Examples Of Equality In Harrison Bergeron

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A Society of Equality Imagine a utopia were every human being is equal in every way. Would people act different than the normal in society today? More importantly, how would people live in that sort of society? In “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut creates a futuristic setting in which the protagonist, Harrison Bergeron, helps show how having a strictly equal society provides an injustice to the people.

While it may seem like having an equal society would be ideal, Harrison Bergeron proves how the society ruins their way of living. Everyone in the real world is created with different abilities that are unique to each person, but in Harrison’s society, every human is equal in terms of strength, beauty, talents, and intelligence through handicaps. The …show more content…
They still feel and think like normal people in today's society, however the equality laws and handicaps turned them into beings without emotions. People aren't amazed or shocked by anything they see, because everyone's capabilities are at the same level. The protagonist of the story, Harrison Bergeron, finds this whole situation unfair and refuses to wear his handicaps. He had special talents in every way; in appearance, strength, and intelligence, which is why the narrator comments, "Nobody had ever born heavier handicaps." Harrison Bergeron was put in jail for refusing to obey the laws, but later broke out. He made a scene on stage and claimed he was the emperor because he wasn't afraid to show off his skills and special talents. He was only expressing his beliefs, but since he was going against the laws set in their society, he was assassinated. Having special abilities like Harrison Bergeron’s, are characteristics that should be honored, not restricted and strictly refrained from. Having to wear these handicaps withheld the characters from having their own individual characteristics and promoted a negatively strict equal
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