English intro and body paragraph Essay

Submitted By maddyohlson
Words: 360
Pages: 2

In the short story, "Harrison Bergeron", by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., conformity takes over the lives of all people. The government strives to take away all existing individuality. Individuality and conformity are the two views of this story. Vonnegut stresses how ridiculous the government is and what they do to keep people from being individuals. Vonnegut shows the importance of individuality versus conformity through the use of contrast, humor, and figurative language.Vonnegut contrasts the importance and the results of individuality versus those of conformity. Harrison Bergeron is burdened with many handicaps, so he decides to go against the law and be an individual. He rips off all of his handicaps and then chooses an empress to dance with. He tells all the musicians to take off their handicaps and play as well as they can. Harrison and the girl dance so happily because they were able to be individuals, "they reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun" (3). They felt so free and happy that they "kissed" the ceiling. Everyone was so used to being restricted by their handicaps that when they were freed, they were overjoyed. Diana Moon Glampers is the Handicapper General and does not want anyone to be different. She walks into the room where Harrison and his empress were dancing, without their handicaps, and immediately shot them. "The Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor" (3). Vonnegut uses Diana Moon Glampers ad the figure head of