Equal Utopia In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut

Charles Evans Hughes once states,† When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.† In the story Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut, that statement is repeatedly challenged and is portrayed as false in this â€Å"equal† utopia. A government tried to create an equal society by giving everyone specific handicaps. The handicaps brought the citizens to a certain bar of intelligence, athletics, and beauty. People such as Harrison Bergeron strongly disagreed with the law, and he even tried rebelling, but then got shot down. Does this sound like an equal utopia to you? Is this truly what equality is? I believe that in the story, that everyone is not equal. With the fact that so many segments are flawed in the†¦show more content†¦As people could rip/take off their handicaps easily, then what was keeping this â€Å"equal† society together? Another fact that proves everyone is not equal in the story is that some citizens lack other skills that other citizens have. For example. in the segment of the story when the ballerina reads for the reporter, it notifies us that even though the reporter cannot read, the ballerina can. This alone screams the fact that everyone is not truly equal. Adding on, another example of this is Hazel. Hazel, as states, in the beginning, had no mental handicaps. Though she did have a horrible memory, she did not constantly lose her memory. When Hazel and George were having a deep conversation about how taking off their handicaps would damage the society’s structure, George was the only one that lost his memory. That stays that way through the whole story until Hazel finally forgets something at the end. This imbalance and unfairness in abilities show that yet again, everyone is not equal in the story. In the story, Harrison Bergeron, one major flaw shown within their system of equality is that the people that made the laws themselves did not have handicaps. Back to the scene when Diana storms into the studio, this alone tells me that she did not have weights. As the text state,† Diana Glampers burst through the door,† I can infer that she did not have weights that burdened her, otherwise she would not have been able to pull off that stunt. Also, through the entire scene ofShow MoreRelatedHarrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut Essay1565 Words   |  7 Pages Harrison Bergeron is a story written by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut’s story is a warning to the world about the quest of equality, which is spreading all round in many nations with America on the lead. The story shows the reader how the equality issue can have negative impacts on people’s individuality, and the society. 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