I really didn't like this one very much. That type of society would be a complete bore to live in, there's always going to be someone better than you, someone prettier or with more money.
I can't even fathom how such laws would be placed, let alone followed. Granted there are people that say that subliminal messages and other such motives are used to keep the public placid, I think for the most part these are ramblings of overly paranoid people.
In the setting of the story however, the Emperor and Empress should have known that they weren't going to last long after making such a public appearance. If they really wanted to start something they should have probably started a rebellion in quiet first.
The year of 2081 isn’t as bright as expected in “Harrison Bergeron”. Just by some decision of someone that George Bergeron is above-average intelligence, so he’s had a radio implanted in his hear. Piercing sirens, crashes, and booms go off periodically to obstruct his thought process. It’s an impossible living condition to be in, and could be considered as worse as Winston in 1984. It’s a sad scene when George came back from grabbing a beer when his son was just killed on television a couple of seconds before. Hazel cries, but soon can’t remember why; life quickly returns to normal.
This society sounds very creepy.... Very... Manipulative... Almost like Lego Movie, but worse in that everything is boring, equal and... Just terrible. Too normal.
I like satire a lot, and this was not an exception. One of the most beautiful things about our society is that everyone is unique and intelligent and talented in their own ways. I am sure many people are dissatisfied with where their current situation but they should really think if they read this they would realize just how great life really is. This reminds me of the show the black mirror, which also deals with over the top looks at society and its flaws.
I second what Sammi said. This piece is dripping in Satire. It was great. I personally loved when Grace told the guy to put his weight down and that she wouldn't mind her being unequal. I saw the fact that he was used to the weight to be how you become desensitised to societies ridiculous norms.
Just because you're good at something and you get penalized for it because of the government's 213 amendments to the Constitution to make people equal? Well that sucks.
This story reminded me of a book I read several years ago called The Barcode Tattoo. I think people should be able to excel in whatever gifts and/or talents they have and that they should all be treated equally. This story makes me think of the concept of communism, of how people should be treated the same and work together for the greater good of society. I think the author might be saying that we all say we want equality but we don't really do anything about it, and when we do, it usually doesn't end up working out because everyone tries to one-up each other.
This future society is a load of garbage! Nothing is equal; everyone is not treated equal here either. How is it fair that some people have devices that restrict their free thoughts? How is it fair that some people made to cover their faces, because people get jelly? Nothing is fair! Nothing is equal! Nothing is free! To put this in Constitution is also bullshit. The Constitution is there to preserve our rights and freedoms, and I feel that they lost it all. Then again, this is probably put together by a government that is set to dumb down society to control the people easier. In the end, when people started to express their thoughts and show of their beauty, they were just shot by the government. How much power does the government need? Apparently, enough power to control most, if not all, your freedoms. Screw this society! I'm not sure what the writer was trying to convey, but George's son was killed on national television. It's a bit sad that he didn't see it, and nobody could even remember enough to tell him. Even if he saw it himself, he would forget it, too. I'm not down for this shit! Boo!
I would never like to live in such a boring society. There should always be someone smarter, prettier, hotter, taller etc... Because that is what it makes each individual different and that makes the world interesting. Yes, people complain about the unequal society but I am pretty sure that they are aware that a world without differences would be a lot worse than where we are today.
As far as fictional universes go, this is one I'd never want to live in. The idea of forcing everyone into an equal state of normalcy is not only boring but unlikely to be so effective. Like any other oppressed society, it would be eventually overthrown to set things back to rights, and I'd be cheering for that outcome.
I see the satirical of the big brother theme. Vonnegut took it to a dystopian society but every citizen views it as a utopia, due to the handicap that everyone must have. Vonnegut creates a world that is very interesting that is similar to Orville's 1984, while in 1984 everybody knows something is wrong, but is afraid to do something about it, but in Vonnegut's rendition they do not see the slightest issue because they forget about it.
Very well written; putting aside whether I agree or disagree or my personal opinions of the way of living in the story, I really enjoyed it. Caught my attention right away. The way everything is described it makes you paint a picture in your head of how everything would look like. The way the writer kept on giving examples and descriptions like "The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an automobile collision in his head" helps you feel the story more real, almost like it could be possible. I enjoyed it!
This was one of the most bizarre things I've ever read. I understand the author is trying to convey that a utopian society comes with its price. While the cause for equality is a just cause, forcing everyone to be the same is not the ideal way to achieve it. The characters' seem to express a desire to break this cycle, but by the end, they just forget about it and carry on. It may serve as a metaphor of accepting the status quo however unusual it may seem because it's become the norm. But I can't suspend my disbelief that this would be accepted by any population.
An underlying statement here is some things are overrated and overestimated. This piece brings up topics in my mind such as what the current world wants from the government. The people want equality, they want marriage, they want laws that forbid guns, etc. but at the end of the day, the government still GOVERNS it all. There isn't complete freedom with equality. It's just another way for the government to grant something you want but with their permission. equality does not essentially mean 'same' and that is the hardest part of it. Again, the grass isn't always greener on the other side and I am not saying I want to deny anyone of their freedom because status quo isn't always better. It is a confusing topic.
This is a terrible way to live. We cant all be perfect in all aspects. Whatever we are good at should be put into practice and honed. I also dont believe one can know everything because we're constantly learning things we might not have known before. If everyone was the same, how could we possibly hope to further our knowledge and our understandings of this world.
I remember seeing a film version of this once back in high school and to this day I still remember the frightening message behind the story. This truly comes to show how there is no beauty in equality, only ignorance.
terrible! just terrible!! i would be dead on site if i lived in a world like that. i understand that people want to be treated equal, but how far will they take it. people should be different and have opinions. that's what created America in the first place. we didn't want to be ruled by a kings, we wanted to have the option to have our own opinion.
Even if the world ran smoother if everyone was equal, thats's taking free will. Something the bible says to never take away. If the nation is still "under god" that is obstructing the constitution. And it says they still have religion so it just shows how far the govt. is willing to push for complete control.
Everything that we know wouldn't be, and we would all be lost. I don't think any of us would be able to live like this because we are not used to it. Obviously we would adapt, but also over time our generations transform and adapt differently. Over time this probably will be closer to happening which is very scary. We will not have competition, goals, or motivation to aspire or be someone great, because it will not exist.
I guess total equality can be dangerous. We've been told to think that everyone should be treated equally but the reality is that it's dangerous. It jeopardizes freedom and individual achievement. The government also uses television to enforce laws, so it also portrays the power of what television can do.
interesting how today, our focus in different, We are not in the day, we are more in the distractions of our lives. As a society we need to be more aware of in the now rather then what is in the what if. We are so focused of Facebook and other social media cites that we don't stop, we want other people's lives and are jealous of what others have. If we want something we really need to go work for it.
Lol, I thought the future was for the better. I guess not, I always pictured how it would be like if everyone was the same. But damn, not in that sense, that's bad Joe Jackson bad!
Lol, I thought the future was for the better. I guess not, I always pictured how it would be like if everyone was the same. But damn, not in that sense, that's bad Joe Jackson bad!
This story really makes people re-think about what the term equality means to us as a whole. We need to embrace each others unique differences including embracing ourselves. Our unique individuality is what makes our world so interesting! If we took that away, as we see in this story, everything and everyone is desensitized. What fun would that be if that was our world today? Our world would be so boring!
This was another one that has haunted me for quite some time as well – it was paired with the reading of 1984 during its popularity. In this particular society I could definitely see the ear ringing handicap as one that would be extremely effective, but with technology the way it is now, there are a lot of other things that can be done to make everyone ‘more equal’. Not that it would be a good thing. This is more like a Communistic nature of being – keep anyone from advancing, and maintaining status quo with those that don’t, or can’t, do much. Some questions do arise from this sort of society with the particular rules, regulations, and laws – one being “how is it determined who should be in charge of what, if all are ‘equal’?” Hmmm indeed.
This is quite an interesting read, the idea being of people being restrained to be equal and prevent competition. This seems like a plausible and rational idea, however, the amount of suppression needed given the amount of different people would be unimaginable. There will always be someone more intelligent than you, and once that idea is accepted, you can continue to gain more knowledge and experience.
What I took away from this story was that don't be influenced by what you see on TV, (even from a story that was written in the 60's this is very forward thinking) from the time we are born we are bombarded with images, most unrealistic, of what is classified as beautiful but really what they should be teaching everyone is to be yourself and embrace who you are no matter what society says.
This story touches a topic is very hard to understand here because there people that want equality but yet they want to be different. It's a really sensitive topic and I don't think there will ever be a conclusion to this. We are always going to get governed.
This story makes you realize just how beautiful the differences we have are. It makes us more human in a way. We all want to strive and do our best at all times. Total equality would make the world a horrible place to live in.
God, what a beautiful story. I loved the dystopian quality of the world presented, and the assumptions one could make about the entirety of the world in this state. I feel like this is a gorgeous statement about uniqueness and comparison. You could compare yourself to the rest of the world, but to attempt to drag everyone to an equal playing field isn't equal at all.
God, what a beautiful story. I loved the dystopian quality of the world presented, and the assumptions one could make about the entirety of the world in this state. I feel like this is a gorgeous statement about uniqueness and comparison. You could compare yourself to the rest of the world, but to attempt to drag everyone to an equal playing field isn't equal at all.
In movies we see how great the future is going to be, but if we keep treating the world like we are doing, it wont get much better as we can see in the story. We will always be in a government format, and there is going to be corrupt people, and just people. That is the way this world works, and at this point it will probably be near impossible to change since we are so used to living this way, and a lot of people are scared of change.
Comment by Travis Mossbarger There is always a group of people in charge and want to control everyone else. Even if everyone is equal, there has to be a leader some where that wont have any blocks. The world would never get any where if everyone was the same.
I love this story's message about equality. that you can't be 100% its the idea to feel equal but being completely equal causes problems. I wouldn't want to live in a society of complete equality like the story says. It would take all enjoyment out of life if i was limited to another's inability to be on the same level as me whether physically, mentally, or emotionally etc. i get somethings need to be fair but not completely equal or there is no need for improvement.
I really didn't like this one very much. That type of society would be a complete bore to live in, there's always going to be someone better than you, someone prettier or with more money.
ReplyDeleteI can't even fathom how such laws would be placed, let alone followed. Granted there are people that say that subliminal messages and other such motives are used to keep the public placid, I think for the most part these are ramblings of overly paranoid people.
In the setting of the story however, the Emperor and Empress should have known that they weren't going to last long after making such a public appearance. If they really wanted to start something they should have probably started a rebellion in quiet first.
That's my two cents anyways.
-Codey Robinson
The year of 2081 isn’t as bright as expected in “Harrison Bergeron”. Just by some decision of someone that George Bergeron is above-average intelligence, so he’s had a radio implanted in his hear. Piercing sirens, crashes, and booms go off periodically to obstruct his thought process. It’s an impossible living condition to be in, and could be considered as worse as Winston in 1984.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a sad scene when George came back from grabbing a beer when his son was just killed on television a couple of seconds before. Hazel cries, but soon can’t remember why; life quickly returns to normal.
This society sounds very creepy.... Very... Manipulative... Almost like Lego Movie, but worse in that everything is boring, equal and... Just terrible. Too normal.
ReplyDeleteI like satire a lot, and this was not an exception. One of the most beautiful things about our society is that everyone is unique and intelligent and talented in their own ways. I am sure many people are dissatisfied with where their current situation but they should really think if they read this they would realize just how great life really is. This reminds me of the show the black mirror, which also deals with over the top looks at society and its flaws.
ReplyDeleteI second what Sammi said. This piece is dripping in Satire. It was great. I personally loved when Grace told the guy to put his weight down and that she wouldn't mind her being unequal. I saw the fact that he was used to the weight to be how you become desensitised to societies ridiculous norms.
ReplyDeleteJust because you're good at something and you get penalized for it because of the government's 213 amendments to the Constitution to make people equal? Well that sucks.
ReplyDeleteThis story reminded me of a book I read several years ago called The Barcode Tattoo. I think people should be able to excel in whatever gifts and/or talents they have and that they should all be treated equally. This story makes me think of the concept of communism, of how people should be treated the same and work together for the greater good of society. I think the author might be saying that we all say we want equality but we don't really do anything about it, and when we do, it usually doesn't end up working out because everyone tries to one-up each other.
ReplyDeleteThis future society is a load of garbage! Nothing is equal; everyone is not treated equal here either. How is it fair that some people have devices that restrict their free thoughts? How is it fair that some people made to cover their faces, because people get jelly? Nothing is fair! Nothing is equal! Nothing is free! To put this in Constitution is also bullshit. The Constitution is there to preserve our rights and freedoms, and I feel that they lost it all. Then again, this is probably put together by a government that is set to dumb down society to control the people easier. In the end, when people started to express their thoughts and show of their beauty, they were just shot by the government. How much power does the government need? Apparently, enough power to control most, if not all, your freedoms. Screw this society! I'm not sure what the writer was trying to convey, but George's son was killed on national television. It's a bit sad that he didn't see it, and nobody could even remember enough to tell him. Even if he saw it himself, he would forget it, too. I'm not down for this shit! Boo!
ReplyDeleteI would never like to live in such a boring society. There should always be someone smarter, prettier, hotter, taller etc... Because that is what it makes each individual different and that makes the world interesting. Yes, people complain about the unequal society but I am pretty sure that they are aware that a world without differences would be a lot worse than where we are today.
ReplyDeleteAs far as fictional universes go, this is one I'd never want to live in. The idea of forcing everyone into an equal state of normalcy is not only boring but unlikely to be so effective. Like any other oppressed society, it would be eventually overthrown to set things back to rights, and I'd be cheering for that outcome.
ReplyDeleteI see the satirical of the big brother theme. Vonnegut took it to a dystopian society but every citizen views it as a utopia, due to the handicap that everyone must have. Vonnegut creates a world that is very interesting that is similar to Orville's 1984, while in 1984 everybody knows something is wrong, but is afraid to do something about it, but in Vonnegut's rendition they do not see the slightest issue because they forget about it.
ReplyDeleteVery well written; putting aside whether I agree or disagree or my personal opinions of the way of living in the story, I really enjoyed it. Caught my attention right away. The way everything is described it makes you paint a picture in your head of how everything would look like. The way the writer kept on giving examples and descriptions like "The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an automobile collision in his head" helps you feel the story more real, almost like it could be possible. I enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the most bizarre things I've ever read. I understand the author is trying to convey that a utopian society comes with its price. While the cause for equality is a just cause, forcing everyone to be the same is not the ideal way to achieve it. The characters' seem to express a desire to break this cycle, but by the end, they just forget about it and carry on. It may serve as a metaphor of accepting the status quo however unusual it may seem because it's become the norm. But I can't suspend my disbelief that this would be accepted by any population.
ReplyDeleteAn underlying statement here is some things are overrated and overestimated. This piece brings up topics in my mind such as what the current world wants from the government. The people want equality, they want marriage, they want laws that forbid guns, etc. but at the end of the day, the government still GOVERNS it all. There isn't complete freedom with equality. It's just another way for the government to grant something you want but with their permission. equality does not essentially mean 'same' and that is the hardest part of it. Again, the grass isn't always greener on the other side and I am not saying I want to deny anyone of their freedom because status quo isn't always better. It is a confusing topic.
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrible way to live. We cant all be perfect in all aspects. Whatever we are good at should be put into practice and honed. I also dont believe one can know everything because we're constantly learning things we might not have known before. If everyone was the same, how could we possibly hope to further our knowledge and our understandings of this world.
ReplyDelete@Sam Pan I totally agree with you on everything you said!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a film version of this once back in high school and to this day I still remember the frightening message behind the story. This truly comes to show how there is no beauty in equality, only ignorance.
ReplyDeleteterrible! just terrible!! i would be dead on site if i lived in a world like that. i understand that people want to be treated equal, but how far will they take it. people should be different and have opinions. that's what created America in the first place. we didn't want to be ruled by a kings, we wanted to have the option to have our own opinion.
ReplyDeleteEven if the world ran smoother if everyone was equal, thats's taking free will. Something the bible says to never take away. If the nation is still "under god" that is obstructing the constitution. And it says they still have religion so it just shows how far the govt. is willing to push for complete control.
ReplyDeleteEverything that we know wouldn't be, and we would all be lost. I don't think any of us would be able to live like this because we are not used to it. Obviously we would adapt, but also over time our generations transform and adapt differently. Over time this probably will be closer to happening which is very scary. We will not have competition, goals, or motivation to aspire or be someone great, because it will not exist.
ReplyDeleteI guess total equality can be dangerous. We've been told to think that everyone should be treated equally but the reality is that it's dangerous. It jeopardizes freedom and individual achievement. The government also uses television to enforce laws, so it also portrays the power of what television can do.
ReplyDeleteinteresting how today, our focus in different, We are not in the day, we are more in the distractions of our lives. As a society we need to be more aware of in the now rather then what is in the what if. We are so focused of Facebook and other social media cites that we don't stop, we want other people's lives and are jealous of what others have. If we want something we really need to go work for it.
ReplyDeleteLol, I thought the future was for the better. I guess not, I always pictured how it would be like if everyone was the same. But damn, not in that sense, that's bad Joe Jackson bad!
ReplyDeleteLol, I thought the future was for the better. I guess not, I always pictured how it would be like if everyone was the same. But damn, not in that sense, that's bad Joe Jackson bad!
ReplyDeleteThis story really makes people re-think about what the term equality means to us as a whole. We need to embrace each others unique differences including embracing ourselves. Our unique individuality is what makes our world so interesting! If we took that away, as we see in this story, everything and everyone is desensitized. What fun would that be if that was our world today? Our world would be so boring!
ReplyDeleteThis was another one that has haunted me for quite some time as well – it was paired with the reading of 1984 during its popularity. In this particular society I could definitely see the ear ringing handicap as one that would be extremely effective, but with technology the way it is now, there are a lot of other things that can be done to make everyone ‘more equal’. Not that it would be a good thing. This is more like a Communistic nature of being – keep anyone from advancing, and maintaining status quo with those that don’t, or can’t, do much. Some questions do arise from this sort of society with the particular rules, regulations, and laws – one being “how is it determined who should be in charge of what, if all are ‘equal’?” Hmmm indeed.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite an interesting read, the idea being of people being restrained to be equal and prevent competition. This seems like a plausible and rational idea, however, the amount of suppression needed given the amount of different people would be unimaginable. There will always be someone more intelligent than you, and once that idea is accepted, you can continue to gain more knowledge and experience.
ReplyDeleteWhat I took away from this story was that don't be influenced by what you see on TV, (even from a story that was written in the 60's this is very forward thinking) from the time we are born we are bombarded with images, most unrealistic, of what is classified as beautiful but really what they should be teaching everyone is to be yourself and embrace who you are no matter what society says.
ReplyDeleteThis story touches a topic is very hard to understand here because there people that want equality but yet they want to be different. It's a really sensitive topic and I don't think there will ever be a conclusion to this. We are always going to get governed.
ReplyDeleteThis story makes you realize just how beautiful the differences we have are. It makes us more human in a way. We all want to strive and do our best at all times. Total equality would make the world a horrible place to live in.
ReplyDeleteGod, what a beautiful story. I loved the dystopian quality of the world presented, and the assumptions one could make about the entirety of the world in this state. I feel like this is a gorgeous statement about uniqueness and comparison. You could compare yourself to the rest of the world, but to attempt to drag everyone to an equal playing field isn't equal at all.
ReplyDeleteGod, what a beautiful story. I loved the dystopian quality of the world presented, and the assumptions one could make about the entirety of the world in this state. I feel like this is a gorgeous statement about uniqueness and comparison. You could compare yourself to the rest of the world, but to attempt to drag everyone to an equal playing field isn't equal at all.
ReplyDeleteIn movies we see how great the future is going to be, but if we keep treating the world like we are doing, it wont get much better as we can see in the story. We will always be in a government format, and there is going to be corrupt people, and just people. That is the way this world works, and at this point it will probably be near impossible to change since we are so used to living this way, and a lot of people are scared of change.
ReplyDeleteComment by Travis Mossbarger
ReplyDeleteThere is always a group of people in charge and want to control everyone else. Even if everyone is equal, there has to be a leader some where that wont have any blocks. The world would never get any where if everyone was the same.
I love this story's message about equality. that you can't be 100% its the idea to feel equal but being completely equal causes problems. I wouldn't want to live in a society of complete equality like the story says. It would take all enjoyment out of life if i was limited to another's inability to be on the same level as me whether physically, mentally, or emotionally etc. i get somethings need to be fair but not completely equal or there is no need for improvement.
ReplyDelete