Inquiry #1 “Harrison Bergeron”
WHAT FUELS THE HUMAN NEED TO CONFORM?
In Harrison Bergeron, it shows a good example of the need to conform, with the handicapper general changing everbody’s abilities in order to make everyone equal. The desire to have an equal society comes from the natural human need to compete, and some people may find competition a negative desire, when in reality, it can be good, because it makes us want to better ourselves. Not always bad, like to put people down, but to make us better. I don’t like that when someone says they are competing they automatically assume its to put people down, but not to compete with ourselves or to gain a better title. Here, competition is eliminated completely. The beautiful are covered in masks, the strong are weighed down, and the intelligent are permitted to wear transmitters sending terrible sounds every 20 seconds or so, in order to prevent deep thoughts and unfair advantages with their brains. this law was permitted by the “unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.” So the need to conform comes from the negative portrayal of competition. There is also the fear that if you are different, then there is harsh judgment that goes along with that, so we tend to be stand off-ish. But when there is a spark that makes us want to better ourselves and compete, why should be taken away? Deal with the fact that someone might be better at something than you. This message is very clear to me in the story. This to me means that the HG is not equal to everyone else because the book implies that the HG has no handicaps herself.
I find this picture resembles the story because it shows that when everyone is the same, there is always one person in power (HG). This means that everyone is NOT in fact equal, and there for creating the mild competition, which, if I remember correctly, if the REASON for making everyone the same? Who decides the base line for average? Who decides who need more handicaps than that other guy? All these questions are unanswered but nobody has the brain capacity to ask them.
