Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

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Factual and Fictional Dystopia In 1945, the Third Reich came to an end. The totalitarian regime, the secret police, the surveillance and persecution, it all came to an end. The Nazi party and its practices represented a real-life dystopia. In contrast to a utopia, a theoretical perfect society, a dystopia is the opposite: an imperfect society filled with injustice and suffering. Serving as a POW in Nazi labor camps, Kurt Vonnegut witnessed firsthand the horror and tragedy that was dystopia. This led him to become one of the most prolific writers on the subject, releasing works such as “2BR02B” and “Harrison Bergeron”. Building on the works of dystopian fiction writers, Veronica Roth wrote the book “Divergent,” which was then adapted into a major motion picture directed by Douglas Wick. All of these …show more content…
Firstly, dystopian authors make the commentary that societies are dystopian when people fall in line through the use of propaganda. Kurt Vonnegut, the esteemed dystopian writer, wrote the short story “Harrison Bergeron”. Within “Harrison Bergeron” exists a completely equal and unified population. In this world, nobody is allowed to be greater than or less than one another. Importantly, to accomplish this, the government has imposed extreme limitations on human rights and liberties. This absolute equality, however, is never questioned by the general population, as they have been brainwashed by propaganda into believing their system is best. When George Bergeron, the father of the titular character Harrison Bergeron, tries to explain why one shouldn’t try to free themselves from their system, he says, “If I tried to get away with it, then other people’d get away with it-and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else” (Vonnegut

Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

Miles Minnich Mrs. Deibler CP English 10 5 March 2024 Paper Research People talk about equality everyday, and protest and pray for it. However, equality might not always be as good as people may think it may seem. In 1961, the story “Harrison Bergeron” was written, and it was about a world where everyone is as equal as can be. Giving people restrictions and things that make them equal but really just hold them back and let the government control them makes the thought of everyone being completely…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

Prompt: How is “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., a dystopian genre? Harrison Bergeron is a dystopian genre because in the story the society is viewed as perfect. So people might assume it to be perfect, but once citizens' freedom, rights, and individuality are taken away, they become part of a dystopia no matter how "perfect" it seems. The citizens are under constant surveillance, the citizens have limited information, their independence is few, and their freedom is restricted and controlled…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

who is a threat is someone who is likely to inflict harm upon others. Whereas a hero is someone who is admired for their courage, noble qualities, or outstanding achievements. There is a fine line between the two. In the short story entitled "Harrison Bergeron" the author, Kurt Vonnegut describes the future. In 2081, everyone was made equal through handicaps. They were not only equal under the law but also mentally and physically. Nobody was better than anyone else by being stronger, smarter, or better…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

and everyone will find they are being controlled. In handicapped communities, people with disabilities are often looked at as stronger and smarter than everyone else. However, in Harrison Bergeron, they say that Harrison is dangerous because he is under-handicapped and is a significant threat to everyone. Harrison Bergeron Page 4: They see him as a big threat…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

“Harrison Bergeron”: The Dangers of Government Control Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron," is a dystopia that explores the danger of government control. The use of handicaps, political control, and punishments, prove how dangerous a dystopia like this can be. The use of handicaps controls individuality. In this story, people with above-average smarts, strength, or beauty are made to wear handicaps to force the idea of “sameness”. The handicaps, which are radios, heavy weights, or disguises…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

” – Linda Ellerbee. 50 years from now, everyone is equal in every which way. Those that are not equal are given handicaps to restrict them from beings, smarter, stronger, and more beautiful than everyone else in the society. The society in Harrison Bergeron is controlled by the Handicapper General which is now the modern day government. In order to gain complete control over the way people in the society act is by making everyone equal, producing handicaps for those that have an advantage over the…

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Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

In Harrison Bergeron on page 6, a Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, loaded her gun--on television--and shot at the fourteen year old boy and the ballerina that danced gracefully in the air. After the shot was fired the Bergeron’s television suddenly burned out. Hazel Bergeron--the woman watching the television program pour out before her eyes--couldn’t remember the events she watched after the TV burnt out. The television burned after the shot to erase their memories of that moment. The Government…

Words 275 - Pages 2