Harrison Bergeron By Kurt Vonnegut: An Analysis
The value a society places on a citizen’s rights and the amount of value that individual has compared to others has shown to be one of the factors to determine how progressive, or therefore primitive a society is considered to be. Equality before the law as both a citizen and a leader, known as the rule of law, is a very important concept to those who feel all people deserve equal rights. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Not only is an individual equal before the law, but in “every which way.” (Vonnegut 669). Anyone with superior looks, strength, or intelligence is given government-dictated handicaps that make him or her average. Hazel and George Bergeron, two citizens unfortunate enough to give birth to an abnormal baby. They just were
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A scene set in a society that strips individuality and strives for complete and utter equality by any means. Many feel that people should have similar rights and be treated the same by everyone, but in this world you are truly revoked of your physical and mental prowess if it is above average. This ridiculous satire of “America’s form of egalitarianism” (Hattenhauer n. pag.) creates a vision of what it is truly like to have a whole country at the baseline of human abilities. This conveying point of how ridiculous it is to bring individuals down instead of raise them up is emphasized within the story and portrayed within the characters. Everyday people such as George and Hazel Bergeron can barely function and are considered the perfect amount of intelligence. Buzzers go off in George's ear to prevent him from thinking too hard or too long about anything. Vonnegut crafts a society idolized for creating a population of people that are barely able to carry out menial tasks. It is such a perverted idea to “depict the american ideal that ‘all men are created equal’ gone amok” (Farrell n. pag.) and make it into a reality. Kurt Vonnegut brings this all to life into a short story that cuts into the idea of equality while simultaneously showing the importance of education and
A scene set in a society that strips individuality and strives for complete and utter equality by any means. Many feel that people should have similar rights and be treated the same by everyone, but in this world you are truly revoked of your physical and mental prowess if it is above average. This ridiculous satire of “America’s form of egalitarianism” (Hattenhauer n. pag.) creates a vision of what it is truly like to have a whole country at the baseline of human abilities. This conveying point of how ridiculous it is to bring individuals down instead of raise them up is emphasized within the story and portrayed within the characters. Everyday people such as George and Hazel Bergeron can barely function and are considered the perfect amount of intelligence. Buzzers go off in George's ear to prevent him from thinking too hard or too long about anything. Vonnegut crafts a society idolized for creating a population of people that are barely able to carry out menial tasks. It is such a perverted idea to “depict the american ideal that ‘all men are created equal’ gone amok” (Farrell n. pag.) and make it into a reality. Kurt Vonnegut brings this all to life into a short story that cuts into the idea of equality while simultaneously showing the importance of education and