From Equality’s point of view, his desires and fulfillment are of more importance than the society’s excessive restrictions. Individuality, Rand claims, is necessary for one’s contentment; thus, the individual must always weigh themselves greater than all else. By emphasizing his independent priorities, Equality is able to rebel against the regulations he believes are
Equality lives in a collectivist society, which is a society that believes, “that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.” Therefore, Equality being the person he is, struggles with being an individual. He knows it is against the law but he enjoys knowledge so much, it confuses him. He states, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil! - and in our heart there is the first peace we have known in 20 years.”
This means it is possible for Equality to teach other people about being an individual and to slowly alleviate his collectivist
Equality 7-2521 can free himself from collectivism because he was independent. In the novel Anthem Ayn Rand makes us comprehend that Equality had and inner struggle and
There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.
The Importance of Absolute Equality in “Harrison Bergeron” For hundreds of years, humanity has struggled to define equality, as well implement the concept properly into society. Slaves; prisoners of war; and even in today’s society, we still see people of color treated as lesser than their Caucasian counterparts. Interestingly enough, color is never introduced as a problem in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron”. While most people nowadays would agree that the word “equality” refers to equal opportunity, Vonnegut forces this word to the extremes, and warps its meaning into something much more controlling, to the point where it harms society more than inequality ever did.
Perhaps the greatest example of this can be seen when Equality witnesses a man being burned at the stake for speaking the unspeakable word: a word that implies an individual entity of one’s self. Equality “... stood in the great square with all the children and all of the men of the city [and watching the burning of the man at the stake]” (50). Equality and his whole community witness the burning of a man who discovered true individuality in the darkness of collectivism. This burning sent a dark but fiery message to the citizens of this collectivist community because now, the people of this society can be sure that if they rebel against their collective, they will be burned to something less than waste (or suffer a fate of similar caliber). Through such punishment, Rand demonstrates that in such collective societies, leaders must extinguish acts of individualism, and go to far lengths to do so.
Living in a society where individualism is scorned, makes collective progress a strenuous task. In addition, attempting to make advancements in any field of study becomes a futile effort due to the disregard for ego. In the dystopian fiction, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 breaks the shackles of collectivism by discovering the value of progress through personal efforts. Due to his love for Liberty 5-3000 and his intelligence, Equality is noble and rejects society to protect his individual freedoms. Equality’s intellect allows him to recognize the damage of collectivism on technological advancements and self-sufficiency.
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.
Dr. Lu Young Kentucky Board of Education Chair 300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor Frankfort, KY 40601 Dear Dr. Lu Young, I’m Andy Wan, an eighth-grade student attending Rachel Carson Middle School in Fairfax, Virginia. Today, this letter is sent to you to share my thoughts on the importance of civics education. During my civics class this year, I have learned various reasons why civics is a crucial part of our lives. Additionally, we are taught that it is critical for American citizens to learn about the effects of the government on their lives, as well as how the government operates.
“Harrison Bergeron” shows total equality in an extreme way that catches attention, to show there are consequences to this often sought after way of life. The author uses the extreme ways the government forces equality to demonstrate how equality actually degrades society as a whole. The story showed how forced equality can make people have unrealistic and absurd world views, and how important jobs in society are left to people who are incompetent and unfit for the job. All of these consequences are easily paralleled in society today, and, unless people recognize the danger, could quickly become a serious
The story, Harrison Bergeron really shows the importance of diversity and for every individual to have a right to be unique. The government trying to make every thing completely fair is actually unfair to people who can 't get any excitement in a world like this. Limiting peoples thinking will also strongly slow any advances in technology, maybe even to a stop, so they might never solve some of the very important problems they face. Same with strength, if someones is in danger to an animal or a malfunctioning machine they will need to be able to escape. So really a world thats completely fair is impossible to create.
My Values of Equality Milton Friedman, an American economist, in his article “Created Equal”, points out his concept about “Created Equal”. Friedman discusses the different ways that humans are considered to be equal, and then he declares three specific categories for human equality: equality before God, equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Friedman argues that the first equality is the Founders’ use, the second equality is compatible with liberty, and the third equality is socialism. Equality is such a beautiful word that everyone should appreciate, and Friedman claims his points about its concept from his own comprehension. I really respect Friedman’s points about equality; however, there is something critical about equality which
Razia Mirza is a Pakistani woman originally from Corona, New York whom attempts to find herself though the book Corona. For Razia finding herself is complicated she not only has to ‘find herself’ as a young woman living in the 21 century but she also has to situate what it means to be a Muslim woman living in America post 9/11. Readers will follow her on this tumultuous journey through her racial and religious epistemologies. I. Pioneer Spirit Razia’s describes her first summer job: working at a Pioneer Spirit in the Summer of 1995. In her job description she was made to dress up in colonial wear and give tours of Salem, Massachusetts.
The people of the United States fight and strive for an absolute “equal” society, but is it what’s really wanted? “Harrison Bergeron,” a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, uses satire to describe the deficiency in our idea of a truly “equal” society. Throughout the story, Vonnegut describes the torture and discomfort the government administers among the people, and though they were “equal,” they were not balanced. Vonnegut uses characterization and word choice to warn his readers of the potential drawbacks of a truly “equal” society. He warns normalcy would become the base of thought, and people would become incapable of emotion.
