a small…

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr is a science fiction short story that takes place in America in the year 2081. Some of the major characters are Harrison Bergeron and Diana Moon Glampers. Harrison Bergeron is a fourteen year old teen who was imprisoned for going against the law; he was not equal to the rest of society. Diana Moon Glampers is known in the story as the Handicapped General. It was her responsibility to give people their handicaps and enforce the law that everyone is equal. The…

“‘And I say to you, that if it is GREATNESS we must destroy, then let us drag our enemy out of the darkness where it has been hiding! Let us shine a LIGHT...so that AT LAST, ALL THE WORLD CAN SEE!’” (Tuttle 2009). This quote creates a huge change in the main character than we see in the short story “Harrison Bergeron.” In both the short story “Harrison Bergeron” and the movie “2081” there are many similarities and differences. One similarity that stood out to me was that Harrison announces a…

Harrison Bergeron is a short story written in 1961 by Kurt Vonnegut, it is set in 2081, in a dystopian version of the U.S. The government feels that everyone should be equal, so they put handicaps on above average people. Harrison was smart, fast, and strong, he also threatened the government, who thought he was under handicapped, he eventually broke out of jail, but was killed shortly after. The Great Awakening occurred in Colonial America, from the 1730’s-1740’s. One of the main ideals of the…

Julie Mehretu was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1970. She was schooled in Kalamazoo, where she received her bachelor degree in Art, and continued on to receive her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in 1997 (Artnet). She lives and works in Harlem New York with her artist and partner (Plagens). Mehretu works on drawings influenced by architectural plans and aerial maps. She adds many layers to increase complexity. She relates the layering to herself as parts of who she is. She…

The Lion King has What? In Margaret Lazarus essay “All’s Not Well in Land of “The Lion King”” she points out all of the all the stereotypes she sees in the movie The Lion King. The stereotypes she talks about are racism, sexual orientation, and feminism. This essay is a summary and response over her essay and all of the stereotypes she points out, using the movie as our evidence. One of the stereotypes Margaret Lazarus states in her essay about the The Lion King is racist. She states in her…