Harrison Bergeron – Freedom, Equality, and Happiness
Essay title: Harrison Bergeron – Freedom, Equality, and Happiness
Freedom, Equality, and Happiness.
The story takes place in a future society in which everyone is equal and no body is better then anyone else in anyway. The ability of equality was granted by the 211th, 212, and the 213th Amendments to the constitution unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States handicapper General. Our man characters are a couple named George and Hazel. Hazels intelligence was at a normal level and the use of any mental handicaps wasnt necessary. Unfortunate for George he was required at all times to wear a handicap radio on his hears. Whenever George was in a thought process or any critical thinking his handicap radio would go off with an obnoxious noise to disrupt him.
While watching T.V. the couple notices ballerina dancers on one of the programs. Each ballerina had a mask to hide their beauty, the more horrendous the mask; it was assumed the particular person. Similar to Georges equipment the dancer also had bag full of bird pellets to cause to dancer to be less graceful and handicap their talent. If any of the preformed out of the ordinary their radio ear pieces out release a siren which left two ballerinas on the ground holding their temples. As well as the Musicians, they were forced to wear handicaps to reduce the quality of music they produced.
The show was interrupted for a news bulletin, which with a few short sentences, stuttered and unable to complete a sentence. They referred that all news broadcaster had a speech impediment of some sort. The Ballerina with the most hideous looking masking takes over and announces the broadcast. She states that Harrison has escaped our jail. I mere fourteen years old boy with an assortment of handicaps attached to the young boy. Those of which included heavier pellet bags, tremendous pair of earphones, glasses which intended to make him half blind and waves in them to cause headaches.
While the couple watched the news broadcast surprisingly enough Harrison actually breaks into the news room and announces himself as the Emperor. The quote I find just for this story is when he states “Now watch me become what I can become” This enforces thought to all people watching. Stating that these handicaps are only restraints to one self to make them less human. He tears off his handicap harness with ease and destroys his glasses as well as his head phones. In this coo he is able to grab the attention of both the ballerinas as well as the musicians. They all have abandoned their handicaps and with some help from Harrison. The musicians are slightly hesitant and with the help of Harrison are able to play and their presentation was much improved. With the explosion of sense and graces Harrison and the beautify ballerina find themselves dancing with one another. The Handicapper General came in and actually killed the emperor and his partner on sight and demanded the musicians to put their handicaps back on.
When you try to force anything, in one way or another its going to be oppressive to someone. When normality is enforced, strictly, in the way Mr. Vonnegut puts its limiting or reducing someone potential, its oppressing that persons freedom. The restraints and handicaps are that, restraints and handicaps, they are not enforced for freedom or happiness, but normality or equality. In this case the standard for either is set low when the majority of the people introduced set into situation where it would make them seem weak.
Gasoline Tax, The gasoline tax is an imposed tax on fuel to gain revenue for both federal and state government. In a way this promotes equality in the sense where everything is being charge the same worth of the amount they drive. The tax is on a per gallon purchase and a portion of the taxes go to use for public roads and highway. I for instance commute to work, meaning I pay more in tax since I consume more fuel then a person who has a local job. The more fuel I buy the more taxes I pay per gallon, the tax funds I pay that go back into the roads, highways, and freeways I use. In reference to the story