Sadaf Malik 10/20/14 Block 1 Compare and Contrast Paragraph The short stories "Examination Day" by Henry Seslar and "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut‚ both examine the idea of a world where governments have total control over its citizens. The main characters in the stories are Dickie Jordan and Harrison Bergeron. In "Examination Day" discrimination against intelligence is portrayed through Dickie who is eliminated because his "intelligence quotient [was] above the Government regulation."
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Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut’s Jr.’s short science-fiction story “Harrison Bergeron” proves exactly why the government should never be allowed total control over a nation’s freedoms or actions. When the government plays a bigger role than they should‚ they cause controversy amongst citizens. In “Harrison Bergeron”‚ they corrupted an entire nation to believe that they needed to live a specific lifestyle. “Harrison Bergeron” goes into greater detail with a specific family. In 2081‚ Amendments
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their outcomes. In both of the stories I have chosen (A&P and Harrison Bergeron)‚ the main characters are classified as heroes because of their willingness to defy the authoritive forces around them‚ whether it be the store manager Lengel in A&P or the Handicapper General in Harrison Bergeron‚ as well as their willingness to strike out on their own instead of adhering to social norms. In Harrison Bergeron‚ the main character Harrison stands up to a society that attempts to dull his individual qualities
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The United States has always been called the “land of opportunity”. Individuals are said to be free to pursue their dreams to the best of their abilities. Almost everyone living in the type of society of “Harrison Bergeron” is born with a fixed mindset‚ where they think there is no room for growth and everyone is okay with settling for average. A truly equal society is something that sounds great‚ but will become a disaster in the long run. Vonnegut uses characterization‚ word choice‚ and several
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Vonnegut Jr.’s Harrison Bergeron and Orwell’s 1984 are based on the concept of negative utopia. The governments in both these novels control their masses using harsh methods. The government in 1984 uses brainwashing‚ doublethink‚ mutability of the past and vaporization to control its masses. The government in Harrison Bergeron uses physical and mental handicaps to control its masses and in the effort to make everyone equal. Both the governments have a tight control on its people but the government
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polar opposite however‚ a dystopian society‚ is a society where everything from freedom and justice has completely become irrelevant‚ where everything is undesirable and frightening. One source that will be used is Kurt Vonnegut’s short story; Harrison Bergeron which has very contrasting themes depending on individual perspective. The thing with these societies is that more often than not‚they are based around individual perspective. Much like journalism and overall modern media‚ perspectives will revolve
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"Differently Abled" "Harrison Bergeron" is a dystopian science fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut and first published in 1961. It deals with egalitarianism. The theme is set by the first line: "The year was 2081‚ and everyone was finally equal." Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (October 1961)‚ the story is available in the author’s collection‚ Welcome to the Monkey House. In the story‚ societal equality has been achieved by handicapping the most
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Equality Isn’t as Easy as an Open Book Do you ever wonder whether people are truly equal? In the world of the short story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut‚ everyone is “equal” in terms of strength‚ wisdom‚ and beauty. No one is stronger‚ smarter‚ or prettier than each other. Everyone supposedly is virtually the same because of the new laws and handicaps implemented in 2081. However‚ not everyone is truly equal in this story. One reason for this is that all the handicapped people aren’t
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“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut‚ is a story about a society living with handicaps in order for everyone to be equal. These handicaps tamper with certain people natural abilities in order to bring them down to be equivalent with their peers. George and Hazel Bergeron are couple living in this utopian society. They had a son named Harrison Bergeron. Although he was put in jail for planning to overthrow the government. The couple does not seem to remember him as Hazel has a average intelligence
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Nethergrave and Harrison Bergeron have an imaginative setting. Nethergrave was very imaginative because of the things that happened during the story. Harrison Bergeron has a very “unreal” setting in comparison to real life. Today I will be reading and learning more about both of these stories. In this essay‚ we will explore both stories and learn why their setting is drastically different than in real life. Harrison Bergeron takes place in 2018. There’s a married couple (George and Hazel Harrison) and they
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