Lifting ungifted people
Lifting ungifted people
Within the story of Harrison Bergeron, there are many different aspects that Kurt Vonnegut wrote about. However, some are easier to identify compared to others. Some of the things and aspects that Vonnegut wrote about in Harrison Bergeron can be clearly identified by the words stated whereas other aspects written about take a bit of thinking about. Beginning with what was directly stated. In the year of 2081, everyone was required to be equal by the government. If some citizens were more better in ways such as stronger, more beautiful, or more intelligent, the government prevented equality by having those citizens to wear “handicaps”. An example of how we can obviously see this is when George and Hazel are watching T.V.. It is stated that,…
J.D. Salinger’s book, The Catcher in the Rye, constantly gets debated on whether high school English classes need to read it. Despite the crude language and R-rated stories, every high schooler needs to read this book. After the book gets dissected, the deeper meanings of the story come about and show the importance for reading the book.…
In the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. writes about forced equality by the government through the use of technology. The government handicaps every individual in an attempt to achieve equality, but in reality the Handicapper General and her army are creating a larger gap between equality and inequality in society. The more average citizens were “burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked.” (Pg. 176) Beauty was hidden with hideous masks, intelligence was constrained with radio transmitters, and physical capabilities were limited with weights. All in an attempt to create equality among a whole society.…
Imagine being placed in the year 2081 and see people with athletic or intelligent abilities being handicapped with masks, weights, and ear radios. That’s was a ho people with gifts or talent were treated in “Harrison Bergeron”. This leads to the assumption that everyone in “Harrison Bergeron” wasn’t equal…
Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian story, Harrison Bergeron, is set in the year 2081, when everyone has been made equal. The means used to create this equality are not in any way unthinkable, although we may like to turn them away and think of them as such. Examining the first 50 years of the 20th century, you will notice a trend of reliance, trust, and general obedience to the government and the way things are. In the 60s however, with the anti-war protests and movements, citizens of the US became more aware of their impact on the government, and the fact that the government does not necessarily know best. In the following decades leading up to now, those thoughts have faded to the back of many people's minds, which may be a terrible mistake. If citizens are not conscious of the world they live in, it opens the door for scenarios, not unlike the happenings of 2081 and dictatorships, which have happened in many parts of the world already. These scenarios are in our past and present, and the similarities between 2081 and 2015 cannot be ignored.…
Similar observations are made by academic writer and author Sarah Graham in her book entitled Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. In this book, Graham addresses a variety of reading techniques, themes, and comparisons/contrasts in regards to Salinger’s most popular novel, but she specifically addresses the main theme of Holden’s attempt to escape the phony 1950’s materialistic focused society surrounding him. Graham begins her take on this theme of escaping society with a chapter on Holden’s rebellion: “Developing the theme of rebellion, Holden’s visit to Mr. Spencer confirms that he is opposed to the conventional ideas that school and society encourage in order to promote stability” (34). During this visit to Mr. Spencer’s house that Graham…
In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye, the novel tends to present a pessimistic view towards humanity. J.D Salinger’s negative views on humanity are presented in the book by expressing the phonies in society, the belief that humans have a repetitive lifestyle, and the immaturity of the human race. J.D Salinger views the phonies in society negatively. He also views the cycle of change that humans go through in a negative way, saying that once they turn into adults they will be doing the same thing every day. Last, he views the immature minds of some people negatively. All three of these points help prove J.D Salinger’s belief that humanity is negative.…
Technology inhibits the development of our fullest ability The short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut takes place in the distant future, the year 2081 to be exact. George is one of the main characters in the story was given a mental handicap from the government. If George and other characters don’t wear the mental handicaps they will go to jail. Technology inhibits the characters cognitive ability because the handicap creates a distraction from thinking, it takes away remembrance and leaves the characters feeling no sympathy for a lost loved one.…
“To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction.” In this quote, spoken by Isaac Newton, he implies that every action that humans do or create there will always be an opposed response. In this story, a society created an “equality”, but in doing so, people couldn’t reach their full potential. “Harrison Bergeron”, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., revolves around the idea that equality can help, but also destroy a society. Vonnegut describes identical and uniform human beings using symbolism that represents a bigger concept to argue futuristically that equality destroys the growth of individuals and consequently limits society.…
The genuine joy Holden gets from watching Phoebe is a striking image of his fantasies of innocence and his collapsing psyche. For a moment Holden sees the joy that he envisions all the children of his rye field are like. Within Phoebe’s happiness Holden is transfixed and distraught, because the sudden realization that he is transitioning to a world he does not feel equipped for triggers the end of his ambivalence. As the carousel spins so does Holden’s reality, he loses sense of even further sense of himself. The Catcher in the Rye is a bildungsroman, but it is unique in how Holden not only resists growing up, but also he ends the novel more unstable and lost than he started off as. A quest or journey is supposed to lead to a literal or metaphorical…
In the novel The Catcher and the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden expresses his hate for the idea of growing up and becoming an adult, as he sees the majority of adults as phonies. Along with that, he regards the process as taking away your innocence and freedom. With his view of adulthood, he hates the idea of children having to go through what he did and losing their innocence. He often praises children, placing them as superior to adults.…
What is a world without color? A world without sound coming from every angle enveloping our every move and caressing our minute ear drums? A world without the ability to speak out and enlighten the world with new perspectives? Having something to say but physically restrained to do so? What would it feel like to be immobile in our hands, legs, and neck? How difficult would it be to accomplish everyday activities when we have to rely on others to be our hands, our ears, or our eyes? It is common as a fortunate as we are to take for granted the ability we have to express ourselves or be independent as we all are. However, we neglect to see the minority of the population who are forced to live in unsuitable…
Is being equal the source of happiness? In “Harrison Bergeron” everybody is equal from their intelligence to their looks, no one is allowed to be different. But those who are, are called “Handicapped”. Handicapped people are the ones that outshines the rest with their beauty, their talent and their intelligence. They are forced to put on weights, masks to hide their beauty and ear piece that at random makes a loud noise.…
In “Harrison Bergeron,” individuals are expected to conform to society. People are downplayed and anticipated to meet the lowest standards of society. For example, no one is smarter, better looking, stronger, or quicker than anybody else (1554). If an individual is deemed not average, then they are given a handicap. The protagonist in Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is considered dangerous and a threat to the government. He bears heavier handicaps than everybody else in his society. He wears big earphones, glasses with thick wavy lenses, and scrap metal that hangs all over him. At the end of the short story, Harrison strips himself of all his handicaps. By stripping himself of his handicaps, Harrison is breaking the chains of his government and defying the laws.…
Although the comparisons are well hidden both today’s society and the story ‘Harrison Bergeron’ share a good amount of similarities. They both have to deal with equality, which leads to problems and consequences. Secondly having to deal with competition and trying to prevent it from occurring, which also leads to problems. Lastly both struggle with normality, and it’s hard to accept that different is okay now.…