Harrison Bergeron

The central theme of “Harrison Bergeron” is not entirely difficult to comprehend. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. uses his short story to satirize the notion of an egalitarian society in what could be considered a warning for the many aspects of American society including the government, the consumer, or the education system. Through his use of narration and characterization, Vonnegut is able to create an absurd world which forces the reader to determine the important aspects of the story.

Vonnegut’s use of third person narration plays an important role throughout the short story. Viewing the story from the eyes of someone detached from the event makes sure we see each character through the same lens and it also ensures that we do not get attached to any one character because they all bring different views to the story. The narrator’s reliability comes into question with statements such as, “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds” (56) and the description of Harrison and his “empress” defying gravity while dancing. The narrator’s unreliability adds to the Vonnegut’s idea of the absurd. Vonnegut’s presentation of the story in such illogical terms allows him to fully maximize his point on the dangers of total government control throughout the story. Placing the story 120 years into the future allows readers to accept many of Vonnegut’s premises throughout the story. Another important aspect of narration is the limited knowledge of the narrator. This allows Vonnegut to make his point without having to deal with obvious holes and other pertinent issues. For example, if everybody was finally equal, then why does not everybody have handicaps to prevent them from seeing, hearing, or even walking? Another important issue Vonnegut does not have to deal with is income distribution or government services. During the 1960s, tensions were at an all time high with the Soviet Union, and Vonnegut’s exclusion of wealth management allows him to skirt around a potential controversy.

Each of the characters also adds a different dimension to the story. George and Hazel seem to represent opposite ends of the spectrum. Hazel represents the view of the weak who are often the first people to be at a disadvantage in the real world. While weak characters are often thought of as the sympathetic characters, in the year 2081 she is clearly at an advantage because the gap has been closed. Instead the reader is forced to feel sorry for George because of the extensive handicaps he must wear just because he was born naturally gifted. In many cases, strong characters receive very little sympathy but Vonnegut was able to turn the tables in this instince. The duo of Diana Moon Glampers and Harrison Bergeron work much in the same way. Often times Glampers is seen to be the evil character in the story, but it is important to note that Harrison is not a great moral character either as can be seen by his conduct pertaining to the musicians. Once he escapes from prison, his intentions are to rule the world are shown when he claims, “‘I am the Emperor!’… ‘Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!’…” (54). Bergeron serves as a warning as to what is possible in a world where people have too much freedom. On the other hand, Glampers is in a position where she is in charge of taking away freedom from people and keeping them repressed. The contrast between Harrison and Glampers can serve as a caution as to what happens when people have too much freedom or too little freedom.

Vonnegut’s story could be viewed as a warning sign for the American society of the 1960s; however, many of his same messages can be applied to our times. A recent Time article highlighted the glaring lack of resources gifted children receive when compared to the average child. Now more than ever, there seems to be an endless supply of television commercials implying that it is only cool to dress and act a certain way. American rights are slowly eroding as we continue to fight the global war on terror. It is during these times such as ours that we can really appreciate the message Vonnegut sent over 40 years ago.

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Choices

Another interesting slate of stories, where choices the characters made seemed to be defining moments within each story. To start it of with “A&P,” I understand some people’s thinking when they support Sammy’s decision to quit his job abruptly because Lengel is giving the young girls a hard time about their attire. They believe that if Sammy wants to find his own identity, he needs to leave the regulated confines of A&P or risk turning into Stokesie. Yet I feel Sammy’s decision was a poor one. Lengel had every right to reprimand the girls because as manager of the store he has to watch out its best interest. While girls walking around in bathing suits doesn’t seem to be a big issue, it could potentially upset some of A&P’s older customers. Older customers tend to provide more revenue than the occasional shopping trip by teenagers. With that being said, Sammy’s decision is irresponsible regardless of whether or not Lengel’s decision was right or wrong. From the story we can infer that Sammy’s family really needs the money and even Sammy goes on to regret what he said. If Sammy was so concerned about becoming just another mindless worker, he should have had the foresight to search around for other opportunities instead of putting his family in a tough situation.

In the story “Revelation,” it takes another girls actions to make Mrs. Turpin realize her mistake. Yet even then, I do not see any great changes in Mrs. Turpin’s character. During her “revelation” she describes it as, “And bringing up the end of the procession was a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and Claud, had always had a little of everything and the God-given wit to use it right…They were marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had always been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. They alone were the key.” From this view on Mrs. Turpin’s revelation, it seems as if she still believes that she is of a higher class than “white trash,” black people, and the “battalions of freaks and lunatics.” Mrs. Turpin’s beliefs are so ingrained in her, I find it hard to believe that the incident she faced really changed her opinion especially considering the way her vision takes place. Because I do not have much understanding of the Bible, I may be more skeptical than others when it comes to believing in Mrs. Turpin’s sudden conversion into a believer of equality.

From my understanding, Flannery O’Connor was a devout Christian. Her beliefs in Christianity seemed to pervade throughout her short stories. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Misfit and the grandmother are direct contrast of each other though not in the way most people would assume them to be. The grandmother comes across as insincere and selfish. For example, she wants her family to go Tennessee as opposed to Florida, she dresses properly so that people will recognize her as a lady when she dies, and she lies about a house in order to get her family to listen to her. She complains about everyone else but fails to notice her own. Ironically, she doesn’t want to visit Florida in part because the Misfit is headed towards there, but her actions lead her right to the Misfit. The Misfit may seem to be the morally wrong character, but he is able to accept himself when he says, “Nome, I ain’t a good man…but I ain’t the worst in the world neither.” When he dies and reaches his judgment, he will have a better understanding of himself than does the grandma. In O’Connor’s eyes this makes the Misfit a more devout Christian than the grandma, who only remembers Jesus during her times of difficulty.

In “Cathedral,” the narrator does not enjoy the prospect of Robert coming to visit him and his wife. Due to selfish reasons, he is a bit hesitant about Robert coming over. He feels that his wife will spend too much time with Robert, and he is also apprehensive about taking care of a blind man feeling it will be too much work. From the story, we also learn the narrator has few friends, doesn’t like his work, and seems to use marijuana as an escape mechanism. Yet it is his decision to talk to Robert, which potentially changes his life. As he tries to help Robert get a better understanding of a cathedral he seems to get a better understanding of himself in a way he never thought possible. By making the choice to help a blind man, the narrator receives more help from Robert than he could have ever imagined.

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Mr. Coon, sorry for not posting my blog yesterday. I figured I would do it after I came back from my JLP trip, but I was so tired that I came home and literally slept the moment I got back home.

The Crazy, Spoiled, and Selfish

One thing I noticed was that the first few stories seemed to present characters in a demeaning light. In “A Rose for Emily,” the character Emily Grierson appears to be (and probably is) crazy especially after the “O. Henry ending.” At first I felt revulsion towards Emily for her sick actions; however, after the in class discussion I tried to examine her character beyond a shallow level. Her upbringing by her father inspires a sense of pity because it seems as if she never got a chance to find a man on her own. Therefore, even though Homer Barron seems like an especially poor choice for her because he seems to be the exact opposite of what her father would have liked, it can be inferred that she liked Homer to spite her father’s memory. With her background in mind, it seems as if she wanted to hang on to Homer no matter what it took (in this case killing him). Her arrogance compelled her to believe she was above everyone else and that the killing was justified. Nevertheless, I find her actions disgusting. She has no excuse for what she did. Upon reflecting on the title of the story, I believe the “rose” symbolizes the visits of the townspeople to Emily’s house. By mourning for her in which cases flowers could be brought, they finally come to terms with the true depths of Emily’s sufferings and are able to view her in a different perspective.

The short story “Everyday use” does not evoke any sense of pity for Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee). Being family orientated, it is disappointing to me that she never fully found a way to understand her family. When she was younger, it was still understandable for her to not fully accept her family as every child has something to be ashamed of. After her education, she should have a deeper appreciation for what her mother and sister have done for them. Instead she comes to their house, and expects them to go out of their way to please her. The love she shows for her family and heritage is on a superficial level. I particularly dislike how she just feels she is entitled to anything she wants from the house such as when she simply informs her mom that she is taking the churn and dasher. I hope she eventually comes to her senses and repents for the way she has acted. I am glad the narrator of the story finally stood up for her daughter Maggie though it seems a bit disappointing it took so long for her to realize her daughter’s struggles. In addition, Maggie deserves some of the blame for not being a strong enough character though the way she has been treated her whole life makes her a somewhat sympathetic character.

In “Teenage Wasteland,” the character Donny is as lazy and spoiled as they come. I fully credit the parents for trying their level best to help their son though maybe they should not have yielded as much control to Cal as they did. It is easy to criticize the parents looking back in time, but the tutor did tell the parents not to interfere and Donny showed positive results in the beginning. I am disgusted by the way Cal duped the parents. It seems as if he just used the kids to hang out with and to forget about his own misery but charged exorbitant amounts of money to render this service. One character who did not get the attention she deserved in the story (or in the class discussion) is Donny’s sister. If the parents did make a mistake, it was by not giving their daughter enough attention just to deal with their son’s problem. In the end, the parents lose both of their children. Ironically enough they lose one child because they gave him too much attention, and they lose their other child by not giving her enough attention.

Mina Das is presented in such a selfish light that is difficult to find any good in her. Even I have a hard time understanding how she can act this way towards her family, particularly her children. One thing that should not be overlooked is Mina’s childhood. She never received love, and it seems that because of this she is not able to properly love her family. While I am not saying her actions, particularly her selfishness, are inexcusable, I believe the it is important that the author includes this information. It helps to put Mina’s woes and feelings into perspective and show how important family bonds can be.

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