Preview

Harrison Bergeron

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
510 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harrison Bergeron
HarrShania Johnson
8/24/13
Short Stories
Harrison Bergeron Reflection Essay Harrison Bergeron is a man that just wanted to be free and unique. He does not like the fact that the society is equal. No one is better than anyone, which leads to loss of individuality. The governor of the Handicaps regulates the society and how the people view their selves as. Harrison Bergeron is a story (book form) and a short film. Both forms of the story have similarities and differences, which then reflections on how the readers and audience understood the story. People having different learning styles so these two versions of the story are very helpful. I first read the story to get an idea of the story before I watched the short film. I understood what the story was talking about and the plot. Although I understood the main idea of the film, I still misinterpreted some parts and details within the story. Once I watched the film I noticed there were some differences than what I have retained. In the book form it said the setting/ time period took place in 2081. People that were beautiful had to wear mask over their faces and the strong had to wear bags over their heads. Also the intelligent had to wear radio transmitters on heir ears which made a loud, screeching sound. The noise made them forget their next train thought. The governor of the handicaps made these rules so everyone can feel equal. No one will feel and be better than any other person in the society. In the film, the setting took place in 2053 and no one was wearing masks or bags. The people did wear weight bags as all day attire, something that was not mentioned in the book. While reading the story I also pictured the people wearing different clothing and Harrison’s parents home looking differently than what the movie portrayed. In the book I pictured the people clothed like us now in 2013, colorful clothing and up to date styles and the residence with white walls, vivid pictures, and nice furniture. In

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nancy Mairs's essay “Disability from Carnival Acts describes how the speaker, Nancy Mairs, lives every day with a disability. She reveals her view on the handicap and disabled. Nancy Mairs has multiple sclerosis, weakening of the bones, and she feels as if she is being judged and is inferior to everyone else. The audience is definitely aware of how she feels. She is very blunt about her feelings and everything else. She wants to make a stand for all the disabled people. The essay displays desperation, as well as hope. She is desperate to be equal and to no be judged; She has hope that one day all handicap will be equal. Nancy Mairs is a true symbol of how handicap people can persevere, stand through anything, and triumph over adversity. She lives a competent life filled with judgmental people looking at her poorly, simply because of her disability.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both story and movie portray a future where everyone is mentally, physically, and socially equal. The people who made the film did not portray it well in most areas. The character Harrison Bergeron in both the movie and story was described differently. Harrison’s father wears a metal handicap radio in his ear. The government in the story regulates mostly everything and in the movie they it forces the people to obey the laws that are announced. The story shows the character Harrison as if he is superman, but the film does not show that at all.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nancy Mairs starts her essay by describing herself as a crippled woman with multiple sclerosis. She talks about her condition and how she’s never seen a crippled woman like her in the media. Then she mentions some television shows about disabled people that focus almost entirely on disabilities and neglect the person’s character. Mairs states that although disability changes a lot in one’s life, it doesn’t kill him/her. She for example, can do what every other woman her age can do. And although she’s a great consumer, advertisers never choose someone like her to represent their products publicly; and the reason for that, according to Mairs, is that people cannot yet accept the fact that disability is something ordinary. The consequences of this situation are hash on disable people, for they might feel like they don’t exist. Finally, Nancy Mairs says that anyone might become disabled. But if one sees disability as a normal characteristic then it…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As stated on page 1, handicaps have been made to take away so call advantages that some people have. As stated by the author, a Handicapper General was…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In short story “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut uses symbols and hyperbole to show how conformity isn’t better. Their society's solution to equality is to change the people who have unique attributes and make them the same as the average person. Vonnegut uses the handicaps to show how equality isn’t better and how their government fails to make everyone equal. They try to force individuals to change so they are conforming and no one will compete against each other. If you are above average you have a handicap, so it is obvious you are superior in some way. Vonnegut shows the characters are aware of this when George thinks “the ballerina… must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous”(Vonnegut, Kurt “Harrison…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, is a story about a dystopian, futuristic society in which every citizen is made “equal” to everyone else. In the story, the author seems to be telling a tale of the horrors of socialism and putting everyone on the same level, but the author is giving a humorous portrayal of socialist society to show that fears of socialism are ridiculous. In order to examine the themes in “Harrison Bergeron”, and to discern what the work reveals about the author's feelings or opinions on the subject understanding two parts of the short story is necessary: examples of ridiculous ideas in the story, and jokes in the…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” the government attempts to create equality between all individuals, and unfortunately, propitiously succeeds. The equality laws state that all of mankind must be identical to each other in terms of appearance and knowledge. Intelligent beings are handicapped with a monitor in their ear which emits caustic sounds every twenty seconds or so, to wreck their train of thought. Charming and good-looking individuals are forced to wear a paper bag over their heads, or are told to physically ridicule certain parts of their face. Graceful people wear bags of birdshot on their backs to weigh them down, and strong people are weakened in the same manner. As a result, the society is supposedly “equal.” However, citizens are suffering physically due to their handicaps, everyone has been degraded to the lowest intelligence and ability…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It’s 2081 in the United States and the Handicapper General is forcing people to wear handicaps that make them equal...but are they really equal? People in 2081 were given handicaps to make them equal. Except some people could do something, when others couldn’t, even with their handicaps. The people in the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, are NOT equal.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever forgot something very important that could’ve changed your life? In Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron, equality is forced upon the citizens by the government. Everyone is forced to wear handicaps that make everyone “equal”. The government, strictly enforces these handicaps. If someone were to take a handicap off, such as a lead ball hanging from their neck, it would be 2 years in prison and a $2,000 fine. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron, he shows the government is so corrupt that they will do anything to keep their power.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harrison is the main character. He is extremely tall, strong, smart, and handsome. In the story, he symbolizes freedom and originality. He also symbolizes a citizen's choice to free himself or herself and live up to his or her potential. The story quotes, “‘Now, watch me become what I can become.’ Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds.” The metaphorical straps, guaranteed to hold down a person no matter their strength or determination, were no match for Harrison’s spiritual strength. He broke free from expectations and standards, proving it is possible to be for a person to live up to his or her full potential, even in a world where such behavior is considered unethical. On the other hand, Diana Moon Clampers, along with the rest of the Handicapper Generals, symbolizes the government. She symbolizes a government’s ability to control a society or group of people. The Handicapper Generals are tasked with handicapping the public however they see fit. They arguably take this task too far by not even allowing citizens to think for more than about thirty seconds at a time. By making them do this, Vonnegut shows that if complete equality is strived for, government control may get out of hand, limiting citizens’ individuality and…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Harrison Bergeron” is a short story about a future that is very different from our own. It is a world filled with “handicaps,” devices that are used to have all people who are physically or mentally better than others to lower their abilities to be average. The character the story is named after, Harrison, has multiple handicaps due to his very powerful physical and mental abilities, being called a “genius” and “athletic” in the story. In the climax of the story, Harrison goes on live television and proceeds to remove his handicaps and a ballerina’s, claiming to be an emperor and those who follow him to be his subordinates; he is later killed. The reason Harrison is motivated to challenge the law is to show the public the beauty and power…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harrison, a 7-foot, genius fourteen-year-old, with three hundred pounds of handicaps, was arrested for suspicion for plotting against the government. During a ballerina performance, Harrison escapes prison and barged into the studio and exclaims, “’I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!’” (Vonnegut). He stamped his foot and he bellowed, “‘crippled, hobbled, sickened - I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived!’” (Vonnegut). Harrison, having no actual power in society, thus a proletariat, is trying to depose the firm grip of the handicapping bourgeoisie class. But, the bourgeoisie does not want their ideology of equality to be relinquished, so after trying to imprison Harrison, resort to more violent measures. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, “fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor” (Vonnegut). Not only does this thwart the minute insurrection, it reinforces the grip the bourgeoisie has on the…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harrison Bergeron

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “All men are created equal” these are the words of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed we should live in a world like this, but are we meant to live in a society where everyone is equal and normal? The ideas of egalitarianism can be dangerous if they are interpreted too literally. The agonizing and frustrating normal world in which “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. shows a civilization in which being normal is the only life style that people can live. Beauty is not beauty in this story; in fact it is the complete opposite. Can someone reach their full potential without feeling good about themselves? Is it possible to live life in a world like this? Potential, freedom, and beauty are all abominations in the society of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., but they are all but abolished in this generation of “normal people” where being unique is deemed as illegal. No one is better, everyone is worse. But in a world where the extraordinary is outlawed, only the outlaws are extraordinary.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harrison Bergeron makes us think twice on just how far we want to go to push for equality. In 2081, total equality is achieved but at a cost – sacrificing freedom and individual skill and talent. The three main characters also symbolizes different types of people who have different views toward the law set by the Handicapper General. George Bergeron to me was pretty much your average Joe. Despite him being blessed with substantial intelligence, he simply decides to get by and observe all the rules properly, being content with the system and afraid of consequences. Hazel Bergeron on the other hand, was really just an oblivious girl in a place where oblivious and unaware was the new “average”. She had nothing special to offer, therefore was never even handicapped. Her obliviousness and outright stupidity simply shadows over her kindness and good intentions. And finally, Harrison Bergeron, who was the perfect specimen. He literally had it all, which made the government fear him and did everything in it's power to contain him. Harrison wanted to showcase his abilities to the world and this ultimately led to his death. With this, we are shown that superiority amongst others will not be tolerated.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays