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Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron And The Veldt

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‘Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.’ -Lauren Oliver. Dystopian stories give readers a futuristic, imagined universe that portray an illusion of the perfect society through technological, moral, corporate or bureaucratic control. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr and The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, are both short dystopian stories that explore different types worlds. This essay will compare, contrast and explore both these stories. Both these dystopian stories, The Veldt and Harrison Bergeron, have recurring and similar themes. In Harrison Bergeron, the author suggests the danger of having total equality. The …show more content…

They were equal every which way.’ The story also states, ‘Some things about living still weren't quite right, though.’ This informs the reader that the latent theme in the story underlines that striving for a world where equality is everything, is not worth it; even though many people believe it is. The story Harrison Bergeron communicates the message that total equality is nothing but a mistaken goal that is dangerous in both execution and outcome. The story states that to achieve mental and physical equality among all Americans, the government in the story tortures its citizens, which makes the situation not so ideal. It states that ‘the most beautiful people must wear hideous masks….the most graceful and strong must wear weights…he most intelligent beings must listen to earsplitting noises.’ These sentences inform the reader about how this dystopian world works, and how it is not a fun society to live in. In addition to this, the author writes about how the government system has affected one of the main characters. This impacts the story as the reader is constantly reminded of the negatives about this dystopian world. The story directly states, ‘the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage

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