Beautiful and intelligent people would be popular in this day and age. However, Kurt Vonnegut, in his dystopian tale, “Harrison Bergeron” reveals that they will be considered abnormal people and will wear handicappers or masks because of the so-called “equality”. The idea of equality in this story is defined by the government trying to create a society of total equality in every way. In other words, all human beings are not only mentally but also physically equal to each other to ensure the message that no one is better than another. Therefore, “normal” people with clumsiness and ugliness would be considered the standard or model of “abnormal” people. The idea of total equality in this story is wrong, it is a forced equal society created by the government but not a world of equality. In the story complete equality is the goal for citizens, but the concept of equality created by the government is wrong. They achieve physical and mental equality among citizens by abusing them. The talented must wear a radio for the mentally disabled in their ear so that some high-pitched noise coming from the transmitter may hinder their ability to think, the beautiful like dancers must wear hideous masks to hide their pulchritude, and the strong and elegant must wear weights around my neck day after day. Equality is the equality of status, rights, opportunities and responsibilities for all members of a society, group or family. It not only refers to the fact that everyone must be treated equally, but also excludes innate and classification difference so as to stop discriminating against others. For example, the most significant type of equality is equality before the law. Despite the distinction of birth and the influence of genes, “all are equal before the law and have rights without any discrimination... the center of the card...... is “warm, bright, timeless melody” (Vonnegut ). And then he needs to speak in a croaky croak to avoid expressing any competitive voice. Ultimately, the innate discrepancy cannot be changed in reality, however, the thinking about equality and the social system can be changed. It is not the state that equality IS is not important, but the idea and way of achieving complete equality in this story is wrong. It is necessary to defend the rights and interests of innately weak people and the risk of exploitation and oppression suffered. In fact, the purpose of equality is to make sure everyone can treat each other well, not taking advantage of high class people, but making sure they have the opportunity to become equal and enjoy life. Vonnegut wrote a horrific dystopian story that if citizens fail to appreciate their uniqueness and talents, it will lead to our decline in society.
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