Diminishing Diversity In The Life Of Harrison Bergeron

809 Words4 Pages

Harrison is the son of Hazel and George in the Icarus tale; Harrison Bergeron. They live in a Dystopian Society where handicaps are forced on them against their will in attempt to limit their abilities, resulting in what their government believes is deserved equality. Harrison then rebels against the government, and gets shot as his punishment. The message we are fed from this Icarus tale is that if we handicap people, or attempt to diminish diversity, then it’s impossible to have a successful society. The first reason why diminishing diversity would result in an unsuccessful society is because people wouldn’t be able to express who they are, resulting in citizens rebelling against higher power. On page 22, line 149, a Ballerina on television speaking for the news bulletin stated “‘Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,’ she said in a grackle squack, ‘has just escaped from jail where he was held on suspension of …show more content…

On page 22, line 144, it states “And she had to apologize at once for voice, which was very unfair for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. ‘Excuse me —‘ she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely uncompetitive.” If we thrived in a society where there was no competition in every aspect, then there’s no way we can improve as people. Taking away such an important trait, such as our intelligence, only limits our creativity which lessens our imagination. Losing these aspects then weaken our ability to speak up for controversial things including government decisions and political choices. If nobody is able to be involved in the government, have the right to make their own decisions, and be their natural born self, then there’s no way we can learn to improve our community, therefore resulting in an unsuccessful