Individuality, Equality, And Sameness - 1545 Words

Individuality, Equality, and Sameness What is the differentiation between equality and sameness? How does one’s identity effect these two notions? In Bradbury’s and Vonnegut’s fictitious stories, â€Å"The Pedestrian†, â€Å"Fahrenheit 451†, and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, these concepts and their relationship is depicted to the reader in the form of dystopias. These dystopias may not exist, but these science fictional societies certainly could be made to exist. These stories contain elements that anyone can relate to, and like all science fiction, accommodate real life factors such as technology, life, and government. Bradbury’s and Vonnegut’s stories convey the message that humanity needs to acknowledge its own need for individuality and be aware of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It wasn’t clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment...the announcer tried to say ladies and gentlemen, he finally gave up, handed the bulletin to the ballerina to read...she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice was warm, luminous, timeless melody (Kurt Bergeron Page. 3).† Mr. Bergeron enclosed this quote, to show that instead of having people employed that best suit a job, characters often take jobs that do not suit them. Not only could this cause a person to be miserable with their work, but it limits the occupations one can have, and makes it extremely hard to exceed in a trade or career. As a result, there’s a society where people are punished for being different, where there is an absurd idea that it is possible for citizens to have equality and sameness at the same time, and an environment, where no one is joyful. That is to say, that sameness is not equality, much less happiness. In Ray Bradbury’s â€Å"The Pedestrian† and â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† readers enter a society where everyone has similar items, where everyone learns the same facts, and where there is a minuscule amount of crime. However, no one interacts with each other. In â€Å"The Pedestrian† the majority of people prefer to stayShow MoreRelatedOver Many Years, Lois LowryS Novels Have Been Analyzed1548 Words   |  7 Pagesand individuality would be eliminated so there is no conflict. Society would have no recollection of a pessimistic memory in such a world. There would be no hardship whatsoever in this utopian world, only equality. The Giver, written by Lois Lowry in 1993, is a prose fiction novel entailing a narrative of a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas. Along with the rest of his community members, he does not have a last name. The society that Jonas has grown up in decided to abide by a plan of â€Å"Sameness† whichRead MoreHumor And Science Fiction By Kurt Vonnegut1298 Words   |  6 Pagesthe most recurring themes discussed by Vonnegut in his work is individuality. He constantly highlights the importance of individuality in an ironic way; by displaying the negative repercussions of an extreme social equality. In this paper I will analyze the topic of individuality in some of Vonnegut’s acclaimed short stories. The first story is â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, which is probably the most famous of his stories regarding individuality. In the story, the government suppresses all creativity and talentRead MoreEssay about Women In Islam1540 Words   |  7 PagesTraditions of the Prophet (Hadith and Sunnah) guarantee every Muslim woman certain rights and duties. Equality vs. Sameness These rights are equal to those of a man but they are not necessarily identical. Equality and sameness are two different things. This difference is understandable because man and woman are not identical but they are created equals. The distinction between equality and sameness is of paramount importance. With this distinction in mind, there is no room to imagine that womanRead MorePersuasive Essay On Dress Code733 Words   |  3 Pagesmoving from California to Texas, I was fortunate enough to still be in a great public school system, but I was not lucky enough to escape an excessively strict dress code.   While many people in private schools have complete uniforms to implement equality, being confined through a severe dresscode not only impaired my freedom of expression, but also the ability to grow into myself.   Ã‚  As an adult, I am expected to make choices for myself, present myself in a certain way, and how important I am dependsRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury124 0 Words   |  5 Pagesthe novel Fahrenheit 451 and the short story Harrison Bergeron, this proves to be more than true. These pieces of literature each display similar values of society, technological advancements, rebellious acts, and a human desire for fulfillment of equality. The values of society seen in each story are relatively indistinguishable. A primary example is conformity which has been demonstrated in each throughout. â€Å"We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflictingRead MoreGullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift940 Words   |  4 Pagescan see this between Gulliver and the Houyhnhnms. For example, The Houyhnhnms have a strict family structure where the parents raise only one boy and one girl and children are traded in efforts to maintain this balance. This, as well as the idea of equality and honesty pervades throughout their society are, indeed, aspects of a utopian society similar to that from Thomas Mores Utopia by, according to Edward J. Reilly, both employing imaginary lands and â€Å"depict supposedly ideal societies.† And, of courseRead MoreAnalysis Of Walt Whitman s Song Of Myself1178 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they ar e not original with me† (Whitman 17). Also complimenting each other are their ideas of great men throughout history. Emerson states, â€Å"No greater men are than ever were, a singular equality may be observed between the great men or the first and last years†, while Whitman says, â€Å"Births have brought us richness and variety†¦ I do not call one greater and one smaller, that which fills its period and place is equal to any† (44). The selfRead MoreEmerson and Whitmans Views of Self Essay473 Words   |  2 PagesReliance. Whitman, an American poet, and Emerson, an American philosopher, take different approaches in their search for self-discovery, yet within their solutions, many parallels can be found. Emersons message is one of non-conformity and individuality. He views every man as unique within, and feels society, exterior elements and tradition are mans downfall. He urges us to be a product of ourselves, to live in the present, rather than measure our worth against mans past accomplishments orRead MoreThe Historical And Cultural Context Of The Novels Essay2020 Words   |  9 Pagesgoing wrong (Golder 2015: XX). While utopias up to the 1850s were more concerned with the possibilities of improved life because of technological advancement, the utopias and dystopias after that were more concerned with human consciousness and individuality. Nevertheless, utopias came into disrepute due to the absorption of utopian principles into the ‘ideologies of the totalizing systems of Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany, and the corporate United States’ (Moylan 1986: 8). They all claimed eitherRead MoreThe Precipice Of Knowledge : Aldous Huxley s Brave New World1964 Words   |  8 Pagesdifferences between men and women within society. They knew they would need to create an effect of sameness within Brave New World. They utilized the understanding that â€Å"that gender is made by culture in history† (Rivkin and Ryan 766) and â€Å"’women,’ and by extension, any gender, is an historical situation rather than a natural fact† (Butler 901). It is this knowledge that drives the Controllers to create sameness and lack of gender identity within the World State. They first conditioned the children to see