KiaraPhillips

Mr.Choi
English9A:Period1
29October2015

WithinthePagesofHarrisonBergeron
AuthorKurtVonnegutof
HarrisonBergeron
,asatiricalshortstory,depictstheproblems
inoursocietyespeciallyinreachingequilibriumandtheproblemsthatcomewithit.Iwillbe
comparingandcontrasting
HarrisonBergeron
anditsvarioussymbolsandconceptsandhow
theyreflectflawsinoursociety.Forexample,thereisamaskthattheprettyballerinaswearto
covertheirfaces,whichrepresentshowmuchbeautyisovervalued.Anothersymbolisthelaw
enforcementsystemofthesocietywhichisranonfearandbyweaponry.Thelastsymbolthat
willbediscussedishowtheweightsonHarrisonwereputonhim.Moreover,inoursociety,we
aspeopletendtoputthoseweightsonourselvesfigurativelyspeaking.Whichbringsusback
tobeauty.
Inthesatire,
HarrisonBergeron
,theballerinaswhowereseenasbeautifulworemasks
thatrepresentshowmuchweasasocietytrytoputdownothersbecauseoftheirlooks,andhow
muchweovervaluebeautyasawhole.Inavideoentitled
DoveBeautySketch,
afilmmadeby
Dove
,theperceptionofbeautyistestedwhenwomenareaskedtodescribethemselves.When
theydid,theypointedoutalloftheirflawsandonlyfocusedoncapturingthedetailsoftheir

flawswhencompletestrangersdidntevennoticeit.This,representshowweseeourselvesasa
lessbeautifulpersonbecauseofsocietyandthewayitcausesustoovervaluebeauty.Ina
thoughtprovokingarticleentitled
TheNegativeEffectsofBarbieonYoungGirlsandtheLong
TermResults,
itwasmentionedthat,...evenifdollsceasetofunctionasaspirationalrolemodels
foroldergirls,earlyexposuretodollsepitomizinganunrealisticallythinbodyidealmaydamage
girlsbodyimageThisimpliesthataswegetolderandthinkaboutourchildhoodwe
question/compareourselvestoanobjectseenasbeautiful,suchasaBarbie,andwequestion
ourownnaturalbeauty.Wetrapourselvesmentally,thinkingthatwearentbeautiful,almostas
muchasKimJonguntrapsthemindsofhispeople.
Intheshortsatiricalstory
HarrisonBergeron
weaponsandtechnologywereusedfor
controlandintimidationbyDianaMoonGlampersandherarmedbandofkillers.Inanarticle
entitled,
NorthKorea:OnTheNetinWorldsMostSecretiveNation,
itismentionedthat
technologyiskeptawayfromitscitizens.KimJongunfearsthathispeoplewilllearnthings
aboutotherpartsoftheworldandwantchange.Theinformationtheinternetcananddoescarry
couldputanendtoNorthKoreasdictatorship,andendangerthosewhoholdpowerwhichthey
usetokeepcitizensinside.Inashortfilmentitled
NorthKoreabyNationalGeographic,
North
Koreauseselectricfencestokeepitspeopleinside.Thisrelatestotheweightswornbythe
ballerinasin
HarrisonBergeron,
andhowtheypreventedthemfrommovingfreely,literallyasif
Theywereburdenedwithsashweightsandbagsofbirdshot(Vonnegut1).Onecaninfer
thattheydidntenjoythem.Thequestionremains,howmuchdoweusetechnologytoday?Ina
surveyIconducteditwasshownthatmostpeopleusetechnologyforhoursonendbasedonmy
questionHowlongonestimatedoyouusetechnologyperday?Moreover,inthattimemost

peoplefeltthattheywerentbeingproductive.Theyfeltasthoughtheywerecarryingtheweight
oftheirresponsibilitiesontheirshouldersandchosetoignorethem.
Inthesatire,
HarrisonBergeronbyKurtVonnegut
,

Harrisonwearstremendousweights
ashandicapswhichpreventhimfrompropermovement.Barbiehasbeenaweightongirlsfor
56yearsbecauseofourwanttobeperfectoratleastanimageofbarbie,butwhy?Anarticle
entitled
TheNegativeEffectsofBarbieonYoungGirlsandtheLongTermResultsbyDivine
Caroline,
themainfocusiswhy.Thearticlereferstobarbieasa,
superficialculturaltyrant
discussingthatBarbieitselfisthereasonfortheirdevelopmentofdysmorphicdisorder,over
obsessingoverourflaws.IconductedasurveyinwhichonequestionswasHowoftendoyou
lookinthemirrorperday?Inwhichmostfemalesresponded810+timesperdaywhichcould
betheproductofselfconsciousnessbecausemajorityofmalesanswered14timesperday.I
myselfdontagreewiththeclaimthatBarbiealonemakespeopleselfconscious.
Selfconsciousnessderivesfrom
other
peoplesideasofperfectionitselfwhichishowBarbie
wasmanifested.
WriterKurtVonnegutof
HarrisonBergeron
,agroundbreakingshortstory,depictsthe
problemsincurrentsocietyfeaturingthepredicamentsthatcomewithreachingequilibrium.My
essayfocusedon
HarrisonBergeron
anditsvarioussymbolsandconceptsandhowtheymirror
flawsinoursociety.Forexample,themaskthattheprettyballerinasworetocovertheirfaces,it
representedhowmuchbeautyisovervalued.Anothersymboldiscussedwasthelaw
enforcementsystemofthesocietywhichwasranonfearofthosewhoinhabitedit.Thelast
symboldiscussedinmyessayweretheweightsthatwereplacedonHarrisson.Whichrelated

backtohowinoursocietyweaspeoplepressureourselvesmetaphoricallyspeaking.Afterall,

Youcan'tdebatesatire.Eitheryougetitoryoudon't.

-
MichaelMoore