How Equality Is or Is Not Achieved In This Dystopian Society

Several people have the belief that total equality regarding age, gender, race, sex or religion is fundamental and it is worth working for. Kurt Vonnegut in his short story “Harrison Bergeron” has a focus on the most excellent qualities of an individual and thereby altering to go beyond the average standard (Baker 9). An excellent example to point out is the higher intelligence people who had no otherwise but to wear those devices which inhibited them from exceeding the average standard — the results of attempting to obtain an equal society led to citizens living in fear of their abilities.

At the point where the government attempts to affect the substantive outcomes via the interference, and it sets the citizen to be charged against each other, and it threatens the cohesion of the people in the society. The actions that the author creates is a clear demonstration to the reader that the author is trying to bring out the theme of equality (Baker 20). The citizens have no otherwise but to forget the desperate situation that they are surrounded with and to properly internalize the fear which constantly pushes them far away from the outstanding capabilities.

In a better portion of the essay, the author uses images to demonstrate the theme of equality. The citizens are viewed to be equal, but those who are handicapped have some restraints to being considered equal in society (Vonnegut). Regardless of the many efforts these disabled people make, the author demonstrates that they can never at any point attain equity in the community. The government makes efforts to promote equality but some individuals revolt this action by showing against such laws that demoralize the citizens (Baker 20). This short story allows the reader to see the difference between having forced equality and true equality.

Works Cited

Vonnegut, Kurt. Complete Stories. Seven Stories Press, 2017.

Hunter Baker, 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2017. Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. “Harrison Bergeron,” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. XJ. Kennedy and Diana Gioia. 5^th ed. New York: Pearson, 2016. 194 – 200. Print