Equality of Life in Kurt Vonneguts Works - 1074 Words

Equality of life Will Rogers once said â€Å"We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.† This quote is what we should strive for in reality but in Kurt Vonnegut’s â€Å"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow†, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, and â€Å"All the King’s Horses† this is the exactly the opposite of what occurs in his stories. In â€Å"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow†, the earth is overcrowded, people live forever, the same politicians have been in office forever and no one recognizes each other’s rights. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† the people of America don’t even have any rights; they are â€Å"equal† in all aspects of life and in â€Å"All the King’s Horses† people are being used as chess pieces and not as human beings.†¦show more content†¦And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radi o in his ear because he was too intelligent. Harrison’s father was also forced to carry around a bag of lead shot to make him not as strong as he could be, making him â€Å"equal† to everyone else. After Harrison was taken away, his mother doesn’t remember it and when she does subconsciously, she cries and doesn’t know why she is crying. After Harrison is taken he is forced to wear a large pair of earphones, spectacles with thick wavy lenses which were meant to cause him to have whanging headaches, and three hundred pounds of scrap metal. He then breaks free of his restraints and storms a TV studio and takes it over, here he declares himself emperor. He then declares that he needs an empress, then one of the ballerinas steps up, after removing her hideous mask, she reveals her blinding beauty. They are both killed by the Handicapper General after they kiss. In Vonnegut’s â€Å"All the King’s Horses† he talks about the cold war and how men become machines, that war is a ritual human sacrifice and that we are just pawns in the game of life (Radovic). In the short story, Pi Ying tells Kelly that chess games, like battles, can very rarely be won without sacrifices and that, philosophically, and that the game he is required to play is no different. Vonnegut also discusses the true horror of war that, in order to survive, men must become like machines, denying their humanity. In Vonnegut’sShow MoreRelatedKurt Vonnegut : A Hybrid Of Science Fiction And Satire1716 Words   |  7 PagesLeanne Arata English 11 Mrs. Wheeler 5/8/2016 Kurt Vonnegut The idea of making a work that does not fit into a single category of work is how Kurt Vonnegut has become such a phenomenon. Kurt Vonnegut has a hybrid writing style which allows him to critique human nature and this is evident in his work. A hybrid writer is someone who makes something by combining two different genres to create something new. Vonnegut’s work is a hybrid of science fiction and satire. Satire is an author’s way of sayingRead More Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Essay522 Words   |  3 PagesHarrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut In Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut depicts a society in which everyone is mentally, physically, and socially equal. Throughout the history of our country, Americans have sought racial, gender, and socio-economic equality. On paper such a society seems ideal. Through the story one might infer that Vonnegut views the concept of total equality as ludicrous. Equality can be interpreted many ways. One point of view is the American belief that everybodyRead MoreHarrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut Essay1565 Words   |  7 Pages Harrison Bergeron is a story written by Kurt Vonnegut. 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However, we do not or may not pay attention to it. Societies’ rulesRead MoreUnequality in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut 849 Words   |  4 Pagesunequal things equal.† Kurt Vonnegut portrays Aristotle’s philosophy brilliantly in his short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron.† The story depicts the American government in the future mandating physical handicaps in an attempt to make everyone equal. Vonnegut describes a world where no one is allowed to excel in the areas of intelligence, athletics, or beauty. Yet, the inequalities among the people shine even brighter. Vonnegut uses satire to explore the question of whether true equality can ever really existRead More`` Harrison Bergeron `` By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.1184 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. gives the world a glance at the horrors of enforced equality through its simplistic and blunt storytelling. Stephen Moore and Peter Ferrara discussed in The American Spectator how â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† shows how â€Å"a society that puts equality ahead of freedom and prosperity will be in the end an unhappy one† (30). Therefore, it is easy to reason that any attempt to craft a utopia through government enforcement will end in only brutality and absurdity. VonnegutRead MoreWelcome to the Monkey House, Harrison Bergeron, and Slaughterhouse-five, by Kurt Vonnegut1233 Words   |  5 PagesKurt Vonnegut was a man of disjointed ideas, as is expressed through the eccentric protagonists that dominate his works. Part cynic and part genius, Kurt Vonnegut’s bril liance as a satirist derives from the deranged nature of the atrocities he had witnessed in his life. The reason Vonnegut’s satire is so popular and works so well is because Vonnegut had personal ties to all the elements that he lambasted in his works. Vonnegut’s experience as a soldier in WWII during firebombing of Dresden corruptedRead MoreHarrison Bergeon795 Words   |  4 Pages ENC 1102 29 September 2013 Harrison Bergeron: The Danger of Total Equality Individuality is a person’s most precious virtue. Many would say that one’s individuality is the most unique of footprints to leave on this earth. A human being’s natural attributes are what the world thrives upon. The Declaration of Independence states, â€Å"All men are created equal† and Kurt Vonnegut’s story Harrison Bergeron, explores and executes this notion with such brutality that it causes reasonable apprehensionRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson And Kurt Vonneguts The Lottery1788 Words   |  8 Pages1900s Shirley Jackson and Kurt Vonnegut published a number of fictional pieces in the United States. During this time, each addressed the existing struggle between the individual and society. Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† and Kurt Vonnegut’s â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† are two stories that depict the oppression an individual faces when pitted to society. Jackson’s piece in particular points to the dang er of blind following, while Vonnegut’s work addresses the danger in total equality. Through a number of meansRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery, And Kurt Vonnegut Jr. s Harrison Bergeron1604 Words   |  7 PagesJackson’s, â€Å"The Lottery†, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†. These short stories describe situations in which the citizens allow the superiors to have full control, without thinking twice about the laws and traditions that require their submission. Both of these short stories are similar in theme, because each tells about a community that chooses to participate in cruel and inhumane traditions, rather than allow individuals to form their own beliefs relating to equality and unity, but in doing