ipl-logo

Comparing Dystopia In Anthem And Harrison Bergeron

442 Words2 Pages

Did you know dystopia comes from the word utopia? The word dystopia comes from adding the Latin prefix “dys” which means bad. Dystopia is the complete opposite of a utopia. In dystopian societies, Dystopia represents a created world or society that lives under the rule of a stern and demanding government. Dystopias usually abuse a certain theme such as collectivism, communism, or individualism, socialism etc. In the stories “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand and “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut the main characters live similar lives. In “Harrison Bergeron” Harrison lives a rough life as he is limited because of how he appears and how smart he is. In Anthem Equality 7-2521 is a very smart and want wants to show the government how great it is to think for yourself. However, Harrison and Equality live lives that are the same and different.
“Harrison Bergeron” is a short story and it is dystopian fiction. In the short story equality is forced. In other words everybody’s good attributes taken away. Harrison is the main character and in the society he is very advanced compared to everybody else he is a genius, athletic, also seven feet tall, and only fourteen years old he is in jail for plans to overthrow the government. The theme of the story is …show more content…

Where equality is forced as well. But in this dystopian society equality is represented a little different the government doesn’t want anybody alone or to have their own mind. Equality 7-2521 is the main character in “Anthem”. Equality is smart, six feet tall, and 21 years old. Equality invented something never that would have been invented if I weren’t his own mind. Individualism play a huge role in this story. The author states “Then the wire glowed. Butt terror struck the men of the council” (Rand 7). This affects the society because it shows the mind can do on its own. This proves the theme of individualism because he is thinking alone without anybody’s input or

Show More
Related
414 Words | 2 Pages

Both stories: Harrison Bergeron and Anthem are pieces of dystopian literature with similarities and differences between family and technology. Family in Harrison Bergeron is very different from family in Anthem. In the story of Harrison Bergeron, family is legal, “George and Hazel were watching television” (Vonnegut 1).

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Comparing and contrasting 2081 to Harrison Bergeron Admit it, one time you were bored or sat down with nothing to do and couldn’t help but imagine how life would be if everyone was equal, don’t even try denying it, you’ve thought of that at least once in your life, but as any good writer would do, they’d write their thoughts down and turn it into a story, that’s exactly what Kurt Vonnegut did. Just imagine living a life where no one gets compared to others in any way. We all wish for a society like that, but Kurt showed us how equality can negatively affect our society. But that’s not the our main idea in this essay, our main idea is to highlight the comparisons and contrasts between the story “Harrison Bergeron” and the movie version “2081”. To begin with, Both the story and the movie had the same introduction/ Opening; “Everybody was finally equal.

Read More
319 Words | 2 Pages

2 societys What are the differences between 2 societys,Anthem and “Harrison Bergeron”. Anthem is about a boy named Equality 7-2521 who is smarter than everyone in the society.he meets a girl and then runs away to the forest. ”Harrison Bergeron”is about a boy would needs to have a handicaps to be average. Rand Anthem and vonnegut “Harrison Bergeron” is different with family relationships and mind control. Family relationships are different in many way in Anthem and “Harrison Bergeron”.

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a creative novel about a society limited by a dictating government that only permits certain thoughts, words, and actions for it’s people. In this society, all of the citizens are given a role from age 15 are are expected to follow that role with passion. However, Equality 7-2521 is a citizen of this totalitarian society who feels he must take action to break free. It is ironic his name is Equality 7-2521, because the society revolves around equality (Jones). The dystopian world Equality 7-2521 lives in causes great conflict (internal and external), which forces him to learn many new things and grow as a person throughout the novella.

Read More
208 Words | 1 Pages

Single Paragraph Essay “ Harrison Bergeron ” “ Harrison Bergeron ,” written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. focuses on equality — physically andmentally — strongly controlled by the government in the year 2081; the beautiful are forced tolook ugly, the physically skilled are required to wear weights. With these handicaps makingeveryone so equal, the world became very different, odd, and average. But the government hasno right or reason to push the whole world to be “…equal every which way.” (203) To suppress someone’s natural looks or physical talents is not only wrong to natural human rights, but it is also illegal, and for very good reason: everyone is different.

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel Anthem the author, Ayn Rand discusses the ways Equality 7-2521’s world is a dystopia because independent thought, information and freedom are restricted, the natural world was banished and distressed, a concept is worshipped by the citizens and the society is an illusion of a perfect , utopian world. To begin with, Ayn Rand explains how the Equality 7-2521’s world is a dystopian society because the freedom of think and do anything for yourself is restricted. Equality states “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see... It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own.

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

One common afternoon in the year of 2081, when everyone was equal, Hazel and George Bergeron were in their lovely living room watching television. Suddenly, a news reporter with a severe speech impediment came on. After trying many times to say, “Good morning ladies and gentlemen,” he handed it off to a ballerina who read, “Harrison Bergeron, age 14, has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.” However, in this short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut uses irony, shift and mood, and allusion to illustrated haw society would be if everyone was under the law of equality.

Read More
517 Words | 3 Pages

However, people do not have to conform to the standards set by society. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, society forced people to be alike, in every way possible. No one person better than another. However, it shows that handicapping those who have excelled in an area of life or have greater ability than another is an injustice.

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

The quote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ” summarizes what Harrison is fighting for. The year 2081, there is finally equality, but to be made equal there are many individuals that are made handicapped because they are better than everyone else. Harrison is one that is made handicapped and tension arose between the handicap general and Harrison. Harrison believed that being handicapped stops him from showing his full potential.

Read More
519 Words | 3 Pages

The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is about a couple, Hazel and George Bergeron, in the distant future when all people must be equal. This equality is reached in the form of handicaps. Weights are placed on the strong and athletic people in society, masks are forced upon the beautiful, and loud noises are constantly blasted into the ears of the intelligent to prevent them from thinking. While most equality is often thought of as good, the story shows a much darker side, using the government’s forceful equalization of the people. “Harrison Bergeron” uses multiple perspectives to highlight the costs of equality paralleled in today’s society.

Read More
725 Words | 3 Pages

Equality has changed from a collective to an individual having the knowledge of realizing what he can do to change himself in the environment. Anthem has shown how the society works. The main character Equality has proven the allegory when he realizes there's more than just a collectivism society. From start of the novel Equality has been able to grow from a part of a collectivism to learning about individualism to becoming an individual. Equality conquers the battle of collectivism and individualism for

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. relies on the use of irony to indicate where our country will stand once we have gained total equality amongst each other. The theme in “Harrison Bergeron” is that the government cannot enforce equality within the people. The author creates a fictional visualization of the future in the year 2081, where the government controls the people and tortures them in order to maintain “equal opportunity” in their world to prove why it is impossible to achieve absolute equality in the world. Vonnegut dives into a whole other level of uniformity in Harrison Bergeron by focusing on eliminating advantages in appearance, intelligence, strength, and other unique abilities rather than focusing on

Read More
305 Words | 2 Pages

“Harrison Bergeron” is a unique story, in the sense that it takes place in 2081 in a dystopian society where everyone is equal. No one could be smarter, better-looking, or more athletic than anyone else. They are made equal with mental handicap radios for those who are intelligent, hideous masks for those who are beautiful, and heavy weights for those who are strong. The main character of this story, Harrison Bergeron, has a conflict with the American society in 2081. The internal conflict in Harrison’s mind is that the mental and physical handicaps affect the people’s thoughts.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

Dystopia is a futuristic universe that can be an oppressive society or could be an illusion of a perfect society. In some scenarios dystopian societies can be over exaggerated and criticize current trends and people. During the Covid-19 pandemic the governments of the world used dystopian

Read More
1735 Words | 7 Pages

Dystopia is complete opposite Utopia, a well constructed and desirable society; a pleasant place to grow up for the citizens. The Utopian people are free to express their opinions, keep their individuality and can be free without any compulsion. It is highly imaginary positive world. Dystopia is also an imaginary world but with the dark side. The origin of the word ‘dystopia’ is from the Greek, means ‘bad place’; devoid of all comfortable; a place that appears perfect on the surface but is bad underneath.

Read More

More about Comparing Dystopia In Anthem And Harrison Bergeron

Related Topics

Open Document