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Theme Essay: Harrison Bergeron Equality does not mean an ideal society. The short fiction story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut brings an idea that an over controlled society for equality can result in negatively. This idea is shown through actions, objects, and dialogue of the characters of the story. When everyone is equal under the control of the government, the dehumanization cannot be avoided in the society. By the definition of Oxford dictionary, dehumanization is depriving positive human qualities. To be equal in every way, significant of each individual needs to be omitted or handicapped. But because there is no individuality, people become like robots produced from a factory. For example, a ballerina who has a voice of “warm, luminous, timeless melody” must not be used in society because it is unequal for people who do not have it according to the story (Vonnegut 136). Instead, she is to speak in “a grackle squawk” tone in controlled way (Vonnegut 136). She cannot express her significant voice. However, this may make her equal to everyone, but it is not fair to her because she cannot use her own ability when she has it. Everyone has a desire to express one’s characteristic, but her individuality is suppressed by the rule of the society. Once it is suppressed in a way that government wants, it becomes no more than a robot because a robot moves only in the way that is designed to do. Certainly, there is always a character that cannot fit into the society that has gone to extreme control. Harrison Bergeron who is son of George and Hazel is intelligent and an athlete; he has become a threat to the equality of the society. He has broken into the television studio and has claimed himself to be emperor. Moreover, he has taken his handicaps off that government has set. He has rebelled against the government not to be dehumanized and to express his characteristics. The Handicapper General Diana Moon which represents the government “came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun” and killed him (Vonnegut 138). Diana possibly would not think that killing him is not murdering because she does not think him as an important individual but just a source of threat in the society. When a society only revolves around group of people instead of around individual, a person in the society is not individual anymore but becomes a number that it part of the group. Harrison who could have become a great man in a society that revolves around individuality is dehumanized by Diana who considered him as just a number that is needed to be erased for sake of the society. For every single thing in the society is controlled for sake of equality, there is no development anymore. Development or improvement comes from creative thinking. However, the government has set up the standard of thinking or intelligence which allows no thinking “about anything except in short bursts” (Vonnegut 134). Because this is equal society, everyone has to have same intelligence that government has set as standard. George who has “his intelligence . . . way above normal” has to wear “a little mental handicap radio in his ear” (Vonnegut 134). If everyone is to think nothing but short bursts, then there would be no person like Einstein or Newton who came up with great ideas that would improve to contemporary physics. Then, the society would have no better development and remain same since all the discoveries are made from curious thoughts. If yesterday and today of the society are the same, people would not dream or hope anything because nothing is changing. Because hope is lost, there would be no goal to achieve. How blunt would life be? Even though George and Hazel said that they’d hate to be back to the Dark Ages again, the society of the story would be no different from the people’s life in Dark Ages. In Dark Ages, people lost hope of improvement of life. It was blunt and harsh life. The society of the story is second Dark Ages which everyone does not have hope of improvement and creativity. The over controlled society cannot but have the dictatorship. It is absurd that group of people who can only think short bursts or handicapped can control the society properly. Dictatorship is a political system by dictator: “ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force” (Oxford Dictionaries). In order to control the society or over control it, there needs to be a superior or elite group that rule over the society. Handicapper General Diana Moon and Handicapper General men are the elite group and do not have handicaps and do not have an average intelligence according to the evidences in the story. For example, Diana Moon Glampers “aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on” (Vonnegut 138). If Diana Moon Glampers has an average intelligence, she would not be able to say this quote since what she said on the quote is from above average intelligence. Also, the men of Diana Moon Glampers are the ones who make handicaps that would make people equal. Making technological devices such as “pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses” require high intelligence (Vonnegut 136). The type of the government of the story is dictatorship that over controls the society, for the government does not change the concept of equality when citizens may change thoughts about it. According to famous man John Emerich, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Diana Moon Glampers killed Harrison and forced musicians to wear handicaps back without any trial or asking opinion of the citizen. As result, George and Hazel lost their son. How cruel is this under the over controlled society? Diana Moon would keep doing same deed over and over as long as the society is controlled by her. People in the society of the story are not equal, and it is not equalized society because there is unequal and unfair group that enforces the equality in the society. Therefore, equalized society cannot become true under an over controlled society Finally, it is clear that over controlled society focusing only on the equality brings dehumanization, no development, and dictatorship. There is an ideal society that people dream of, but there is no perfect ideal society. |