In the short narrative. “Harrison Bergeron” . Kurt Vonnegut portrays a society in which “everyone is equal” . Through the attempts of the Handicapper General. all individuals who were endowed with anything more than moderate endowments are forced to have on assorted devices meant to do everyone equal. intellectually and physically. Through demoing his audience what a genuinely “equal” society could be. every bit good as how authorities could modulate equality. Kurt Vonnegut clearly makes the point that genuinely equality leads to a loss of true individualism within a society.
Each individual in society has endowments that another does non. which is what creates diverseness in our communities and callings. By taking this diverseness from society by doing every individual equal. the authorities is ask foring its ain death. The first illustration of how idealistic equality creates a deficiency of individualism is in the scene where George and Hazel Bergeron are watching danseuses on telecasting. George notes. “They weren’t truly really good – no better than anybody else would hold been. anyway” .
By leveling the playing field. and coercing danseuses to have on weights and masks to conceal their endowment and beauty. the Handicapper General has taken off from the terpsichoreans their alone endowments for dancing and extinguishing any competition between danseuses. If all terpsichoreans must be equal. this eliminates the demand for any one danseuse to pass excess clip practising. or seeking to be a better danseuse. This. in bend. could make a less than desirable work ethic. as the danseuses do non hold to work every bit difficult to be competitory.
As Philip Fetzer explains. “… even if it were possible to make a society based on equality of ability. it would non be desirable to make so. A society without differences of ability would bring forth no leaders. no great plants of art or literature. no new thoughts. The society would rapidly stagnate” . The 2nd case in which Vonnegut shows his readers the impact of an equal society is when George and Hazel are speaking about what society would be like without disabilities to do everyone equal.
George can non believe for more than a few seconds at a clip because of the disability that he must have on in his ear. to deflect him from his ideas by blasting loud noises at random. All people who have above “average” intelligence are required to have on such a device to extinguish any unjust rational advantage over others. However. by frightening off the ideas of truly intelligent people. the authorities is besides making a society in which nil will of all time alter.
Without the truly intelligent work forces and adult females in any society. there are no new innovations or new thoughts that. in the yesteryear. hold revolutionized a society. By doing all people intellectually equal. the authorities and the society itself will stay unchanged and unadvanced. Ironically. George believes that without disabilities to maintain everyone equal. “pretty shortly we’d be right back to the dark ages once more. with everybody viing against everybody else” . However. without competition. society would return to the dark ages. unable to vie with other societies and develop new engineering and invention.
As Christopher Alexion points out. human existences must be careful with making equality. because of the hazard of taking it “to extremes that finally destruct whatever it was we were seeking to protect. That’s why our attempts toward equality need vitally to be guided by a love of autonomy. Bare equality is merely another name for tyranny – for if everyone’s traveling to be equal in all facets. so no 1 can truly be free” . The concluding illustration of the consequence of a truly equal society occurs when Harrison Bergeron appears on telecasting with all of his clanking weights and utmost disabilities.
Harrison is athletic and intelligent. and has an obscene sum of disabilities because of this. Harrison attempts to subvert the authorities. by declaring himself “the Emperor” . and taking all of his disabilities. every bit good as those of his chosen Empress. By holding independent ideas and beliefs. Harrison leads his ain revolution in an effort to alter society for the better. Harrison sees that the changeless equality means that people are no longer competitory. and he decides to seek to alter that.
However. he is killed by the authorities in the procedure. and any dreams of alteration dice with him. As Steven Saus notes. “The maximization of human possible – and the potency of society – can merely be achieved by leting all persons to hold the best chance to win within the bounds of their primary characteristics” . Any individual who has new thoughts or attempts to originate alteration within an equal society would be met with the same destiny. and accordingly. nil would of all time alter.
By making a society in which every individual is equal. Kurt Vonnegut is able to demo his readers how lay waste toing to a society equality could be. At a clip when political rightness is a must. and society strives for equality. it is easy to see how true equality could take to a deficiency of diverseness and competition within a society. Although Vonnegut’s society was a fictional 1. a society similar to the 1 in “Harrison Bergeron” would go a dead and unmotivated environment. falling behind in invention and innovation. Ultimately. the equality in this narrative will take to the death of the society.
