ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron

682 Words3 Pages

A dystopia where equality is everything and there handicaps limit anything that could possibly make someone unique, all this in the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The message of “Harrison Bergeron” is, to have the same of everything is to diminish the experience and interesting traits of a person. A clash between diversity of skill level is not to lead to envy, but to the way you push each other to succeed at higher levels. The short story version of “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in the year 2081, and there are only two settings: the Bergerons’ living room and the tv studio. The movie version has many settings, and the difference between these two mediums helps develop different aspects of why it’s so important to allow people …show more content…

In the movie Harrison started off just going through the motions with his handicaps, trying to pretend that his brain was being “slowed down”. Then he got taken in by a secret society and was under the influence that he was being granted freedom. Later after falling in love with a girl named Phillipa in the society he realized that he needed to help his family and the citizens be able to experience life without being held back. He acted upon this and showed the world the possibilities if they didn’t have handicaps. With dvd’s from a long time ago. After this the head of the society told Harrison that if he didn’t go back on tv and say that it was all fake, then a lot of people that believed the dvd’s would die. He went on television and claimed to all the people that it wasn’t real happiness that they “thought” they had seen. Harrison went closer to the camera and said “ she’s pregnant “ then fired a gun and took his life. This was the most important line in the movie because it gave the readers hope that Harrison's son would soon see this and share it to the world. It gave something just big enough for us to wonder if they ever got freed of the handicaps in the

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron And Exam Day

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    injustice, according to Google Dictionary. Many stories include a dystopian setting. Some of these stories are “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar. Although the plotlines of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar differ in many ways, the two share a core theme: nightmarish dystopian futures. “Harrison Bergeron” is a short story, written by Kurt Vonnegut.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Rainsford And Harrison Bergeron

    387 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a lot of stories, the characters are what makes a “great story,” but most characters a very different from each other, just like in the three stories, The Sniper, The Most Dangerous Game and Harrison Bergeron. They all share the same trait. Even though the characters share the same trait, they differ in their own ways. A way the Characters all share a similar trait is that Rainsford, Harrison and The Sniper are all very “brave.” One way the Harrison is very brave is that he stood up against a government who kills and locks up people that are “over average” “(different or better than normal).”

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Night And Harrison Bergeron

    1092 Words  | 5 Pages

    Almost everyone has read a science fiction novel. Science fiction novels that are especially popular are often those that portray dystopian futures. Stories of this sort depict far-fetched scenarios in which every part of life is unfair or miserable. Although these tales may seem far-fetched and implausible, there are instances in human history which mirror them. For instance, the Holocaust of World War II is an example of such a scenario.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron And The Pedestrian

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Vonnegut and the story, “The Pedestrian” by Bradbury both of the stories warn that if the government has too much power and control over the citizens the society will fall apart and cause chaos within the community. In the text the author states, “ The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” (Vonnegut 3) another piece of evidence that goes along with the one above is, “Reckon it’d fall all apart,” said Hazel.” (Vonnegut 3) Rules are set in place so that everyone stays in check and the community doesn’t just do whatever they want to do and put everyone else's lives at risk. Even though rules are a necessary part of society doesn’t mean that citizens shouldn't have at least a

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron

    500 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Repent Harlequin Said the Tictockman” by Harlan Ellison wrote in 1965 is about a time keeping government trying to achieve complete efficiency. The 1961 science fiction short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., is about complete equality, disabling humanity from success. By examining elements of character analysis, tone, plot, setting, and diction, readers can see that these two dystopian stories can be compared and contrasted. “Repent Harlequin…” and “Harrison Bergeron” take place in alternate futures where the government has either taken control of everyone’s schedules or removed things that would make them unequal. Both stories are led by an antagonist and by someone who rebelled against them, but eventually, the rebellion fails and as far as we know the oppression goes on.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast 1984 And Harrison Bergeron

    550 Words  | 3 Pages

    Can an overbearing government/society cause an individual to break down mentally and or physically? The thought of the government having some control over our lives can be seen as overbearing but to others it can be seen as a bubble of protection, George Orwell’s 1984 can be compared by a character’s act of rebellion due to the lack of freedom and contrasted by the repercussions of an individual rebelling to Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron”. The act of rebelling is perceived as such a negative practice in both of the dystopian societies, on the occasion that one rebels it cause for drastic measures. In 1984 Winston Smith rebelled against Big Brother by doing whatever he pleased.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron Characteristics

    294 Words  | 2 Pages

    Harrison Bergeron According to Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their conscience are defied. In the movie “2081” based off of Kurt Vonnegut’s story “Harrison Bergeron” they show Harrison as a figure that looks like Jesus, which creates a theme of purity and innocence. His godly features are shown by his physical features, what he does, what he sees and feels. All of these thing help develop the theme.

    Read More

  • Human Diversity In Harrison Bergeron

    909 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Dystopian short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. tells of a world where everybody is made to be excruciatingly average. In an attempt to push equality to its furthest limits the United States government released a series of laws that forced anybody who was above average in any area, whether that be intelligence, beauty, strength, or any skill to be handicapped to turn them into another average person. This causes performers to have to wear masks and to bear weights so that they aren't better than anybody else, reporters have speech impediments, and due to the mass-hysteria against competition, anyone who tries to go against this system is harshly punished. This lack of human diversity causes a stagnation of progress, as well

    Read More

  • Examples Of Dystopia In Harrison Bergeron

    355 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine living in a dystopian society? In the story "Harrison Bergeron" by K.V., Jr is about a 14 year-old boy who lives in a society where nobody is allowed to reach their full potential. Harrison Bergeron is a hero. For example, "Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall," from page 114. He wants to be a normal person again where he can be free with out handicaps and have everyone be able to live in a utopian society.

    Read More

  • Essay On Harrison Bergeron

    162 Words  | 1 Pages

    The paragraph that proves it all Utopian and dystopian are strong topic everyone thinks about. Some people want everything to be the same. As well as people wanting everything the same, others want everything to be very diverse. It’s a topic that is one of those things that has its ups and downs. For example, in the book, “Harrison Bergeron,” they try to make a utopian society.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron And 2081 Comparison Essay

    789 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harrison Bergeron was a book written in 1961 that portrayed an abnormal child defying the dystopian government; in 2009 a movie was made, based off of it called 2081 that changed the character both physically and morally. The differences in how Harrison Bergeron, the main character, appears in each story changes how the audience perceives his morality. These changes are easily highlighted in Harrison’s age, dialogue, and appearance. The tone of the story is also changed, resulting in similar changes to what the audience interprets. As both stories continue these differences become more and more apparent and by the end, there is a clear split in what the audience ‘takes away’.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences Between 2081 And Harrison Bergeron

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    Comparing and contrasting 2081 to Harrison Bergeron Admit it, one time you were bored or sat down with nothing to do and couldn’t help but imagine how life would be if everyone was equal, don’t even try denying it, you’ve thought of that at least once in your life, but as any good writer would do, they’d write their thoughts down and turn it into a story, that’s exactly what Kurt Vonnegut did. Just imagine living a life where no one gets compared to others in any way. We all wish for a society like that, but Kurt showed us how equality can negatively affect our society. But that’s not the our main idea in this essay, our main idea is to highlight the comparisons and contrasts between the story “Harrison Bergeron” and the movie version “2081”. To begin with, Both the story and the movie had the same introduction/ Opening; “Everybody was finally equal.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron Essay

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story, Harrison Bergeron, it reads, "And George... had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter... the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people... from taking unfair advantage of their brains"(Vonnegut 34). The people in Harrison's world have handicaps to keep them all equal, censoring them, preventing them to think for themselves.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron Book And Movie Comparison Essay

    596 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story “Harrison Bergeron”: by Kurt Vonnegut and the film 2081 are alike in many ways. One similarity is that one of the ballerinas went up on the stage next Harrison. In the movie the ballerinas description and appearance matched how they described her in the book.. The book also matches the visual appearance of Harrison as his handicaps looked as if they were just welded together after they had been pulled out of a yard full of scrap metal. The actions in the movie and the book where practically synchronized.

    Read More

  • Being Equal Isn T Always Fair In Harrison Bergeron

    747 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harrison Bergeron Essay Claim: Being equal isn’t always fair. Intro: What if someone had to wear a handicap? Or what if someone had to be treated exactly like everyone else?

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron

Open Document