Civil Disobedience In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Education, a life-altering event that involves the development of being more open- minded. When one’s horizons expand they begin to have a shift of perception. The process of becoming knowledgeable through education can differ from the individual or situation. It can also have one acquire gratitude for their change of insight. Two passages, “Learning to Read” by Malcom X and “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato, each contain an individual who goes through the path of gaining wisdom. Although both excerpts contain similarities involving one’s experience resulting in the enlightenment of education, there are several differences in how the acknowledgement occurs and the type of predicament the individual is in.

You live in the year 2081. Everyone is equal. No one is smarter, better looking, stronger or quicker than anybody else. You wear handicaps that restrict your strength, intelligence and how you look. You can 't do anything about it. This is what happens in Kurt Vonnegut Jrs. dystopian story, “Harrison Bergeron.” The government put handicaps on people so no one is better than each other. There is no more competition. Harrison, the protagonist, is different than everyone else. He is 7 feet tall, carries 300-pound handicaps and he knows what the government is doing is wrong and is determined to stop it. One lesson that the story suggests is that competition is a good thing because it promotes individuality and allows people to embrace it.

Acts of rebellion are a crucial part of society that can lead to revolution if given the chance to blossom. In some cases, however, the situation may take an unexpected turn of events, as shown in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” The former of the two stories is centered around Harrison, an advanced teenager subjected to a great amount of oppression. Considering this, his intent to defeat the futuristic government’s antagonistic hierarchy is unsurprising. The latter story is focused on a group of extremely flawed, misfortune elders haunted with the desire of their youth. When presented with the opportunity to recapture their “golden days,” a mixture of enthusiasm, curiosity, and their

"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a satirical short story in which Vonnegut implies, if society interprets equality literally, there would be no significance between humans. The protagonist Harrison has escaped from prison and his parents Hazel and George are watching the program he appears upon, as he insists he is an emperor and the first female to rebel will be his empress. Following this rant he discards his handicaps making him appear god like. Soon after, the Handicapper General kills the emperor and his empress with a "double-barrelled ten-gauge shotgun"(pg. 64). Harrison depicts as an exaggeration as his "appearance was Halloween and hardware"(pg. 62). The government considers him as "a genius and an athlete"(pg. 61) and "is under

Often times, it is assumed that learning does not have negative consequences and leads to one’s enlightenment What people don’t realize is that being thrown into the light can burn. Associating learning with pain is clearly illustrated in both Plato’s Republic and Frederick Douglass’ The Education of Frederick Douglass. Both works represent people who move past their ignorance through the acquisition of knowledge and step into the light, both literally and metaphorically; they become aware of their own situations and with that comes pain.

In the story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut explores the idea of total equality. His use of irony which is present for the duration of the entire story reveals the concept that equality may not be as good as it seems. The unpredictable ending, surprising situations, and shocking character reactions all serve as illustrations to help convey Vonnegut’s theme.

Civil disobedience is a peaceful, nonviolent, political protest and it has been used by many people across the world, specifically by Thomas Jefferson, Thoreau, and Gandhi in their essays “The Declaration of Independence,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “On Nonviolent Resistance.” All of their essays shows examples of how they used/described civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is one of the many way Jefferson, Gandhi, and Thoreau have went against unfair laws.

Julia “Butterfly” Hill, an environmental activist and author once said, “What happens on the planet is the outward reflection of what’s happening inside of us.” (Sacred.) Hill’s involvement in civil disobedience was due to personal influences, she chose to participate in civil disobedience to protest against the clear cutting of redwood trees, and she achieved success using the controversial method of standing up for what she thoroughly believes to be right. Civil disobedience is when a person goes against the law to prove a point, and make a difference in an idea or act they disagree with. Usually the person knows the consequences and goes against laws without causing violence. (Starr.)

Throughout history, many powerful men have strived for equality- to eliminate the people and qualities they view as imperfect. The government agency Harrison fights against in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, works for the same goal, but in a different way. Harrison Bergeron rebels against a government who handicaps the unique, the intelligent, the beautiful, and the strong. However, despite their efforts, they can not conjure up handicaps which control him. Consequently, he escapes from imprisonment and revolts. The fictional character, Harrison Bergeron, exemplifies the idea that conformity can not eradicate individuality- it can only hinder it. He has to attune to society and in the end, the handicaps hinder him but do not take aways his individuality. In fact, they enhance every aspect of him.

Imagine a world with complete equality. No one more skilled, more intelligent or more attractive than another. Where failure is applauded and mediocrity is the social norm. This is the world in the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” written by Kurt Vonnegut in 1961. Vonnegut illustrates the disasters of an extremely equal society through the use of satirical irony, imagery and characterization.

Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron is a short story published in 1961 that I would describe as having the theme of futuristic-science-fiction. The short is set in the year 2081 where in the United States new amendments to the constitution has equalized all humans. Although, the author does not mention how this dystopia came to be and if the rest of the world has equalized all human beings, it is clear to me that in this dystopia, equality is an illusion, equality is not real. As I read this short, it became more and more evident to me that this society was strange, and when I finished the short, I was convinced that this society was conformed to act and think in the way that they do, which unfortunately, for a country in year 2081, that claims

can be like that, so Vonnegut made George Bergeron. He lives a very sad life, but who wouldn’t

“Harrison Bergeron” a magnificent story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Harrison Bergeron world aren’t like he want it to be. His world is very strict on things that they cannot do. Even though the Untied States Handicapper General does not want people that disobey’s their rules or really smart people that can try to overthrow the government. Therefore Harrison’s Bergeron world is Dystopia.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change”. (Albert Einstein) In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr talks about how everyone is equal by wearing handicaps. In the novella Anthem technological advancement is planned and the meaning of individuality is forbidden. “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem are both pieces of dystopian literature which portray (their protagonists,theme,education) similarly.

In the world that we live in today, civil disobedience is a subject that has been and continues to be an extremely relevant issue in life. But even though it is a relevant topic, it is one that brings much disagreement when conversed about. The topic that is widely debated to what is the most effective way that civil disobedience can be used by citizens against unjust laws and rulings by those in power, using words or in the most extreme cases getting violent. There is a wide range of ways that civil disobedience is used, in Sophocles Antigone and Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail two different methods can be seen. King uses the power of his words to unite a nation against the unjustness of a country, while Antigone uses the power of