Equality in Vonnegut

The United States was ridden with conflict in the nineteen - sixties. We were a country at war in many different ways. There was fighting with other nations in the Cold and Vietnam wars and also fighting amongst ourselves. Anti-war protesters ran rampant in the streets and on college campuses everywhere chastising the government and those in support of the war in Vietnam. Feminists and people of different races were yearning and reaching to be equal to men and whites, respectively. The American people were constantly bombarded by any news or developments in any aspect of any of these events. It was impossible to escape as they came in the news, on the radio and often times became very moving and emotionally stirring when placed on the television. In these volatile times artists in all genres used their art to voice their opinions regarding the status of the nation. Kurt Vonnegut utilized his gift of short story writing to do so and through “Harrison Bergeron” he speaks out. In “Harrison Bergeron” Vonnegut satirizes the nation and how it was becoming desensitized by television as well as the misunderstanding of the freedom being sought out by citizens and how that rel

Alvarez states that television cannot be blamed entirely for the condition of the story’s society, but there are certain negative consequences of the desensitization that cannot be overlooked. The negative consequences “such as the encouraging people not to think, form a basis for the story,” (Alvarez)

Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” in my opinion, can be taken as a warning. American people need to shy away from television and not let it take control of our lives, while at the same time broadening understanding of the world outside of American control and government. Joseph Alvarez and Darryl Hattenhauer provide excellent examples and reasons showing Vonnegut’s meaning in his text and I find myself hard pressed to disagree with their writing and opinions. “Harrison Bergeron” should not be read and taken lightly. At a time when the country was fighting internally and abroad Vonnegut opened a window to the people’s views on current events and how they were not as awed as they should have been learning about this all via television. The desensitization done by television is perhaps one of the causes of the lack of understanding of what the foreign governments discussed stand for and how they function. Learning about these places and systems in the news would provide minimal information and would be taken by the people as all they needed to know. Vonnegut’s subliminal discussion of American ignorance and the overwhelming power held by television speaks out and states the America cannot accept and believe all that is seen on the television. Hattenhauer revealed that, “Even if ignoring sad things leads to sadder things, ignorance is bliss,” (jfkad;jkas) and this is what Vonnegut is opposing while supporting the need for people to educate themselves and understand the world around them.

“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and

Some topics in this essay:
Vast Wasteland”, Darryl Hattenhauer, United God’s, Bergerons Russia, Hattenhauer Harrison’s, Vietnam Feminists, Hazel Bergeron, Bergeron Hazel, Kurt Vonnegut’s, Cold Vietnam, “harrison bergeron”, cold war, american people, harrison’s mother hazel, communist countries, watching television, hazel bergeron, understanding foreign, negative consequences, desensitization television, that’s tried,