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 on the same level as the average people. Instead, they have been degraded to below average. An example of this would be the ballerinas. During one of the scenes, two of the dancers had fallen down because of a small radio transmitter that had been implanted into their ears. This earpiece was supposed to only impair deep thoughts, but it had been too strong for most of the handicapped. This, as said before, was able to knock down two ballerinas, meaning that it could also do physical damage as well, and not only mentally. In addition, people with only mental handicaps are also extra handicapped because of the transmitter’s extremely loud noises. This proves that people aren’t truly equal in “Harrison Bergeron” due to the fact that the now …show more content…
They say the handicaps only restrict them when they are thinking too hard, too strong, or look pretty. They also say that if the people don’t try to be too smart, strong, or pretty, they will be rid of their handicaps. However, how can the people as humans not think deeply into things? If they can’t think deeply, they won’t be able to decide or compare what is better for them. In addition, humans get stronger naturally, so the people may be able to outgrow the handicaps. This means that it is not their choice to grow and get stronger, but they still get punished because of it. However, people still believe that the world of “Harrison Bergeron” is still