Examination Day Vs Harrison Bergeron
When people are more intelligent or more gifted, it is often perceived as a threat. Henry Slesar’s “Examination Day” is an extreme example of this, because the government is so threatened by intelligence, that they will do anything to keep people from being superior to others, including killing preteens. Dickie is a newly turned 12-year- old who must take an official government intelligence test, which little does he know will lead to his demise. In contrast, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is another case where people with positive attributes are punished for being superior above others in society. Harrison is a young man with godlike abilities so he is severely punished, and being unhappy with his treatment leads to his rebelling, which
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The two authors depict the main characters very differently, however, there are some similarities. In Slesar’s “Examination Day,” Dickie is portrayed as a very curious character. He asks his dad many questions on multiple topics such as, “‘Dad’ he said, ‘how far away is the sun?’ ‘Five thousand miles’ his father said” (1). Dickie’s inquiry about the sun shows that he is very curious about the world, and his father’s quick and incorrect retort exemplifies that he isn’t informed of the answer. In this society, curiosity is a very bad characteristic to have, and Dickie is an example of someone the government is threatened of. On the other hand, in “Harrison Bergeron,” rather than the government being afraid of intelligence, this society looks down upon any positive attributes, including physical characteristics. Harrison Bergeron is described as “... a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous” (3). The announcer expresses fear of Harrison’s strength. In this dystopian society, both intelligence and physical strengths are looked at as threatening. Harrison is targeted because of how many positive attributes he has. In both of these stories, the characters are described in certain ways to help the reader understand how the society
The two authors depict the main characters very differently, however, there are some similarities. In Slesar’s “Examination Day,” Dickie is portrayed as a very curious character. He asks his dad many questions on multiple topics such as, “‘Dad’ he said, ‘how far away is the sun?’ ‘Five thousand miles’ his father said” (1). Dickie’s inquiry about the sun shows that he is very curious about the world, and his father’s quick and incorrect retort exemplifies that he isn’t informed of the answer. In this society, curiosity is a very bad characteristic to have, and Dickie is an example of someone the government is threatened of. On the other hand, in “Harrison Bergeron,” rather than the government being afraid of intelligence, this society looks down upon any positive attributes, including physical characteristics. Harrison Bergeron is described as “... a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous” (3). The announcer expresses fear of Harrison’s strength. In this dystopian society, both intelligence and physical strengths are looked at as threatening. Harrison is targeted because of how many positive attributes he has. In both of these stories, the characters are described in certain ways to help the reader understand how the society