Kaufman's Adaptation Of Harrison Bergeron

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. tells the story of a futuristic America where people who are given handicaps if they are better than other people in order to give complete equality to everyone. The main message of “Harrison Bergeron” is that everyone doesn’t have to be the same for them to be happy. In fact, when everyone is equal they are sadder because they don’t know what real life is like, and they are able to be controlled. Harrison and Phillippa demonstrate that being unique brings happiness as they take off their headbands and learn how wonderful life can be when they can express who they are.

Everyone was forced to follow rules and he just wanted everyone to be free. As it explains, “The were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody.” () Harrison did not like that and wanted change. He planned to show what they could really do if they were free he showed it. As it states, “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 laws of motion as well. Bergeron did what he wanted to show the people the right way to be living. Harrison Bergeron was a hero to society by showing them the benefits of being free in life. The society they lived in was made to keep everyone equal no one could be better than anyone in any way. Harrison Bergeron tried to be a hero but failed letting anger control his gree. Harrison could also be seen as a hero to guide people to see the good in freedom. Harrison wan a danger to society by misguiding the idea of freedom and showing a sense of fear of a different

Michael Hoffman’s 1999 film version of Shakespeare's midsummer night’s dream was able to modify the audience experience of the play. Michael Hoffman had successfully turned the play into a film and was able to show a visible expression of the characters to the audience. He had also made some changes, like the settings and made his version modernized. Though the film was based on the Shakespeare’s play, the audience’s experience is still different.

When Bruce Pittman directed Harrison Bergeron in 1995, most things changed from what was originally written by Kurt Vonnegut. In the film adaptation of this short story, the director had more or less the same idea the author had. Vonnegut presents a scary view of human society in the United States of the future, in which American citizens are all uniform. This then leads to their loss of individuality, and as a result, the deformity of humanness. Both the movie and the short story share these themes; they also have a multitude of other similarities, but have just as many differences. The theme might be the same in both, yet in the story, Harrison is portrayed as a seven foot tall, athletic, fourteen year old with a godlike complex, and the

Though extremely different in many ways, Amadeus was successfully translated from stage to film not as an adaptation but a parallel work. Peter Shaffer’s stage version is highly theatrical and unfortunately does not literally translate well to film, for multiple reasons. Shaffer and Milos Forman adapted Amadeus in a way that appealed to cinema audiences through cutting characters, expanding upon characters, altering language and narration, set and costume design, plot changes and taking full advantage of the dramatic powers of the camera. Milos Forman said “The fact that Amadeus was so stylized, so theatrical—well, so un-cinematic, was actually a blessing—it meant we wouldn’t be tempted to merely translate the play to screen, but would be forced to demolish the original, then totally reimagine it as a film.” One of the largest differences between play and film that make the film Amadeus its own piece of art, are the changes in narration. Though called Amadeus, it is really Salieri that occupies the center of the stage and “conducts” the action of the play. In the film, Mozart’s role is enhanced from the beginning.

Harrison 's character is round even though his part in the story reveals a person who has been reduced almost to a simple caricature. The reader is able to infer, however, that he is still a relatively complex individual and his present state is the result of his treatment by the “handicappers.” A short time before the events of the story take place, Harrison was removed from his home by “H-G men” and taken to jail for “plotting to overthrow the government” (Vonnegut 12), though what exactly this entailed is not made clear. Harrison clearly did not accept this fate or his “handicappers,” as the reader discovers when he appears on the scene of the ballet after escaping from jail. He appears to be slightly unhinged by his treatment however, as he tears the door off it 's hinges as he enters and starts bellowing “I am the Emperor” and “Everyone must do what I say at once” (Vonnegut 10). He seems to really believe this, as he shows little concern for the danger of his situation and even tells the musicians “Play your best and I 'll make you barons and dukes and earls” (Vonnegut 12). He also seems intent on making a demonstration since, rather than escape and hide, he decides to appear at a ballet that is being broadcast on television. He seems possessed of the purpose to “show the people the meaning of the word dance” (Vonnegut 12), and by doing so demonstrate the virtue of virtuosity, and by contrast the perils of outlawing expertise. Harrison is a

Have you ever been told you can’t do something because you are too qualified? In Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” this is what America has turned into in 2081. Vonnegut uses characters in his story to show the effects of a truly “equal” society with what happens when they want everyone equal and what happens to some of their health. Some of the characters he uses are Harrison, George, and the ballerinas.

In Harrison’s world, everyone is said to be equal. If someone is better at something than another, the better person will receive a handicap to make him or her worse. One example is a smarter than average person would be given an earpiece transmitter as their handicap. George Bergeron is forced to wear one of these transmitters. “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” (page 99). In this society, it is illegal to remove a handicap, because doing so would give you an unfair advantage. After breaking out of captivity, Harrison Bergeron made the mistake of barging into a television station, removing his handicaps, and proclaiming ‘“I am the Emperor!”’ (page 104). He then selected a woman to be his “Empress.” “Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all he removed her mask” (page 104). Harrison and his Empress began to dance and kiss, but the rebellion came to a quick end when “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” (page 105). Because of Harrison’s flaw of impulsivity, he made quick, sudden and bad decisions which led his the untimely death and the death of his unfortunate

The most notable difference between the two stories is when in the movie 2018 Harrison breaks into the ball and angrily tells everyone that there was a bomb under the theater. He says as “there is a bomb beneath this theater and there is a detonator in my hand. So I strongly suggest that you remain in your seats.” On the contrary in Kurt Vonnegut’s book, Harrison does not give any form of threat for them to stay put. He simply breaks into the ball and claims his role as emperor. There is quite a difference between these two stories

The future can be a strange and scary thing to think about, especially when its predictions are not good. Dystopian authors don’t necessarily predict the future as much as they warn against what the present could become. They warn readers by using something called satire. Satire in dystopian novels is when authors exaggerate society’s current situation so that readers learn from their actions. Authors like Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut use satire to warn against rules of society like conformity, equality, and censorship.

The desire to be different in a world full of people trying to be equal, is a challenge most people have encountered. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, the main character, or the character which the story is based upon, lives in a futuristic society, which the government has tried to make equal. Harrison is forbidden to use his above average intelligence and physic to stand out, or to become anything more than equal to the average person. The reader becomes aware that Harrison has been imprisoned due to rebellion against the government, which controls his every move or action. Harrison escapes from prison, breaks rules, and is ultimately killed for his actions. Harrison’s character development and desire to be different

and answer to him as emperor. “Now watch me become what I can become” (39). This

Harrison Bergeron’s decisions throughout the story “Harrison Bergeron” end up not making an impact on the society that he had lived in before his death. After Harrison broke out of his jail cell, he proceeded to the studio where the ballet is held on television and shouts, “I am the Emperor! Everyone must do what I say at once!” (Vonnegut 5). His goal to take over the government, actually did not affect society other than striking fear into the people. Also, his hopes of gaining support from the society does not happen, mainly because everybody still has their handicaps on so they forget why he is even on the television after his escape. Also his actions are

Hamlet is a very well-known play across the world. Many students have been required to read the play in school. Although the poem has been read by many students, student usually don’t further their experience with Hamlet by watching the movie. There are many remakes of the play in movie form, new movies have been evolved since the play was originally made. There are movies that follow the play and the time period of the play and then there are newer or more modern versions of the play. The comparison being made in this paper is, the originally play versus the 2009 movie version of Hamlet.

The point of view in “Harrison Bergeron” is third person with limited insight. The focal character is George Bergeron, the titular character’s father. The story is written to show two settings: the living room of George and Hazel Bergeron, and the scene they are watching on their television. This point of view helps to develop the theme by showing what we assume to be an average couple in a futuristic setting, and by establishing a societal norm for the dystopian setting. The mundane point of view contrasts nicely with the very outrageous personality of Harrison Bergeron and his theatrical antics. This point of view also gives the reader a relatively objective look into the conflict between Harrison and the United States Handicapper General. The use of George as the focal character gives the reader insight into the mind of a man who wears a mental and a physical handicap. This allows the reader to see into George’s thoughts and how they process with the mental handicap in place, “every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking advantage of their