Examples Of Dystopia In Harrison Bergeron

In a lot of stories, the setting is a fairly decent world. However, this is not the case in other stories. Many stories are set in cruel and unforgiving societies, where certain people, or even the average citizen, are treated with injustice. This is what is seen as a dystopia, an imaginary setting where many people are unhappy, due to being treated unfairly. In certain dystopian settings, the state of the society is caused by a corrupt government controlling the laws of the community. “Harrison Bergeron” is a perfect example of this. Written by Kurt Vonnegut, it takes place in a society where the government forces citizens to be equal in every way, by disputing unjust handicaps. George Bergeron is one of the many citizens handicapped by this society’s government. George Bergeron’s dystopian surroundings

In the story, his intelligence is limited by a handicap, to equalize his intelligence in comparison to less intelligent citizens. The handicap that he wears is explained during George’s introduction, “...the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantages of their brains.” (3.) This handicap limits George’s intelligence simply because others are not as smart as he is. This is unfair as it limits the capabilities of the people who have superior intelligence, instead of just accepting the inferior capabilities of others. This would be similar to forcing someone to not use their legs, only because others are unable to use their legs. While this treatment is rare in the real world, as the opposite has happened more often, it has occurred before. Some teachers will force students not to buy anything on a field trip, because it could damage the self esteem of those who don’t have any money. A less unjust alternative to this would be accepting and not discriminating against those who don’t have any