Utopia and Dystopia in Harrison Bergeron and The Lottery Essay examples

The story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt VOnnegut Jr. explores the idea of a perfect society. A life where you are completely oppressed to be like everyone else. A young boy known as Harrison Bergeron seeks to have change in society and for everyone to be free.

Although they consider politics of other states to be flawed and corrupted, Utopia is not without its suspicions. Kings of

1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.

“Harrison Bergeron”by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., is a story about a teen that speaks out about the equal but unfair government in a dystopian future. “Harrison Bergeron” encapsulates the importance of celebrating each other’s differences and how equality ruins that. The setting of “Harrison Bergeron” is always in the distant future in a bleak place where mediocrity is admired. Because of the feeling of dullness in the setting, it gives a platform for the government to equalize everyone.The movie’s setting is very 1950s influenced, while the short-story is timelessly bleak.

“Harrison Bergeron”, written in 1961, is set in the year 2081. It tells the story of a future America where human equality is forced through the use of rudimentary devices that handicap above average people. The story’s baseline for average is a fairly low one, and the collective dumbing down has produced a society with almost no attention span and very little independent thought.

The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is120 years in the future, which allows us to more easily accept some of the bizarre events that happen in the story such as when the character Harrison Bergeron is dancing with a ballerina and there is no law of gravity and motion, so they can almost touch the studio ceiling which is thirty feet high. The author emphasizes in his work themes such as freedom, mind manipulation, the American dream, and media influence, also the opposition between strength and weakness and knowledge and ignorance. The story illustrates that being equal to one another is not always the best way to live because everyone is different for a reason. Also, this is what makes everyone special in your particular way.

Harrison Bergeron is a story written by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut’s story is a warning to the world about the quest of equality, which is spreading all round in many nations with America on the lead. The story shows the reader how the equality issue can have negative impacts on people’s individuality, and the society. The story revolves around the protagonist, Harrison Bergeron who is an archetypical symbol that represents defiance, and individuality. He is used to represent the people who will stand up, and protest against cruel laws imposed by the state on equality, and encourage others to protest with him. Through the characterization of Harrison, George and Hazel, Vonnegut shows how the equality idea can go to the extreme. The

In his story “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ( 1961) proves that not all of mankind can be equal.

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron” are both stories of a dystopian society where laws are in place that restrict everything a citizen can do and their basic human rights. Characters in Fahrenheit 451 are restricted by the threat of being removed from society, where the characters in “Harrison Bergeron” actually have physical restrictions placed on their bodies. Bradbury and Vonnegut show that the dangers of these kind of restrictions lead to conformity, and ultimately a loss of human individuality. Conformity in these two societies means that the citizens are part of the community, but are being brainwashed by a government that controls their lives.

The novels Utopia by Thomas More and 1984 by George Orwell and short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut explore the Utopic and Dystopic genre through the structure and regulations of their societies. In Utopia, More provides us with a contemporary understanding of society and human nature, with an indepth study of morals, values and beliefs in England around the Renaissance Era. 1984 was published while the Second World War was fresh in people’s minds, creating fears amongst society with Orwell emphasizing the possibility of such a dehumanised and controlled

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.

What one may think of as being a Utopia could be a dystopia to another. Lowis Lowry’s 1993 novel “The Giver” may seem like a remake of the 1932 “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley given their similar plot lines, but these two novels also have their differences. Jonas and Bernard, the protagonists of the novels, both have an intelligence that wants to know more, that wants to know what is outside of this Utopian place they live in. Both Lowry and Huxley have very different family situations. Lastly, both these societies live in their own definitions of Utopia, but the roots of their government have a resemblance to Plato’s Republic.

The perfect world has never existed nor will it ever. Someone persons view on something great could be another worst nightmare. In some cases people mistake utopias for dystopias. A utopia is an ideal place of state or living (“Utopia”). A dystopia is a society of characterized by human misery, a squalor, oppression, disease, or overcrowding (“Dystopia”). In George Orwell’s book 1984 the society is depicted as a utopia when in reality it’s not the perfect place, it’s written to represent a dystopia. It takes place in 1984 in a dystopian America where it’s actually called “Ocieana”. The book tries to make itself seem like a perfect society, using propaganda, and presented government. They would look like the perfect society to some people

‘One man’s utopia is another man’s dystopia.’ This is a famous quote we must often bear in mind when writing about such topics and it is often fairly accurate. A utopian society, in this essay, will be defined as a “non-existent society that is described in considerable detail…” (Fitting, 1993, 1) and an ideal and visionary society that enjoys perfection in various fields such as politics, law and more as seen in Thomas More’s famous novel, Utopia. A positive utopian society is often impossible due to a variety of reasons, primarily human nature and the inevitable inequality found in these idealized societies. A prime example of how a utopian society is often impossible can be found in Andrew Niccol’s film, Gattaca (1997). The film Gattaca explores a new version of an idealized society, a utopia that revolves heavily around genetic engineering. In Gattaca, an individual’s future is delineated by his or