The Downfalls of Egalitarianism and Television - 989 Words

What would actually happen if everyone was forced to be equal? Kurt Vonnegut envisioned this in his masterpiece, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron.† The story is about â€Å"what would happen if a government or some other power takes this notion serious† (Mowery). The protagonist, Harrison, who is arrest for â€Å"exuberant individuality,† escapes from prison and goes on a national television station to declare himself emperor, only later to be killed by the handicap general Diane Moon. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† Kurt Vonnegut satirizes the movement toward egalitarianism and the effect of television on people. Egalitarianism can be absurd and detrimental to American society. In the story, heavy weights are put on strong people, and grotesque masks are put on†¦show more content†¦Literary Critic, Newton Minow, called television a vast wasteland of destructive or meaningless programs. Minow claimed that â€Å"instead of challenging people to think, telev ision programming was making it easier for people to avoid serious thought† (Hist. text). The uses of television desensitize Harrison’s Mother, Hazel. Although, she did shed a tear when she witnesses her son being murder on television, she said, â€Å"I forgot, it was something real sad on television.† Hazel became so numbed watching television; she forgot what she was crying about (Alvarez). In addition, one may determine that Hazel has attention deficit disorder because she is not to focus on anything (themes and cons.). According to Karen Wood, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron concerns with technological problems only as these problems express and explicate character- the character of the human race† (Karen Wood). In summary, the people gave up their individuality for the â€Å"good† of society of being equal. Vonnegut’s real point behind â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† is a serious attack on the idea of enforced equality (Mowery). At the end of the story, Vonnegut seems to say that there is no government capable of suppressing the individual completely. Rather, the inner strength of human nature at its finest is more powerful that ill-conceived laws (Mowery). In a criticism, Stanley Schatt describes when Harrison is dies, â€Å"It is the lost beauty, grace, and wisdom.† In summary, Today American society canShow MoreRelatedThe Downfalls of Egalitarianism and Television964 Words   |  4 Pagesserious† (Mowery). The protagonist, Harrison, who is arrest for â€Å"exuberant individuality,† escapes from prison and goes on national television station to declare himself emperor, only later to be killed by the handicap general Diane Moon. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† Kurt Vonnegut satirizes the movement toward egalitarianism and the effect of television on peo ple. Egalitarianism can be absurd and detrimental to American society. In the story, heavy weights are put on strong people, and grotesque masks areRead MoreMikahil Gorbachev: A Brief Biography Essay1529 Words   |  7 Pagesin this country.† Gorbachev also recognized that in order for the Soviet Union to successfully form international joint ventures and global standards, all sensitive employment issues that had been previously ignored had to be addressed. The egalitarianism of the Communist theory needed to be challenged, and uniformity of income regardless of performance had to end. Incentives were necessary in order to motivate worker competition in a fair environment. Therefore, Gorbachev initiated a wage reformRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesspending reached a colossal $4.5bn by 2006. Companies recognised that well-informed patients were prepared to ask for drugs by name, creating a powerful ‘pull’ strategy (see Box 3). DTC was costly because of the vast target audience and expensive television advertising. It also required new marketing skills – both Pï ¬ zer and Novartis employed consumer marketers. DTC rendered drug advertising much more visible an d, combined with high-proï ¬ le safety alerts, risked creating a backlash against the industryRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesdecisions? Why or why not? CASE INCIDENT 1 â€Å"Lessons for ‘Undercover’ Bosses† of successful Swedish organizations revealed that MBWA was an approach common to several firms that received national awards for being great places to work. The popular television program Undercover Boss took MBWA to the next level by having top executives from companies like Chiquita Brands, DirectTV, Great Wolf Resorts, and NASCAR work incognito among line employees. Executives reported that this process taught them howRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagescalories during an eighthour day. That is fewer calories than are contained in the typical lunch of a hamburger, french fries, and a milkshake. More than 90 million adults watch at least two hours of television per day (and, parenthetically, by the age of 6 children have spent more time watching television than they will spend speaking to their fathers over their entire lifetimes), so it is easy to predict the Table 2.7 Conï ¬ rmed Beneï ¬ ts of Regular Vigorous Exercise †¢ Blood pressure is lowered. †¢Read MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 Pagesplan. COMPANY PROFILE The company is the film division for a large entertainment conglomerate. The main office is located in Anaheim, California. In addition to the feature film division, the conglomerate includes theme parks, home videos, a television channel, interactive games, and theatrical productions. The company has been enjoying steady growth over the past 10 years. Last year total revenues increased by 12 percent to $21.2 billion. The company is engaged in negotiations to expand its theme