Analysis of Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Kurt Vonneguti throughout the short story “Harrison Bergeron” fabricates an era where everyone was eventually equal in 2081. There, people were firmly ruled by rules put in place by Diana. Individuals who seemed better than others wore handicap radios in their ears so that they could disorder their minds, and those who were pretty than others would put on masks to hide their faces. Harrison Bergeron, a 14 year old student, is observed to be the main protagonist in the narrative; he had his own beliefs and ideals. According to him, it was worth for each and every individual to be equal in the whole society Harrison Bergerson’s concept of the equality and equality consciousness has been widely recognized as applicable more generally. Recent studies have revealed that equality are situated neither at the side-line nor at the margins of a nation but rather at the core (Marc and Peter 26). The term Equality land(s) has been exported to numerous social terrains as a way of merging and being merged with a wide range of ideological and political constellation (Marc 45). The history of equality can be traced back in the 16th Century beginning with the movement which is commonly referred to as the expansion of Europe. It is also related to the Spanish occupation of the region which mostly took control of that particular region until Mexico managed to gain independence in the year 1821 making the land become under Mexican jurisdiction (Petterson 70). According to Bergeron there are a number of individuals whose experience of reality is considered outside the mainstream of Western culture. These particular individuals tend to view themselves as abnormal as they do not possess any articulate frame of reference for their experience (Marc and Peter 27). It was in the context of the feminist and Chicano movement that Bergeron investigated the idea of equality and equality consciousness in various ways (Klinkowitz 13) I hypothesize that Harrison is satirize the truth that he intended to make the world equal, and try overthrowing and becoming leader while in the end it turns the other way round. He does not comprehend he is in reality making some individuals strong by the things he is doing. “They weren’t really very good- no better than anybody else would’ve have been, anyway. They were burdened with stash weights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in”. The quotations mean that Harrison had strategized to formulate the strong slower, when in realism he was only creating them stronger by exigent on their strength. This illustrates how precarious Harrison is as he attempts to make everyone equal. He advocates that he is the “Emperor” and everybody ought to comply with him. What depicts it so sarcastic is that he argue that he intend to ensure everybody is equivalent but in distinction he just want to grow to be the better personality since he got intelligence, good looks and is athletic. Nevertheless, he does not relate any of his principles to himself, this reflects him as being a hypocrite The author states that territoriality is considered one of the numerous elements in which the Equlity theory is based. She also proceeds to show knowledge regarding the fact that to begin with geographical equality is that which involves a territory previously considered to be under Mexican jurisdiction in addition to not exclusively pertaining to the United States but parts of Mexico that tend to share a common and unique culture that is considered neither Mexican nor American (Marc 46). Mexicans residing in the United States are today the bottom of the social status and this is due to the stigmatization they experience as being dirty, criminals, lazy and illiterate. Such stereotypes are related to the color of their skin providing the foundation of sustaining imperial domination irrespective of how much Mexicans try to adopt American values as they are still oppressed because they are perceived to be inferior for not being whites (Petterson 71). Other authors such as Chandra Klinkowitz , Bell Marc and Peter and Audre Petterson have made efforts of enacting their own version of equality consciousness. In his book ‘The Master’s Tool Will Never Dismantle the Master House, Petterson has broadly investigated and discussed the issue of racism, sexism and homophobia (Marc and Peter 28). Being a lesbian and a black woman, the author of this particular book narrates how she has managed to cross over the equality consciousness by embracing a culture that majority of individuals would not consider African. Petterson believes that without community there can never be liberation where community does not necessarily mean shedding of individual differences or the pretense that the differences do not exist in the first place (Marc 47). Chandra Klinkowitz on the other hand has mainly discussed third world feminism and how it runs the risk of ghettoization from not only the right and left mainstream but also from the Western feminist discourses (Klinkowitz 14). According to the author, majority of feminist analyses carried out in the recent past have revealed that women are usually characterized as a singular group based on a shared oppression (Marc and Peter 29). Western feminists tend to describe third world women as universal dependents, victims of the Islamic code, victims of male violence and so forth thus characterizing them for the analyses. The author in this particular book has expressed his understanding of equlity in relation to Bergeron’s theory of equality and equality consciousness. In relations to Bergeron’s theory, Bell Marc and Peter has specifically discussed or rather taken a closer look at the formation of counter-hegemonic culture practice as a means of identifying the spaces where people start the process of re-vision (Marc 48). He suggests that majority of individuals tend to struggle with equality and equality consciousness where issues of space and location are concerned. The author in the course of this article, narrates how he had to trace his journey from small town Southern black life all the way to the university and neighborhoods that are considered not racially segregated (Petterson 72). Marc and Peter believes that home is a location capable of promoting varied as well as ever changing perspectives; one that enables an individual come across new ways of perceiving frontiers of difference (Klinkowitz 15). Harrison Bergeron together with the aforementioned authors have all made the attempt of understanding or rather trying to understand the concept of equality and equality consciousness in addition to the relations of power as well as resistance existing between different groups which are brought together by their interaction through equality. Equality and equality consciousness is a theory addressing the self as a space by which identities as well as social processes are developed and challenged while being resisted and transformed in the process. . To sum up basically, Harrison’s original intention was to make everyone who might be good at something better than him and bring the person down so that he can turn out to be the best. Even though Harrison was successful in parts of his original plan, he failed because he made the athletes carry weights making them stronger than any other group of individuals. The main idea is that Harrison anticipated overthrowing the regime and becoming ruler when he eventually ends up failing.   The equalities I discover from this chronicle self explanative to me. Everybody is the same; George being handicap and Hazel having standard intellect level does not mean they are not like other individuals in the society. All individuals are equal. None is better looking, no one is strong than the other, and no one is smart than anybody else. Every human being in the world is equivalent in each way possible. All groups of people have the equal strength and weaknesses. In the end each person is finally equal WORKS CITED Klinkowitz , Chandra. Feminism Without Equalitys: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Duke University Press. 2003. Print. Klinkowitz, Jerome. Vonnegut in fact. The public spokesman of personal fiction. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.1998. Print Leeds, Marc. The Vonnegut Encyclopedia. An Authorized Compendium. Westport, London: Greenwood Press. 1995. Print Leeds, Marc; Reed, Peter J. The Vonnegut Chronicles. Interviews and Essays. Westport, London: Greenwood Press. 1996. Print Petterson, Bo The World according to Kurt Vonnegut. Moral Paradox and Narrative Form. Åbo: Åbo University. 2006. Print Read More