When everyone is equal, it doesn't make the world perfect
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"Harrison Bergeron" teaches readers that world will never be perfect or equal. The same goes for every individual in the world. If everyone in the world was the same, society would crumble. There would be no point to living in a structured world because if everyone was equal, no one would need or have to depend on other people. Equality plays a major role in "Harrison Bergeron." The way people are equalized in this short story is inflicting physical or mental handicaps on someone. For example, someone who is a very good dancer would be handicapped by wearing large, unbalanced weights. Somebody who is very attractive would wear something that humiliates them and shows their bad side. All of these handicaps are issued by the government in order to keep the world equal and fair. If people remove any of these handicaps themselves, the government has the right to fine and arrest them. This is because the government amended the Constitution to allow these actions. The story begins by explaining George and Hazel's son, Harrison, has been arrested by the government for unknown reasons. George Bergeron is mentally handicapped by an object that emits a loud ear-piercing noise every twenty seconds to prevent his normally advanced brain from thinking of something that could harm the government. "Why don't you stretch out on the sofa, so's you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch." She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of bird shot in a canvas bag, which was padlocked around George's neck. "Go on and rest the bag for a little while," she said. "I don't care if you're not equal to me for a while"(3). This particular quote from the story reveals much from the world they live in now. First of all, it shows that people who are physically stronger than others wear more weight to balance society even more. Also it shows that the people under the government don't want everyone to be equal; therefore, Hazel doesn't mind if he rests his forty-seven extra pounds for a few hours. Hazel, on the other hand, has average intelligence and average everything else, so she does not have any mental handicaps. In the story, the couple is watching TV and a news broadcast interrupts their program. It explains that a fourteen year old boy has escaped from prison and is not handicapped which gives him the advantage. We learn that the boy on TV is Harrison and the reason he was arrested in the first place was because he was plotting to overthrow the government. All of a sudden, a door is ripped off of its hinges in the news studio. Harrison enters the studio and shouts, "I am the Emperor!"(5) and "Now watch me become what I can become!"(5) He continues to tear off his physical and mental handicaps; while everyone in the studio is cowering for their lives. After he had picked away every last piece of metal on himself, he selected one of the dancers to be his new empress and he told the musicians to play the best they've ever played. Harrison and his empress danced beautifully until they were, "Suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they
kissed each other for a long, long time"(7). That was before the handicapper general, who leads the operation of supplying all of the handicaps, busted into the room with a double barrel and ended two innocent people's lives. She pointed at the musicians and told them they ten seconds to get their own handicaps back on. George and Hazel's television set went black and George's ears rung with pain. George asks Hazel why she has been crying and she simply says I don't know, and thinks about something that she thought she had seen on TV a few minutes ago, but decides to forget it anyways. Another ring in George's ear and he forgets what happened also. "Harrison Bergeron" teaches us that people aren't meant to be perfect and if they are, the world would fall apart. It makes us realize that diversity is never the wrong thing to have.
kissed each other for a long, long time"(7). That was before the handicapper general, who leads the operation of supplying all of the handicaps, busted into the room with a double barrel and ended two innocent people's lives. She pointed at the musicians and told them they ten seconds to get their own handicaps back on. George and Hazel's television set went black and George's ears rung with pain. George asks Hazel why she has been crying and she simply says I don't know, and thinks about something that she thought she had seen on TV a few minutes ago, but decides to forget it anyways. Another ring in George's ear and he forgets what happened also. "Harrison Bergeron" teaches us that people aren't meant to be perfect and if they are, the world would fall apart. It makes us realize that diversity is never the wrong thing to have.
WHy it's Science fictionThe definition of science fiction proves that "Harrison Bergeron" is indeed one of these types of fiction. One of the main reasons the story is science fiction is because it is in a different time than the present. It is set in 2081, so everything that is happening in the story could very well be happening by that time in our own world. It is highly unlikely that it would happen, but there is still a chance. Since this genre is fiction and not fantasy, that supports it even more. If the story was fantasy, that would mean there is absolutely no way it could ever happen in real life.
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Five literary Terms from "Harrison Bergeron"
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Connection"Harrison Bergeron" and "A Sound of Thunder"aw are related in a few ways, but they also differ in a couple of ways. Of course they are both categorized as science fiction literature, so both of them deal with different time ranges. "A Sound of Thunder" takes place in the far past so much so that anything the characters do can affect the future greatly. However, "Harrison Bergeron" takes place in the near future and it is drastically different than anyone would think it would be. Not only do these stories have different settings based on time, they also contrast in the fact that the characters have more or less knowledge of subjects. The time travelers who hunt dinosaurs know what effects of little things in the past can have on things in the future; therefore, they've taken many precautions to ensure the safety of their world isn't changed by something that happened long ago. The knowledge of the world Hazel and George live in is very low compared to the time travelers. All they know is that they were meant to wear handicaps in order to keep the world equal and fair. One last way that the two stories are related is that they both include elements of life that could possibly happen, but would not be invented for thousands of years to come. Overall, most stories of the same genre can be compared and contrasted in many ways.
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