Article Response

Most of the stories that we read seem to be about equality of the need for equality in society. The story “Harrison Bergeron” seems to be the most interesting. I think the story raises a few questions about equality.

The story takes place in the future. The government could possibly be described as dystopian or communist. Everybody has been given certain handicaps in order to create an equal society. No one was stronger than another and no one was smarter than another.

I think the setting of the story suggests there could be a limit to how equal a society can be. Though equality is good, there could be such a thing as too much equality. There could be a point where a society has so much equality there’s limited freedom.

There could be a possibility that the society in Harrison Bergeron isn’t equal at all. For example, Hazel is somewhat envious of George’s handicap, a hearing aid that plays loud noises to block out the wearers thoughts. The text says “’I’d think it would be interesting, hearing all the different sounds,’ said Hazel a little envious.” This means if one person is envious of another in a supposedly equal society, there whole society could be flawed.

Another example of false equality could be the fact that the ballerina that is considered the most beautiful has to wear the ugliest mask. Shouldn’t all the ballet dancers be wearing the same mask? If the ugliness of their masks are determined by how beautiful they are, wouldn’t people be able to tell their beautiful anyway? Furthermore, the idea of beauty can be based entirely on one’s own opinion.

The story “Harrison Bergeron” raises the question, what is the definition of equality? There might not be one true definition of equality. It could be based entirely on opinion. Therefore, true equality in society cannot actually be achieved.