Topic:Literary Argument
Subject:English
Volume: 3 pages
Type: Essay
Format
Description
Literary Elements
In this essay you should argue about the freedom of the American citizens as presented in Vonnegut’s fiction story named Harrison Bergeron. In the story, the citizens are oppressed and forced to be or present themselves in an equal manner meaning that there should be no one who is better than the other either by looks, physical fitness, or thinking capacity. As a result, you are to argue against such oppression and quoting why freedom of expression and discrimination is important to all citizens.
There is this famous fiction story that has one that can be read online as well that quotes that every single American was equal to his or her neighbor regardless of the age or background history. The year of setting for the story was 2081 when everybody is considered to be equal to the counterpart regardless. In the story, there is one kid who is taken from his parents by the government when he was at the age of 14-years old (Prototypes, 2016). The story brings up different views from diverse souls and backgrounds as well as how some see it as an aid to the parents, others see it as abduction, while others even think that the government basically exceeded its jurisdiction power to the extent of taking the child. In this essay, we shall be looking at both sides of arguments that are raised by distinct groups.
Due to the recent amendments which were imposed by the United States’ government, according to the story, that included the likes of 211th, 212th, and the 213th amendments to the Constitution. With regards to the changes, no one was weaker than the other, neither better looking than any other person. We should be aware that Harrison, who was a 7-foot tall boy of 14-years, had a superior attribute that basically came from his mental and physical abilities. The government wanted him to limit his actions and attractive looks in order to look just like any other normal guy. However, he refuses to adhere to the rules that required him to wear a red ball made of rubber on his nose, wear black caps on his teeth and cut short his eyebrows in order to look just as normal as other persons. In the story, there are other attributes that also limit persons from acting in a particular manner such as him wearing headphones so as to limit his thinking and idea formulation capabilities, the stronger people walking around with weights on their shoulders, and the faster ones to put on heavy loads that would result in them walk slowly. It was these factors that made Harrison not to listen to the government officials’ words of limiting himself but rather ended up shouting that he was emperor at the top of his voice. This act happens when his parents and he are watching the television in their living room. Other persons in the story are seen to be complying with the requirements set by the government.
There are several elements in the story of Harrison Bergeron that include the likes of exposition, conflict, upcoming action, climax, action falling, and the resolution of the story (Gale, 2015). Starting with the exposition element of the story, the issue of equality was seen to be achieved in the United States just after the alterations are made in the Constitution. In order to make it work, the citizens were forced to wear certain objects, basically the handicaps, which would make them equal to others. On the conflict element, Harrison is abducted by the Handicapper General agents from his parents Mr. George and Mrs. Hazel Bergeron for the jail sentence due to the reason that he wanted to overthrow the government for not obeying the set rules. However, the parents had given in to the rules as George’s straight thinking was seasonally interrupted by the loud noises emitted by the transmitter on his ears every 20 seconds while the mother’s intelligence capabilities only gave her chances to think over a short burst of thinking. Looking at the point of rising of the action, Harrison happens to have escaped from the jail as he had outweighed the handicaps assigned to him by that time. The story reaches its climax when he, Harrison, forces himself into a studio breaking the door completely and screams that he is the emperor after which he orders the musicians to play music and in loud pitch.
However, the General of the Handicapper, Diana Moon Glampers, enters the studio with a short gun and shoots him together with a mistress he was dancing with. On the other hand, the television goes off at the place of Bergeron’s making it the falling point of the story. Finally, at the resolution stage of the story, George is in the kitchen at the time of the act but notices that his wife is crying and the television is off from the signal. She doesn’t remember why she is crying and George fails to make up his mind as well when the transmitter emits the loud sounds.
According to the writer, Mr. Kurt Vonnegut’s, every member or legal citizen of the United States by the year 2081 was supposed to obey the new amendments that were set by the United States’ government. As explained in his article, the new amendments were the 211th, 212th, and the 213th changes on the Constitution of the United States (Reed, 2015). What can be seen from the author’s point of view is that every person in the story according to the time that it has been set must follow the rules set by the government and reluctantly adhere to the rules of wearing the handicaps on their bodies so as to follow the rules. He also shows the powers of the government in case a person messes up with it as he or she may end losing his own life. It is, however, the duty of every citizen to follow the set rules by the government.
The issue of equality is seen in his work as he quotes that every American citizen must follow the rules that are set and they are subjected to the forces that make them inferior thus makes them equal. The same case is seen when Harrison is forced to wear a rubber ball of the red color on his nose as well as shaving his eyebrows so as to limit his attractive looks that suppress the other citizens.
Moreover there is no reason as to why the American citizens should be subjected to the issue of maximum equality among themselves since we do have personal differences. It is the natural being of the humans to be unequal in terms of thinking capacities, strength, and judgment as well. This aspect can be seen in any person ever since he or she is born till they fully grow to adults and every person is different from the other in his or her distinct features. The issue of Harrison Bergeron, as presented in the story, implements that humans have distinct features from their counterpart and cannot be forced to be equal to any other.
Secondly, it is only the Creator of the human beings who is capable of taking away the lives of people but not another person, and according to the holy writings, it is seen as a sin against the Supreme Being. According to the story, Harrison Bergeron is shot dead when he fails to obey the rules of the handicap’s master, and according to my personal judgment, it is not necessary to kill a person simply for not obeying rules but rather arresting them for judgments or questioning in the law courts.
Another factor that is controversial in the story is that of arrest due to a minor and baseless crime of not obeying the law. According to the story, persons, such as Bergeron, are arrested for not obeying the equality oppression rule set by the government. Persons are supposed to be arrested due to serious crimes such as theft, murder, or terrorism but not simply because of being superior to others either physically or mentally.
Finally, the story can be based on fictional, to be having a negative impact on the audience that finds time to read it or find it interesting. The reason behind is that it tries to influence the reader into the negative thinking of either breaking the law or committing a crime against humanity opposing the view of the author of passing information to the audience. This fact can be seen when the author writes that Harrison fails to obey the set rules, a fact that leads to his jail sentencing as well as his untimely death. Such stories, when read by people of the younger age, they may end up becoming influenced to commit acts that may affect other people negatively.
References
Vonnegut, K. (2016). Harrison Bergeron. Retrieved from http://www.storyboardthat.com/teacher-guide/harrison-bergeron-by-kurt-vonnegut
Gale, C. L. (2015). A Study Guide to Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.”
Reed, B. (2015). Technologies of Instant Amnesia: Teaching Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” to the Millennial Generation. Teaching American Literature, 8(1).
