Ariel Lathrom Mr.

Neuburger ENG102-104 21 September 2011 Single-Paragraph Essay Harrison Bergeron- Utopia of Control In the short story Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the world is a utopia where everyone is equal, but the government is controlling and strives only for power. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard (Vonnegut Jr. 296). In a world where everyone is equal, Harrison is singled out as a threat and treated with brutal handicaps, rather than what theyve issued to everyone else. It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a doubled-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice and the Emperor and the Empress where dead before they hit the floor, Vonnegut scribes (298). Any person who would dare act on their own free will is put to death. While Harrison was not causing any harm to anyone, he was threatening the governments control. In these ways, the government has created a world of equality, at least among the people. But, this is gained at the price of suffering and death, which is further proof of their controlling and power-hungry nature..

Vonnegut Jr., Kurt. Harrison Bergeron Power of Language: Language of Power. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. 293-99. Print.