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Comparison Of Examination Day, Harrison Bergeron, And The Pedestrian

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Examination Day, Harrison Bergeron, and The Pedestrian all portray dystopian themes. The setting, figurative language, and characterization all contribute considerably to the conveying of the hellish norms in these stories. In Examination Day by Henry Slesar, the setting, figurative language, and characterization contribute to the dystopian theme. The story takes place in a society where the government gives intelligence tests to children on their twelfth birthday to make sure no one is more intelligent than another. Aside from the mechanics of the world, the mood of the atmosphere is depressing/unpleasant and emphasizes the control of the government. Readers can begin to pick up on this depressing atmosphere when Dickie “watched the sun force …show more content…

The story takes place in 2081, a time when citizens must be treated equally under the law. By showing an extreme and harsh society, this setting adds to the dystopian theme. In the story, "Nobody was smarter... better looking... stronger or quicker than anybody else" (Vonnegut 1). The government imposes handicaps on people who have these above-average traits. The environment points out the loss of freedom and individuality among the people within, emphasizing the dystopian theme of the society. The dystopian theme is made clear by Vonnegut's use of figurative language throughout the story. For instance, the narrator claims that Harrison appears "like a walking junkyard" as a result of his handicaps (Vonnegut 3). The comparison between his handicaps and a junkyard paints a clear picture of the weight and agony he feels and helps readers empathize with his struggles. This simile emphasizes the dehumanizing effects of the government's control and reinforces the dystopian …show more content…

The setting, figurative language, and characterization all support the dystopian theme in Ray Bradbury's novel, The Pedestrian. The story's setting is essential to creating the dystopian feeling. In his depiction of a city in the year 2053, Bradbury shows desolate streets and people alone in their homes watching television. The sense of desolation caused by the "cool darkness" highlights the dehumanizing effect caused by a lack of community (Bradbury 2). By stressing the gloomy nature of the society, this environment adds to the dystopian setting. Bradbury uses figurative language to illustrate dystopian ideas in The Pedestrian. For instance, Mr. Mead starts to walk along the path and sends "patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar" (Bradbury 1). The terms "frosty air" and "smoke" leads to the idea that frosty air symbolizes coldness and lifelessness, and the smoke of a cigar symbolizes the leftover remanence of what the cigar used to be. Since they are both byproducts of once-united things (much like a warm, lively breath or a whole intact cigar), these emblems emphasize the concept of isolation. The use of figurative language by Bradbury produces vivid imagery to improve the reader's comprehension of the dystopian

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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.

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673 Words | 3 Pages

In both the novel and short story, Ray Bradbury explores the theme of conformity. In Fahrenheit 451, this idea of being similar to one another has led to the ban of books, distinguishing what might inspire independent thought. As Captain Beatty explains, “we must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal…each man the image of every other” (“Fahrenheit” 58). Similarly, in “The Pedestrian,” Mr. Leonard Mead is ostracized for his nonconformity, as he is the only one that still enjoys going on a leisurely walk.

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Ray Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian” is a short story published in 1951 that depicts a future world in which technology has eliminated the need for human interaction and activity. In this analysis, I will examine the story through a psychological lens, exploring the forces that motivate the characters, their conscious and unconscious behaviours, conflicts, dreams, emotions, choices, and ethical considerations. The story is set in a futuristic society where technology has rendered people indoors and eliminated the need for walking or even talking. The protagonist, Mr. Leonard Mead, is the only pedestrian on the street, and his evening walks are seen as strange by the rest of society.

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The Pedestrian Thesis: In a short story titled “The Pedestrian”, written by Ray Bradbury, Bradbury uses the setting to display a lonely, sad mood and person vs society conflict as he battles the lonely streets. Bradbury shows the lonely mood by having the character walk alone in the empty streets. Bradbury wasted no time describing the streets as silent and misty making for a very lonely mood. Mead, the main character, walks along the streets alone with no sign of life, saying “he would see cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where the faintest light is a flicker of a firefly” Bradbury’s quote shows how empty and lonely the streets are by referring to them as a

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946 Words | 4 Pages

The 1951 original written work by Ray Bradbury (“The Pedestrian”) was, at some point in time, later adapted into a short film. Although both the film and short story shared many of the same elements, there were still several noticeably apparent differences; for one, the film had chosen to introduce an entirely new character into the plot. Serving as a contrasting figure for Mead - a “foil”, of some sorts - Robert “Bob” Stockwell had assisted in providing much more insight in the dystopian world (i.e. experiencing the “outside” world after being inside so long, as was seen in the film). Whereas in the original story, no such insight was provided - Mead was, instead, only just an ordinary individual (unintentionally) caught amidst the confines

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Kurt Vonnegut uses characterization to describe how the characters act in this society. Vonnegut also uses style to show how he uses science fiction and dystopia in “Harrison Bergeron”. The theme demonstrated in “Harrison Bergeron” is equality is not meant to make one person better than another. Kurt Vonnegut in “Harrison Bergeron”, demonstrates that equality based on characteristics is not a good thing for society. Harrison Bergeron is a short story based on the year 2081, where everybody is equal.

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Dystopian stories are usually set in an unfavorable society in which to live, where the antagonist is the society itself, and the protagonist is the person who is looking towards changing this society and fixing its flaws, who believes that they can make a difference by overthrowing the government or escaping from it. The conflict is often not solved, or the hero fails to solve it, and the dystopian society continues as it was before. Harrison Bergeron is an example of a dystopian story where society has intensely controlled the population’s unique qualities to make everyone exactly equal. People’s talent, beauty, intelligence, and any other quality that makes them different is brought down and destroyed by forcing them to wear handicaps, masks, and weights. Harrison Bergeron is the protagonist of the story.

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651 Words | 3 Pages

Authors use literary devices so that the readers can connect and better understand the mood of the story. Bradbury in “The Pedestrian” uses a variety of lit devices to develop his mood of the story. Bradbury in "The Pedestrian" uses personification, simile, and imagery to develop the mood of loneliness so that the reader can see the dark world the character is living in. Ray Bradbury uses personification to develop the mood of the world the character is living in. The first time he uses personification is when he says, “there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomb-like building was still open” (Pg 1).

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374 Words | 2 Pages

Ray Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian” is filled repeatedly with imagery. These descriptive phrases of imagery provide vivid details that make the story easy to imagine, so real and visual. Bradbury’s writing comes alive to the reader. This short story is about a peaceful man, walking by himself, who is picked up by the police and thrown in jail. Imagery helped readers understand the setting of “The pedestrian.”

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876 Words | 4 Pages

The "Pedestrian" is a futuristic story about a man who is not involved with the world. Bradbury uses setting, figurative language, and symbolism to affect the overall succession of the story. First, Bradbury uses figurative language to portray the negative view of technology on people. He uses similes to show how people are affected. For example, "But now these highways, too, were like streams in a dry season all stone and bed and moon radiance.

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In Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Pedestrian”, the motifs of the story were appeared a lot of times. Motifs always repeat in the story and give a dominant central idea to strengthen the theme. By reading the motifs in the story, we could learn more about the things that the writer wants to tell us. In this story, there are lots of words of motifs; for examples, silence, alone, darkness, empty and frozen. Those motifs shows the lacking of inspiration and excitement in the story and determines the dark keynote of the story.

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557 Words | 3 Pages

In his short story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut uses an astounding amount of powerful imagery and diction to create the perfect scenes of the dystopian reality he creates. Throughout his use of imagery, Vonnegut creates scenes palpably imagined by readers. He uses underlying humor to lighten scenes of the morbid and macabre nature of the future where being different can be a death sentence. The future that is created in totality by Vonnegut is a dire scene created to be filled with a pastiche of people strung with handicaps to make them to be exactly the same as the “perfectly average citizen.” Vonnegut’s tone throughout is both dreary towards the bizarre and twisted dystopia that makes everyone equal, but is also somewhat insulting to those who do not bear handicaps due to being lacking both mentally and physically.

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764 Words | 4 Pages

If you have ever read Ray Bradbury then you know he is very skillful in writing stories. Every word contributes to the story in an important way. In The Pedestrian, Ray Bradbury uses symbolism, repetition, and metaphors to show what it feels like to be lonely. In this world of the future most are not outside or being active because they rather be inside watching tv. In fact, no one is around outside on this cold november night.

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473 Words | 2 Pages

The first example comes when Bradbury says "The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen" (22). This quote showing how still Mr.Mead was showing us that the light held him still like figures in a museum. The next example of Bradbury using a metaphor comes in the beginning of the story when he says "Sudden grey phantoms seemed to manifest upon inner room walls" (2). This quote showing that these quiet dark houses have people who are in them at night, showing us that there is a reason people aren't out at 8,9 or 10 o'clock. In the "Pedestrian" Bradbury uses imagery, simile and metaphor to develop the futuristic setting and the mood so that the reader better understands where Mr.Mead is and what he see's.

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The science fiction works of “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Pedestrian”, by Ray Bradbury are sarcastic portrayals of futuristic societies that are controlled by authoritative governments that have completely made their communities equal. Each of these stories take a look at the prospect of promoting sameness and conformity among all people, and questions the effects of the forced elimination of citizens’ individuality in order to maintain equality. In “The Pedestrian” Mr. Leonard Mead faces extreme consequences for his nightly stroll in the city. In the year 2053, Mead’s society has become completely taken over by televisions and the media.

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