Then, while the husband is burning all the things that were once hers, he discovers a letter written by his mother to his father. In the letter he discovers that his mother is black and that she was glad that he didn't know that he wasn't all white because the way of thinking. She knew that he wouldn't be able to live the life she wanted him to live if people knew he was half black. .
These stories show how ignorant a society can be when they don't know about people that are different. They also show how we as humans try to separate ourselves from the things we don't understand. We don't try to learn about things and just simply push them away from us and we are often afraid of them because they are different. We are too afraid to learn about things that are different because we might realize how much alike we all actually are. The stories also show how boring a society can be if everything was the same. If people don't try to compete with each other, we cant really advance because there will be only average thinking. If we don't compete with other people how will we know if something can be improved. .
Both writers target pathos and logos. They try to connect with the human emotion by showing how harsh people can be towards something that is different then they are. In "Harrison Bergeron-, Harrison's parents see him shot on TV but they don't realize what is happening because of the handicaps that were put on them. In "Désirée's Baby-, she and her baby are shunned by her husband because they are thought to be a quarter black. We know now how ridiculous these ideas are, but for the time periods in the stories these ideas are accepted and also supported. Our logic tells us that their way of thinking is wrong but they don't know better.
Race isn't the issue in "Harrison Bergeron- but the things that are attacked are all the things that make us individuals. Our unique abilities, looks and intellect make us who we are and in this story people are made to wear handicaps so that everyone is "equal- and no one is jealous of another person.
