Inhuman Punishment In Harrison Bergeron

Have you ever peered into the mirror and sensed that you did not appertain to the world in which you are a part of? Within a dystopian society, it is conveyed that your world is ideal, however this is a phantasm hiding the fact that we are living in an oppressed reality. On page 42 of “Harrison Bergeron”, it is expressed that even in a seemingly impeccable society; those who embody imperfection are ladened unequal to those who do not. In Harrison Bergeron, page 44, it is expressed that those who oppose the rules of such a society are met with an inhuman punishment. In addition, after reading “A Tale of Two Countries,” I found that occasionally, the mirage of living in a utopia can often make the bourgeois people blind to the circumstances …show more content…
The setting is based around a society where being smarter or stronger than anyone else does not exist. However everything was not as it appeared to be. The people who were naturally more intelligent or stronger were punished with heavy weights and headphones that emitted horrific sounds throughout the day. On page 42, lines 112-117, it discusses the restraints placed upon Harrison. His restraints were heavier and louder than any other person in the story. This was a result of Harrison being the smartest and strongest of them all. What this showed me is that in order for everyone to be equal; some would need to be punished worse than others. The question this poses in my mind is that if the intention is to make us all equal, does punishing some more than others not contradict the entire basis of the society? I do not think it is worth it to try to have a utopian society if you enact cruel and unusual punishment on those who do not fit your …show more content…
The reason behind his death was that he planned to abolish the government. In doing so, he hoped to become the emperor and lead the society out of their oppressed reality. He was different from the rest. He was stronger and smarter than his peers and as a result of his opposed views of the leader, he was murdered. What this showed me is that when you have a society where it appears to be a utopia, however it is in fact a dystopian, you run into the dilemma of having to force your people to be equal. When you do this, occasionally you will have those people who rebel. Rebellion can be linked to the oppression experienced through some being punished worse than others. If you are trying to maintain an equal society, any threat to it would be of immense concern. In order to keep up the appearance of your utopia, you need to be willing to dispose of those who do not fit the criteria. If you are supposed to have an ideal society, however some are being punished severely for being different, and some are being massacred to maintain the equality, how can you call that a utopia? In my opinion, you cannot call this a utopia of any kind unless the people are blind to the dreadful and can only see the