Green 1

Annie Green
Larry Neuburger
English 102
31 September 2011
Single Paragraph Essay
Harrison Bergeron A Utopia or Dystopia?
There will never be a utopian society, because humans have Iree will. There is a point
where the government interIeres with a human`s basic rights. In Kurt Vonnegut Jr.`s Harrison
Bergeron the government does so.
In this short story the government implants 'handicaps on intelligent or physically
advance citizens. They want to maintain equality among all citizens. No longer does the society
have competition, everyone is just as intelligent as each other. In the end, one man attempts to
become Emperor, beIore being shot to his death.
The beautiIul thing about being human is the ability to have your own thoughts and Iree
will. When someone tries to interIere with those rights, they are wrong to do so. Humans should
not be 'handicapped in order to make others not Ieel inIerior. Louis D. Brandeis stated that,
'America has believed that in diIIerentiation, not in uniIormity, lies the path oI progress. It acted
on this belieI; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered. Society would not
prosper without intelligence and Iree will. Harrison Bergeron is a story that really makes you
appreciate the Ireedom we have today.
Word Count 188

Green 2

Works Cited
Pearson Custom Publishing, ed. !ower of Language Languagfe of !ower. Print. OTC Custom
Edition.