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'Who Holds The Clicker?'

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Personal thoughts, backgrounds and appearances make one individual differ from each other. Under the circumstances and stress suffered, people tend to adjust their identities to match with their societies. The DBS surgery, as mentioned in “Who Holds the Clicker?” by Lauren Slater, conveys a way of mind controlling for psychiatric patients by neural implants. Compared to the protagonist Equality in Ayn Rand’s dystopian novelette Anthem, he fathoms the significance of individuality after his discovery of light. His inherent intelligence encourages him to become unconquered, and thus is capable of control his spirit. Besides Equality’s obstacles he has encountered, Jonah Lehrer illustrates in “Don’t! The secret of self-control” that Professor …show more content…

For instance, Mario finds achievements and happiness after the DBS surgery, which “controls people’s minds using implanted electrodes and an electrical current.”(Slater 1) Mario is a psychiatric patient who has severe problems even dealing with housework such as washing his hands properly, checking the door constantly and more. He cannot control his depression until he accepts the surgery because of OCD, which is “a disease that gets to the existential core of worry, a clenched, demonic doubting that overrides evidence, empiricism, plain common sense.”(Slater 1) In contrast, Equality realizes the significance of individuality after his decision to escape from old society, “[He] do[es] not surrender [his] treasures, nor do [he] share them. The fortune of [his] spirit is not to be blown into coins of brass and flung to the winds as alms for the poor of the spirit.”(Rand 95) After he finds the divine word “I” in the manuscripts, he considers himself to become more powerful, rebellious and unconquered because his fellows have been brainwashed and controlled under the absolute power of collectivist society. Unlike his brothers, Equality exhibits a sign of egoism that promotes him to grow his identity. Correspondingly, Craig who was involved in the marshmallow experiment regrets that he wasn’t patient enough to delay his gratification by recalling his childhood,

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But every time the Teachers knew what he was trying to do. Equality 7-2521 loved the Science of Things. He wished to becoming a Scholar so he can be in the Home of Scholars when his time came. When his time came, he stood before the Council of Scholars so he can get his life mandate. He thought that he was going to get the name Scholar but the Council of Scholars have him the name Street Sweeper.

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Each man and woman born is expected to be as all others are. Gifts and talents are especially shunned. Equality has been taught that “it is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them” (21). To his societal disadvantage, Equality 7-2521 is gifted with a great intelligence and a burning curiosity to understand.

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Likewise, to be handicapped is to be special, but for Harrison to be seen as under handicapped is that he is underestimated for his true”dangers’ and what he is truly capable of. His transgression is also unique and rare to a society of all equalism and therefore is also restrained by the government to reach his true potential. Both Equality and Harrison are known for having transgressions too powerful and dangerous in their societies. Their transgressions limit them to succeed and reach their true potential, but how they react to their transgressions is what makes them truly

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A Prime example of the mental control in Anthem, which was briefly touched upon earlier, is the brainwashing of the children from a young age to believe that they are nothing and “mankind is all” (21) and that “[they] exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State” (21). The main mental control device found in Harrison Bergeron is a “Mental Handicap” that plays loud tones at semi-regular intervals to disrupt the wearer’s train of thought and prevent the development of and major thoughts. Those who do not have these handicaps are seen as having “average” intelligence; people with “average” intelligence, such as Hazel Bergeron appear to be below the average intelligence seen in Anthem. Proof of her low intelligence, or cognitive ability, is clear seen when George Bergeron tells Hazel to “Forget sad things” with which Hazel replies “I always do”; This can be sigh of a mental disability, but due to the fact that Hazel is labeled as “average” this must mean that there are far more affected by a similar condition. The opposite is seen in Anthem if the protagonist, Equality-2521, is seen to have average intelligence.

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How does a naive act of surrendering to a marshmallow affect the way a child succeeds? How does advancement in technology lead a person in jail? How does one live life normally after being abnormal his entire life? For example, Equality, in the dystopian fiction novelette Anthem by Ayn Rand, breaks rules of the totalitarian government by having individual thoughts and later eludes into another world of freedom and independence where he finds egoism and individualism. Similarly, in the non-fiction article “Who Holds the Clicker?” by Lauren Slater, Mario Grotta, an OCD patient has a clicker implanted into his brain which results in a normal life, finding his true self.

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Equality knows that individuality is wrong and it affects everyone: “It is a sin to write this” (17). Everything you do affects everyone around you. For example, you live with your family and you decide to drop out of school and stay home and do nothing, than your parent get tired and will not have a choice but to kick you out. That's how they are living and is wrong to do thing on your own, the consoles just want to protect everyone by not having problem later on the story. The consoles just want you to be the same to not cause any problems in the future, like the parent didn't want to kick their kid out but had no

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We forget all men...” This journal entry shows that Equality has found the strength and courage to accept what he has discovered. It is human nature to be driven to succeed in life, and to prove ones worth. To Equality, this discovery does just that. This sense of need for self ( ) shows that it is okay for Equality to be motivated in this

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The classic book Flowers for Algernon, which was written by Daniel Keyes in the late 1900’s, explains the story about a middle-aged man named Charlie Gordon and the struggles he faces from having a mental disability. Charlie Gordon worked at Donnegon’s Box Company, but while working there, he was made fun of and called stupid for something he can’t control. Charlie had a wish for all people to love and accept him, but couldn’t understand that there is always going to be someone that wouldn’t like him which made him feel unwanted and unappreciated. Throughout Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes develops a theme of self-acceptance to explain how people shouldn’t change themselves to fit in with others.

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In America, students are taught about the struggles that racial minorities and women have, and still, face in the country. Countless textbook chapters across the country are dedicated to the moments surrounding these minorities, but less is said about the LGBTQIA+ rights movement that is still in it’s prime and heavily underway. For this reason, Manil Suri’s Op-Ed piece titled, “Why Is Science So Straight?”, about LGBTQIA+ discrimination within the math and science departments, is an interesting representation of issues that have become increasingly present in America today. Suri start’s by telling a story, “I came out as gay to a colleague in the engineering department. ‘I didn’t realize you were so unconventional.’”

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“A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves” (Gloria). Many females argue that women are more at a disadvantage than men in regard to balancing a social and professional life, whereas males argue it’s the other way around. Both Anne-Marie Slaughter a foreign policy analyst, public commentator, and professor at various prestigious colleges, and Richard Dorment, a chief critic for The Daily Telegraph professor at IVY league universities, display conflicting views on the subject. Slaughter believes that society must change to make the balance between social and professional life equal for both genders, but Dorment is closer to the idea that it is impossible for both genders to

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The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is about a couple, Hazel and George Bergeron, in the distant future when all people must be equal. This equality is reached in the form of handicaps. Weights are placed on the strong and athletic people in society, masks are forced upon the beautiful, and loud noises are constantly blasted into the ears of the intelligent to prevent them from thinking. While most equality is often thought of as good, the story shows a much darker side, using the government’s forceful equalization of the people. “Harrison Bergeron” uses multiple perspectives to highlight the costs of equality paralleled in today’s society.

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The short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is about equality and inequality. Showing it doesn't matter how equal something is, that people will always find a way to be different and to be themselves at any consequence. With all odds against him and every handicap to hold him back, Harrison Bergeron escaped jail. He let himself be different from everyone else; in a world that was meant to be nothing but equal.

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The repressed self is released out by detaching from reality. This detachment allows her to be free from social norms as her madness now allows her to no longer conform to cultural bounds. Her final protest, thus, comes out in the form of insanity. She can now escape from the cage of her husband by refusing to accept her identity as a repressed woman. This text thus brings to focus the dark theme that cultural and social expectations of women are so rigid that the protagonist has to give up her identity as a sane woman to finally achieve the freedom she is denied through

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