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Harrison Bergeron And Anthem: Equality's Equality

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Equality for All “Equality in pay has improved in the US since 1979 when women earned about 62 percent as much as men. In 2010, American women on average earned 81 percent of what their male counterparts earned” ( Highlights in the US). “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem both are dystopian societies that tried to create equality, but end up with horrible corruption, no real equality, and incorrect portrayals of equality. In “Harrison Bergeron” the society leaders use handicaps to bring people down to the lowest level or the “average” of their society. There are similar concepts in Anthem, no one can be better than anyone, but they use shame and guilt to keep their people in line. Equality is when everyone is given the same opportunities …show more content…

The image of equality “Harrison Bergeron” is making everyone go to the most average, they can be by using handicaps to stop their natural abilities. “George, while his intelligence was way above normal, 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. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” (Vonnegut 1). This quote shows they would suppress their smartest people to an average level of thinking. This society does not want someone to grow in any way and realize how bad life is. Similarly a sufficient amount of the same points can be made in Anthem, they are just accomplished differently. In Anthem “equality” is not purely shown, but is attempted. Equality is held by shaming individuality and sometimes physical punishments. “There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521.” (Rand 18). Equality is being shamed for having grown taller than the other boys, something he cannot control, like intelligence. Equality talks about the struggle to be average because he knows there is more and wants to wander in it, but he has been grown to know that everyone must be exactly the same in every way to be equal. Both of these examples are different than the true meaning of

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