Government Control In Harrison Bergeron

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Humans are created by God to be different from each other, and that is what makes everyone unique from one another. A really important message from the short story “Harrison Bergeron” is how controlling the government is, and how they are limiting people and their freedoms. In the year 2018, everyone was equal. “They were equal in every way” (133). “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else” (133). Why was the government so controlling in the short story “Harrison Bergeron”? The government was controlling because they wanted everyone to be equal. They made strict rules to ensure that nobody was smarter, stronger, or more talented than anyone else. They believe that if everyone was …show more content…

The government likes to be in control, so they may also be afraid of losing power. They worry that if someone becomes too smart or too strong, they might try to challenge them, to prevent this the government enforces different handicaps to make sure nobody can overpower them. Like very smart people they have a handicap in their ear “While his intelligence was way above normal, he had a little mental handicap radio in his ear, he was required by law to wear it at all times” (134). There was a sharp noise that the device played in his ear every 30 seconds, so he couldn't take advantage of his brain. They want to keep everyone under their control so they can stay in charge. Another reason the government is so controlling is because they want everyone to be the same. They think that if people are too different from each other, it will cause chaos and problems. So they make everyone follow the same rules and act the same way. By doing this, they created a society where everyone fits in and nobody stands out. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” shows how when governments have too much power, it can be