Power Against Power
The power to use laws for the purpose of peace, justification, and protection of the rights of individuals in society is moral and it has a certain ethical rationale to confirm it’s validity, but when the misuse of authority is exercised for the purpose of selfish advance or benefit, then oppression becomes prevalent. All people have basic rights that must be respected and thought of as an uncompromisable necessity from which no one can neglect or deny allowance. Unfortunately, the abuse of power and authority is wreaking havoc in the foundations of certain societies creating injustices and mistreatment that is thoroughly understood by those who are forced to live under this defect of power. Every person will be faced with an influential decision; stand up for what they believe in or fall under the clutches of the opposition. This statement is noticeably evident in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story when he demonstrates the possible response to oppression in “Harrison Bergeron.” Likewise, in the memorable poem, “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou illustrates the will power one can have to overcome accusations. Lastly, Hernando Tellez portrays through his short story, “Ashes for the Wind,” the severity some people would go though to reinforce basic rights. These authors exemplify through their pieces of literature the capability of oppression to alter lives.
The satirical intention of Vonnegut’s short story demonstrates the influence injustices can have on people
In the poem, “Oppression”, Jimmy Santiago Baca expresses his views on the importance of fighting against oppression, for emancipation. Firstly, in the opening stanza, Baca enforces the idea that even in hardships, the reader is still human and still deserves human rights. When he writes that the reader should “always, always [be] remembering [they] are human” (4-5), he emphasizes that the oppressed should fight for the respect that they are worthy of, even though they are constantly denied it. Secondly, Baca states that the reader must “look deep to find the grains of hope and strength, and sing” (6-7) which encourages one to persevere with the battle against oppression. It conveys the message that while one must work hard and that the challenges
Kurt Vonnegut published “Harrison Bergeron” to express his thoughts of what a world with equality might look like. The setting of this takes place in front of a TV to emphasis how much is it looked to for answers. The government wants everyone the same and will go to any means necessary. In the constitution, “all men are created equal” can be found, and this short story explores the ideas of when that sentence is taken too literal. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut paints his readers a picture illustrating the dangers of conforming three different individuals, Hazel, George, and Harrison, to the same level of expectation through the power of government control and television.
Within almost a decade after Akhenaten's death, everything was beginning to go back to normal. Under the reign of Horemheb who was a young King at the time, he restored everything Akhenaten had done. The religion, art, God and the capital, all restored as the young Pharaoh took over. He had the men of the army going and destroying everything that had anything to do with Akhenaten was destroyed. Sculpture, anything that had his face or his families face, and his palace. They wanted him to be forgotten and they would have succeeded if the men would have done a better job. Unfortunately for both King Tutankhamun and Horemheb, the men only partially did their jobs. Destroying only partical or half of the things items. Leaving out faces or words
Vonnegut's story “Harrison Bergeron” discusses the theme equality of results, but through his satirical circumstances there is an ambiguous theme targeting Socialism and Capitalism that shines through.
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols,
An analysis of Gloria Anzaldúa‘s The New Mestiza and James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time reveals that humans oppress themselves based on their differences. This is turn prevents them from identifying themselves as part of the human race. In his writings, Baldwin offers a solution to this hurdle that targets the apparent causes of the problem. However, Andalzua’s analysis of human difference reveals a few flaws in Baldwin’s view of the problem as well as his proposed solution to putting an end to human misery and oppression. Andalzua does so by examining Baldwin’s view of power, his view of love as a solution, and his view of the behavior of those who had been oppressive.
Conversely, Hazel’s husband is handicapped with forty-seven pounds of birdshot strapped to his neck, and he is obedient to the government’s handicapped system. Vonnegut uses irony to demonstrate a dysfunctional Utopia in the society. In his story, Vonnegut uses irony to depict how easily a government can control its citizens, by assaulting their senses and individuality.
There has been a drastic change in the way we perceive the world and this can alter the way we see each other. We tend to jump onto a bandwagon because it seems easiest or because of one personal scenario. This is one of the main causes for prejudice and injustice. How a person reacts to being oppressed may bring out another side of them, but this side is their true self. This reaction speaks of his or her morals, ethics, and values. To these people, all the perpetrators appear the same, but it is known that while some may easily go along with it, some may choose to stand above it all. The concepts referenced to earlier will be soon elaborated on in further analysis as this essay goes on.
Throughout this last semester the units we have been learning have all show the use of power against innocent people. This power either ruins these people's lives or ends them. The best representation of this power are in the two poems Trumpet Player and Song for a Dark Girl by Langston Hughes. Two stories were also fantastic examples of this power, The Crucible By Arthur Miller and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. All though theses are three different types of writers, they have very similar messages in different forms.
In our Society, we deal with many form of oppression in our daily lives. Unfortunately, different groups of people are more oppressed than others. Oppression is the unjust treatment of a group of people. I believe, our government is a major culprit as they are responsible for oppressing most of society. This involves many groups, such as single mothers, the working class, African Americans, gays and lesbians. In my paper, my personal views will be addressed incorporating ideas from several readings pertaining to different forms of oppression. A summarization of each article will be provided as well.
Equality is something we humans crave for when we are in a time of hardship. When we are being discriminated against, we feel the utmost pain and the need for freedom. Discrimination has lingered since the beginning of time, and ending it is impracticable. A French novelist, Honore de Balzac proclaims, “Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact.” Here, Balzac is acknowledging that an individual is born a free man and is just as equal as any other man. But, an individual will never be fully equal as they desire. Some parts of society will try to act superior to a certain quality of someone’s life, like their race, religion, culture, etc. This statement proves to be valid in Khaled Hosseini’s novel,
“Still I Rise”, written by African-American writer Maya Angelou, includes a character who rises “Up from a past that’s rooted in pain.” No matter what words are said against her, lies are told about her, threats are made towards her, or words are written against her, she takes the past and uses it to fuel her confidence. The way she writes creates a deep sense of pride and feeling, while giving the poem life and helping the audience realise that they, too can rise. The diction, literary devices, and theme help the speaker portray her feelings about the topic of oppression in her experience.
Kurt Vonnegut’s unique story “Harrison Bergeron,” displays a theme which is a warning about the dangers of equality, which is equality is a hindrance to an individual’s success and society’s success, but this hindrance is ironically, unequal. In the story, Harrison and his bride are arrested for their unwillingness and inability to stay within the bounds of equality enforced by the Handicapper General. Equality hinders the success of an individual like the weights hinder the beauty and grace of the ballerinas in the story. Equality doesn’t promote everyone to be equally better, but to be unequally worse. Handicaps are no use in ensuring equality, because one’s strengths will always shine through, such as Harrison’s strength and wit, or the
The subject of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is equality. The theme of this short story is that society should make an effort to value individuality and fairness, in which everyone receives what they need to prosper, instead of universal equality. The forms used to elevate this subject and theme are point of view, syntax, characterization, irony, and humor.
In many historical and present instances, expression of individual opinion and rights are often oppressed. Such an idea is present in Sophocles’s Antigone, excerpts from Henry Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” essay, and the article “PRO/CON: Is Snowden a hero or traitor” by Mark Weisbrot and James Carafano. Each piece of literature provides a perspective on the topic of oppression and its effect on the human society. The oppression of others’ rights, opinions, and freedom often negatively affects society and damages the mentality of its people.