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Competition In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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As humans there is one attribute that gives us the opportunity to be extraordinary, that one thing is competition. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” Vonnegut forges an atrocious society where competition is no longer an aspect of the everyday which eliminates ambition and excellence from the average citizen, and forces normalcy and equality upon them. This dystopian society strips each and every citizen of the great tool of competition that forces humans towards progress and greatness, and leaves them with nothing but mediocrity and stagnation. Vonnegut has created a world without competition, without a driving force for greatness, and without a tool to motivate ambition. However in this non-competitive culture no one seems to care that …show more content…

To bring competition back to into a society like 2081 would be revolutionary, and would bring a new sense of life into the world of the everyday person. Competition would allow for new innovations, leaders that could rocket society towards greatness, and inconceivable amounts of progress and development for a better and more successful world. Naturally these are all foreign or hated ideas by the vast majority of the current society of 2081. Not to Harrison though, he understood what his society was holding him back from, so when he breaks into the dance performance and presents his own greatness, he shows his world what even his own competition against society has allowed him to do. He presents his skill and grace when he and his empress have an, “ explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang! Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun” (304). As soon as Harrison finally lets the world see his spoils of competing against society, it reveals an, “explosion of joy and grace,” nowhere else in this society is there explosions of joy and grace. Therefore, for this society to finally live and even thrive again the reintroduction of competition is

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There are many ways an author can convey the message of any story. Elements such as the Plot, Conflict, Character/Characterization, Setting, Symbolism, Narration, and Imagery are used in these ways. For example, in the In the story "Harrison Bergeron", the author Kurt Vonnegut uses the characterization, and the conflict to communicate the message to the reader that Uniformity and strict laws lead to a loss of personal freedom and individuality. Vonnegut uses the element of characterization.

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Collectivism is the idea that a group 's needs must be put before the needs of oneself and the society functions as “we” rather that “me”. Throughout the stories one sees how each author portrays the use of a collectivist society though uniqueness, equality, and transgression. There are many similarities between the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand and the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In Anthem and “Harrison Bergeron” one could see that a similar theme is that going against the grain causes consequences. According to “Harrison Bergeron” a ballerina states that “ ‘Harrison Bergeron age fourteen,’ she said in a grackle squawk, ‘has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.

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The Major theme of “Harrison Bergeron” is the government is the main power. In the story they are making people have handicaps so that they won 't be as good as they could be. The government knows that people will overtake if they really want to. But the government is stopping them. In the end of the story the government

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“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. ”-Ray Bradbury. Censorship is the act of limiting information, ideas, or the freedom of thought, from life.

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The story “Harrison Bergeron” conveys the conflicts between the needs and ideals of society and the realities of individuals by showing that individuals feel ruled out of society. Of course, this creates an “idealistic” society by countering out individuals. This is shown by “they were equal every which way” ( Vonnegut 101). This shows that nobody had any individuality. Therfore creating the conflict in this”utopia”.

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[ADD TITLE] [ADD QUOTE & EXPLAIN IT]. The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a contemporary teaching that is often referred to as a horror story whereas Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s story, Harrison Bergeron written in 1961, is seen as an eccentric satirical dystopian fiction. In The Lottery, the story takes place in a small rural town in which the person who draws the slip with a black dot on it, is to be stoned to death by the rest of the town members. On the other hand, Harrison Bergeron takes place in the year 2081 where everyone must be handicapped to maintain equality. Although Jackson’s The Lottery and Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron are based in two different time periods and settings, both convey similar criticisms that apply to our own lives.

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The idea of utopian and dystopian societies is noticeably popular due to the fact that society wants equality, however authors show when attempting to have total equality the public can become unethical. Harrison Bergeron shows a corrupt government and society in hopes of a utopia. After Harrison broke out of jail and made the musicians play without their handicaps the text says, “The music began again and was much improved.” This demonstrates how total equality takes away talents and strips people of their individuality. However, for most people their talents are what brings them joy and purpose.

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It is the year 2081 in an era where equality rules over everybody. That is, everyone except a young man named Harrison Bergeron who believes that the equality is overlooked and is actually negative in society. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, the main character Harrison defies the cultural norm and breaks free from the supposed equality. Vonnegut makes a point to show that he goes to great lengths to show that sometimes we have to take risks to achieve freedom. The fact that Harrison is confident, aggressive, and rebellious proves the fact that freedom sometimes can only be found through risks that can put everything at stake.

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Equality is a great idea that we should strive for and achieve; however, being made equal physically and mentally by the government could be very unfair. People should still have characteristics that make us different. One can be diverse but still equal to his neighbor. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s use of point of view, conflict, and imagery in his short story “Harrison Bergeron,” illustrates how difficult living in a world where everyone is the same would be.

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Imagine a society where everyone was the equal. Nobody was smarter, better looking, stronger, or quicker than anyone else. In the year 2081, this is what society was like for Harrison Bergeron, a strong, charming, and intelligent teenager. To insure no one was unique, anyone who was stronger, smarter, or more attractive than an “average” person were required by law to wear handicaps, which are instruments that prevents people from using their talents. When the citizens were too strong to be held back by handicaps, they were taken from their homes and into custody, which is where Harrison was held.

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what is feel like to be a hero in the society? In “Harrison Bergen” by Kurt Vonnegut, there are many reasons explain why Harrison is a Hero. First, in countless ways harrison impervious to restriction to society place on him. Second, he stand up against Government who takes away individualism. Lastly he want to be a good example to the society showing future generation about equality in the society.

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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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“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.

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