How would you feel if you lived in a society in which ...



Fairbloom2016“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut-129494953003708150495300Before Reading: Agree OR DisagreeDiscussion WebRapid WriteWhat is “satire”?Defining Utopia and DystopiaMovie TrailerBrief SummaryREADAfter Reading:SummaryThe SocietyThe Main Character: Harrison BergeronThe American DreamTechnologyQuestions36241484584700 -6350275535 Do you AGREE or DISAGREE with the below statements? Put a checkmark in the appropriate box. AGREEDISAGREEIn an ideal society, everyone is equal. It is better to be ignorant and happy than to be aware and upset. The government knows what is best for us. Rules exist to help us live our lives properly.The police should be allowed to do whatever they can to protect the community.You shouldn’t have to be around people that you don’t agree with. It is alright to upset someone as long as you’re doing what is best for society. If you do know you are right, you should not listen to anyone else. Discussion WebCreate a web based on the following question: “Are people equal?” Rapid WriteHow would you feel if you lived in a society in which everyone was the same – average in intelligence, talents, appearance, and strength?SatireAn ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it. First laugh, then think.Seeks to correct vices and follies, and improve a person or practice.Shmoop: Satire is a genre that sets out to improve bad behavior through sarcasm and irony. A satirist humorously depicts a current state of affairs, and hopes that by doing so, he might improve it. It's all about making fun of vices, foolishness, and shortcomings, so that the subject can improve. Satire can be found in novels, plays, short stories, and well, almost anywhere, even The Simpsons.Satire started way back in the classical period. Horatian satire, for example, is derived from the ancient poet Horace and is known for using gentle, self-deprecating humour to make fun of general foolishness. Then there's Juvenalian satire, named after the Roman Juvenal, which is a lot harsher, and a lot less funny. Well it's still funny, but you might cringe while chuckling.In English literature, satire experienced a bit of a revival during the 18th century, when folks like Alexander Pope and, even more famously, Jonathan Swift, poked fun of society for all kinds of weaknesses. One of the most famous satires of all time is Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, which suggests that Irish folks raise themselves out of poverty by selling their children as food for rich folks. He was kidding. We hope. (That, by the way, is an example of Juvenalian satire.)Satirical DevicesHyperbole: something that does happen, but is exaggerated to absurd lengths so that the ridiculous and its faults can be seen. Incongruity: something that seems like it would never happen, but could. To present things that are out of place or are absurd in their surroundings.Irony: conveying the opposite of what is expected (i.e. the order of events, hierarchical order).Deadpan: is a form of non-comedic delivery in which humour is presented without a change in emotion or facial expression, usually speaking in a monotone manner. Euphemism: the substitution of an inoffensive term for one that is offensive. For example, replacing “die” with “pass away”. Verbal Humour: play on words using puns, innuendo/double entendres, extended/running gags, shaggy-dog stories (a long rambling story filled with irrelevant detail and repeated phrases, which has an absurd anti-climatic punch line. It leads its listeners on in the expectation there will be an ending to make sense of all they’ve heard. Often there isn’t or there will be a really weak pun. Its pointless is the joke!), or a statement of the obvious. What is “Utopia”? What is it?Properties: What do you think of when you think of utopia?Comparison: What is the difference between a utopian society and democracy? What are some examples from other novels or movies? Dystopia & UtopiaUtopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions. Example: Tomorrow Land Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopia, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trends, societal norm, or political system.4990850242143 Characteristics of a Dystopian SocietyPropaganda is used to control the citizens of societyInformation, independent thought, and freedom re restrictedA figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the societyCitizens are perceived to be under constant surveillanceCitizens have a fear of the outside worldCitizens live in a dehumanized stateThe natural world is banished and distrustedCitizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are badThe society is an illusion of a perfect utopian worldTypes of Dystopian ControlMost dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the following types of control:Corporate Control: One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media. Bureaucratic Control: Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government officials. Technological Control: Society is controlled by technology through computers, robots, and/or scientific means. Philosophical/Religious Control: Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government. The Dystopian ProtagonistOften feels trapped and is struggling to escapeQuestions the existing social and political systemsBelieves or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she livesHelps the audience recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective“Harrison Bergeron” SummaryMovie Trailer: “Harrison Bergeron” is a satire, set in the United States of the future (2081), when, thanks to our own legislative process—the passage of Constitutional Amendments 211, 212, and 213—and to the levelling interventions and vigilance of the Handicapper General and her agents, everyone is finally equal, not just before the law or before God but “every which way.” No one is smarter, stronger, or more beautiful than anyone else. The beautiful ones are made to wear ugly masks, nose balls, false teeth, and the like; the strong and speedy are made to wear sash-weights and bags of birdshot; the naturally smart are made to wear radios in their ears, which, tuned to a government transmitter, emit “sharp noises” to disrupt their thoughts every twenty seconds or so.In the “clammy” month of April, Harrison Bergeron, a 14-year-old, seven-foot-tall boy of superior brain, beauty, and brawn, is in jail, accused of trying to overthrow the government. His parents, George and Hazel Bergeron, are at home watching handicapped ballet on television and talking about the mind-numbing sounds that George, who is natively highly intelligent, endures from his radio transmitter. Hazel, average and unhandicapped, suggests that George bend the rules for the sake of comfort, but George defends the society and its laws: He does not want to go back to the “dark ages” of competition.Suddenly, a news bulletin interrupts the dance program to announce Harrison’s escape from jail. Immediately thereafter, he bursts into the television studio, declaring his intention of becoming emperor. Harrison sheds his prodigious handicaps, appearing like a god. He selects his empress from among the ballerinas, instructs the musicians to play their best, and with his counterpart, leaps and dances gracefully and beautifully up to the ceiling, their love defying even the laws of gravity and motion. The Handicapper General arrives to shoot down Harrison and his partner. Hazel, witnessing her son’s death, is briefly sad. As the sound of a gun goes off in his head, George advises her to forget sad things. And so they do.HARRISON BERGERONby Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.Some things about living still weren't quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about.On the television screen were ballerinas.A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm."That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did," said Hazel."Huh" said George."That dance-it was nice," said Hazel."Yup," said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren't really very good-no better than anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights 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. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn't be handicapped. But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts.George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas.Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself, she had to ask George what the latest sound had been."Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer," said George."I'd think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds," said Hazel a little envious. "All the things they think up.""Um," said George."Only, if I was Handicapper General, you know what I would do?" said Hazel. Hazel, as a matter of fact, bore a strong resemblance to the Handicapper General, a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. "If I was Diana Moon Glampers," said Hazel, "I'd have chimes on Sunday-just chimes. Kind of in honor of religion.""I could think, if it was just chimes," said George."Well-maybe make 'em real loud," said Hazel. "I think I'd make a good Handicapper General.""Good as anybody else," said George."Who knows better then I do what normal is?" said Hazel."Right," said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that."Boy!" said Hazel, "that was a doozy, wasn't it?"It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood on the rims of his red eyes. Two of of the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the studio floor, were holding their temples."All of a sudden you look so tired," said Hazel. "Why don't you stretch out on the sofa, so's you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch." She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, which was padlocked around George's neck. "Go on and rest the bag for a little while," she said. "I don't care if you're not equal to me for a while."George weighed the bag with his hands. "I don't mind it," he said. "I don't notice it any more. It's just a part of me.""You been so tired lately-kind of wore out," said Hazel. "If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few.""Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out," said George. "I don't call that a bargain.""If you could just take a few out when you came home from work," said Hazel. "I mean-you don't compete with anybody around here. You just set around.""If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people'd get away with it-and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?""I'd hate it," said Hazel."There you are," said George. The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?"If Hazel hadn't been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn't have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head."Reckon it'd fall all apart," said Hazel."What would?" said George blankly."Society," said Hazel uncertainly. "Wasn't that what you just said?"Who knows?" said George.The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment. For about half a minute, and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, "Ladies and Gentlemen."He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read."That's all right-" Hazel said of the announcer, "he tried. That's the big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard.""Ladies and Gentlemen," said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred pound men.And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. "Excuse me-" she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely uncompetitive."Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen," she said in a grackle squawk, "has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous."A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up. The picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall.The rest of Harrison's appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody had ever born heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds.And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random."If you see this boy," said the ballerina, "do not - I repeat, do not - try to reason with him."There was the shriek of a door being torn from its hinges.Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set. The photograph of Harrison Bergeron on the screen jumped again and again, as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake.George Bergeron correctly identified the earthquake, and well he might have - for many was the time his own home had danced to the same crashing tune. "My God-" said George, "that must be Harrison!"The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an automobile collision in his head.When George could open his eyes again, the photograph of Harrison was gone. A living, breathing Harrison filled the screen.Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio. The knob of the uprooted studio door was still in his hand. Ballerinas, technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, expecting to die."I am the Emperor!" cried Harrison. "Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!" He stamped his foot and the studio shook."Even as I stand here" he bellowed, "crippled, hobbled, sickened - I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!"Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds.Harrison's scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor.Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness. The bar snapped like celery. Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall.He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder."I shall now select my Empress!" he said, looking down on the cowering people. "Let the first woman who dares rise to her feet claim her mate and her throne!"A moment passed, and then a ballerina arose, swaying like a willow.Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all he removed her mask.She was blindingly beautiful."Now-" said Harrison, taking her hand, "shall we show the people the meaning of the word dance? Music!" he commanded.The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped them of their handicaps, too. "Play your best," he told them, "and I'll make you barons and dukes and earls."The music began. It was normal at first-cheap, silly, false. But Harrison snatched two musicians from their chairs, waved them like batons as he sang the music as he wanted it played. He slammed them back into their chairs.The music began again and was much improved.Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while-listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it.They shifted their weights to their toes.Harrison placed his big hands on the girls tiny waist, letting her sense the weightlessness that would soon be hers.And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang!Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well.They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.They leaped like deer on the moon.The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it.It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it.And then, neutraling gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time.It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on.It was then that the Bergerons' television tube burned out.Hazel turned to comment about the blackout to George. But George had gone out into the kitchen for a can of beer.George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. "You been crying" he said to Hazel."Yup," she said."What about?" he said."I forget," she said. "Something real sad on television.""What was it?" he said."It's all kind of mixed up in my mind," said Hazel."Forget sad things," said George."I always do," said Hazel."That's my girl," said George. He winced. There was the sound of a rivetting gun in his head."Gee - I could tell that one was a doozy," said Hazel."You can say that again," said George."Gee-" said Hazel, "I could tell that one was a doozy.""Harrison Bergeron" is copyrighted by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1961.The SocietyKurt Vonnegut’s story paints a picture of a society that few of us would gladly embrace, even those of us who care deeply about social equality. It thus invites us to think about the society presented; its rebellious genius, Harrison Bergeron; as well as Vonnegut’s purpose.Looking at the first few paragraphs of the story, describe Vonnegut’s America—its government, society, and people. How has it changed from the present day?Why do you think it adopted its practices of making everyone equal in brains, beauty, and brawn?Is it a good thing for people to believe that no one is better than anyone else? Would it be a good thing if, in fact, no person were better than any other person? Why or why not? Are there positive aspects of this society? What is lacking? Why exactly do you like or dislike it?The Main Character: Harrison BergeronDescribe Harrison Bergeron. Is he an example of human excellence? Does he represent the American dream to “be all you can be”?Do you cheer for his success (5–8), and if so, why? What do you admire about Harrison? Are there aspects of his behaviour that concern you?Do we have any idea of what sort of ruler he might have been (6–7)? What kind of government, pursuing what goals, might he have established? (See, in particular, his instructions to the musicians and his selection of his empress.) Would he (and his goals) be better or worse than (those of) the Handicapper General and her agents?Harrison Bergeron declares himself emperor (6). Is his desire—and his capacity—to rule an example of the problem that made the push for total equality necessary?The American DreamThe?tagline for the 1995 movie of “Harrison Bergeron” was: “All men are not created equal. It is the purpose of Government to make them so.” Under such a view, what happens to the “American Dream”—that anyone can rise and prosper as a result of hard work and the application of his or her natural talents?What happens to the American Dream if it should turn out that natural talents are profoundly unequal in their allotment?Is the love of material comfort and prosperity—and the possibility of socioeconomic mobility—in tension with a commitment to equality? Is the American Dream fair or just? Which should society reward and respect most: personal effort or actual accomplishment?TechnologyWould you object if society sought equality not by handicapping the gifted but by lifting up the not-gifted, say through genetic engineering or biotechnological enhancement?Do other technologies like the Internet, Twitter, or Facebook improve the American character? Our prospects for happiness? If so, how? If not, why? ................
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