Examples Of Abuse Of Power In Harrison Bergeron

Words: 443
Pages: 2
Open Document
Abuse of Power Modeled in “Harrison Bergeron” The short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., is built around a wanted criminal named Harrison Bergeron. Harrison escaped jail, and it all went downhill from there. Using his power, he forced everyone to worship him as the emperor. After Harrison found his true love, that he would call his wife, he and his wife were shot dead. One lesson that the story suggests is that people may have some sort of power or rule over others and sometimes they end up abusing that power.
From the start, Harrison was using his power in a bad way by completing criminal acts. Because of this, he was put into jail. Vonnegut writes, “And it was that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's …show more content…
A terrified character says, “If you see this boy,” said the ballerina, “do not -I repeat, do not- try to reason with him.” This quote tells that the people who live near Harrison are afraid of him and do not want to mess with him. Harrison used his power to scare and threaten others.
To continue, Harrison abused his power for the third time by convincing everyone that he's the emperor and forcing them to obey him. Vonnegut states, “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!” Because Harrison used his power to make everyone scared of him, Harrison was able to force the people to call him emperor. This shows that the people did not have a choice, out of scaredness, they carried out his orders.
The lesson that you learn in the story is that using up your power in a harmful or selfish way is ineffectual. If you have a capability that others do not, use it in the right way because it will help you and others grow and learn. Harrison did not use his power in the correct way. He was put in jail, escaped jail, and scared others. Knowing to not abuse your power is a great life lesson because we have powerful leaders ruling our world and if they did what Harrison did, things would turn out
Show More

Related Documents: Examples Of Abuse Of Power In Harrison Bergeron

Animal Farm Individual Rights Essay

rights were not respected, but once the pigs, who in the book were seen as superior, were put in power, the other animals’ rights were not respected. The text reads, “[The harvest] work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Orwell 73). The animals’ basic right to sustenance is being taken from them. This is a clear abuse of power, especially considering the pigs do not have to do any work. Because the animals’ rights were not…

Words 961 - Pages 4