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Savage

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Mecha Collins
Dr. Alan W Brownlie
English 111
October 23rd 2014 Savagery in Society

Wealthy individuals have more privileges and opportunities than the average person. Most wealthy people think down on the poor or ordinary people. In the short stories “The Ones Who Got Away From Omelas” by LeGuin and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut both deal with the complications many average people deal with when being judged by people with a higher power. In each story they both deal with these three problems, the struggle of ordinary people to survive, the suffering imposed on some people in order for the majority to do well and the savagery to which ordinary people are …show more content…

In “Harrison Bergeron” everyone is set equal to each other they must suffer for America to survive in 2081. They suffer by dumbing their self down, making their self weak and becoming ugly. As said before George wears a hearing aid because he is far too intelligent. He is constantly in pain and always loses his train of thought. “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see she was the strongest most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two hundred pound men” (233). Even though it wasn’t the ballerinas fault that she was beautiful and danced well she must suffer to keep the society well.
The child that is kept locked in the basement symbolizes the savagery used in “The ones who walked away from Omelas”. This innocent child is reduced and dehumanized to keep the society functioning. Everyone’s happiness comes from the misery of this abandoned child, because these are the rules of Omelas they must continue treating the child horrible. But this is a very selfish and savagery act because the whole city fears not being happy and having privileges they never stand up for this child. Instead they refer to the child as it taking away that he or she is a person. They feel better about their self because they are feeding the child but half a bowl of corn meal and grease is just as cruel as not eating. Not only do they kick the child they let

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