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Emptiness In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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Every individual has something unique about themselves. They are encouraged to embrace these qualities of theirs. What if society was forced to hide these talents?
In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, society is equal in every way possible. No one is better looking or smarter than anyone else, as it is illegal to be different. The people in this society are forced by the government to wear bags that have balls in them to weigh the person wearing them down. They are forced to hide their true identities. There are many similarities in this society that are similar to present day society such as comparison towards one another, substance abuse, and the feeling of emptiness.

There are many factors in Vonngut’s …show more content…

In modern day society, people continue to misuse substances as they are used as a coping mechanism and a stress reliever, as well as the society in “Harrison …show more content…

Many struggle with finding their purpose in life, a reason to live, and everyone has their own struggles, which makes individuals feel not so alone. “It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard” (Vonnegut). This quote from his short story greatly emphasizes the numbness that this society is feeling. Their government controls everything including their emotions and feelings. They can’t remember why they are feeling this way as this can also be shown in this short quote, ‘Forget sad things,’ said George. ‘I always do,’ said Haze (Vonnegut). Moments before these characters said these words, they had just witnessed their own son being violently murdered on live television. They can’t remember why they were crying because they can’t remember what had even happened. Their government wants everyone to have no sadness or misery, but with no sadness there cannot be happiness. In Vonnegut’s short story, he writes about a society. They are all equal in every way possible, but they aren’t truly happy. They don’t feel much of anything for that matter. In present day society, individuals struggle with feeling accepted and. completed. There are many similarities between his society and modern day

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