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A Comparison of Utopias in Harrison Bergeron and The Ones Who walk away from Omelas Helen McDonald State University of New York Institute of Technology

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Abstract The use of utopia is compared in the two stories, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin. The works are summarized and utopian theme is exposed. Political views of the authors are compared. The use of utopianism as a form of satire is discussed to persuade the reader toward the authors political view.

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Introduction In the two stories, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, the theme utopia is used to present and exaggerate political ideologies and to ridicule their flaws. Utopia is an abstract place which allows a person to feel at peace and complete happiness. It is a make believe idea. It is the perfect world. Utopia, in an individual sense, is different for every person and highly opinionated. Utopia used in a civilization sense is dictated by how the socioeconomic status and political policies affect the homeostasis and equality of the partisans. The stories Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, are examples of Utopian Rhetoric. (Portolano, 2012) Rhetoric is to persuading a person by means of communicating through writing. (http://go.galegroup.com) Rhetoric is a systematic art form used in literature to convince people of a theory. (Portolano, 2012) The aim of the rhetoric is to persuade an audience to think or feel in a particular way (Abrams et al., 2012, p. 342-343). The theme of utopia is used predominantly as a satire in literature. The use of satire in utopian literature ridicules existing conditions rather than present logical reforms. It exposes irrational idealism and practices of a society by means of exaggeration and exploitation. It allows the reader to make autonomous decisions about the destiny of society. (Mowery, 2012) Utopianism is used to present and ridicule extreme forms of political ideology.

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Harrison Bergeron Summary and Use of Utopia The story Harrison Bergeron was written by Kurt Vonnegut and published in 1961. It portrays a society in which the people are oppressed by handicaps to make everyone equal in every physical and psychological way in the year 2081. The handicaps are individualized to each person to make them of average intelligence, average physical ability, and average appearance. They werent only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every which way. (Vonnegut, 1961) George Bergeron is a main character in the story. He is above average in intelligence and in physical ability. He has to wear an ear piece radio, tuned to a government transmitter. It makes obnoxious noises every 20 seconds to redirect his thinking so he wont take unfair advantage of his brain. (Vonnegut, 1961) He has to wear bags of birdshot to weigh him down so he has average physical ability. There are ballerinas on the television that George and his wife, Hazel, are watching. Some of the ballerinas are weighed down with heavy bags and wear ugly masks so that each of them is equal. George starts to think the ballerinas shouldnt be made to wear handicaps when suddenly his government controlled radio hits him with a loud noise, changing his way of thinking. Hazel and George have a son, Harrison Bergeron. He was removed from his home at a young age due to exceedingly high intelligence, physical ability and remarkable good looks. He is unable to be handicapped by the government because he is so far above the average. He has been able to outgrow all handicaps and he is imprisoned. During the live Ballerina performance,

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Harrison breaks free from prison and appears on live television. He proclaims he is Emperor. He breaks the reform of egalitarianism. He also frees a ballerina. He and the ballerina dance until they are shot and killed by the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. Afterwards, all the people, including his parents, return to normal. They forget the entire incident. Utopia in this story is achieved by making everyone equal. Removing competition and controlling everyones thought process. Harrison embodies a feudal society. (Hattenhauer, 1998) The utopia is preserved when Harrison is shot. Political View and Use of Satire Kurt Vonnegut was a contemporary American writer known well for his satirical literary works. He had strong political views towards socialism and Marxism. Vonnegut spoke openly about his political idealism. He quoted Karl Marx at Wheaton College. In a speech at Bennington College, he suggested the graduates all work for a socialist form of government. (Hattenhauer, 1998, p. 388) In his story Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut literally takes the Declaration of Independence and makes the reader contemplate; can all men be created equal? (Mowery, 2012) Should a community or society be ruled entirely by government, controlling physical and mental handicaps to producing egalitarianism? Does this influence produce utopia? The satire in this story is that, attempts to produce utopia by means of equality are absurd. (Hattenhauer, 1998, p. 387) It satirizes Americas Cold War misunderstanding of not just communism but also socialism. (Hattenhauer, 1998, p. 387) The story satirizes the American myth that only in a class system can everyone have equal chance for achieving the greatest economic inequality. (Hattenhauer, 1998, p. 391) It exaggerates how absurd society would be if egalitarianism was

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how Americans imagined it was. The government cannot control the aspects that make an individual unique. The story only describes equality in terms of intelligence, beauty and athletic ability. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Summary and Use of Utopia The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, written by Ursula K. Le Guin in 1973, is a story depicting a utopian society. In this story the reader is introduced to a city called Omelas. The theme is instantly striking as joyful with a summer festival. There are boats in the harbor ringing happily in the harbor. There are elated people walking and dancing in the streets. There is a band playing. The scene is bright and cheerful. But we do not say the words cheerful anymore says the narrator. (Timmerman, 1995, p. 771) This is when the atmosphere that was built up for the reader starts to change. The reader, at this time, is forced to question the utopia in the city. A description of the citys people pursues. The people are not simple or nave. The people seem to have a deeper understanding of what it really means to be happy. They do not take happiness lightly and they do not take it for granted. They seem mature for their ages and appreciate their lot in life. The narrator then reveals what has been maintaining the citys utopia. There is a child about ten years old, living in a basement room. It is malnourished, neglected and naked. It had no contact with society except for feeding times. It also receives short visits from the members of the city. Each member of the town has a chance to look in on the suffering of the child at least one time. It serves as a symbol for the citys people. It is the reason the city is happy. It is why the crops are abundant and why the weather is always favorable. The morals of this happy,

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utopian society are shattered as the narrator begins to describe the abominable conditions of the child. Some of the towns people think they should let the child go because it is cruel to keep the child locked away. They resolve that if the child were released all the happiness and good fortune of the town would disappear in no time at all. They believe the suffering of one to benefit the majority, and produce utopia, is worth the life of a single child. The citys people also feel the child would not benefit from its release because it would not know how to enjoy its freedom any way. The sins of the town are released on the child and allow the people to live happily in their utopia. The people who walk away from Omelas decide they cannot place their sins on the child so they can live in a utopian society. It is not frequent that someone walks away after seeing the child. (Sobeloff, 2002) The idea of utopia in the story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursila K. Le Guin makes the reader question why some groups of people are made to suffer for the good of the whole. Le Guin makes the reader questions moral responsibility. (Sobeloff, 2002) According to Judy Sobeloff (2002), to choose between torturing a child and destroying ones society is a diabolical choice, not a human one, and the mean and vulgar are accepted as a necessary part of existence. Political View and Use of Satire Ursula Le Guin was interested in the theory of pragmatism presented by novelist Henry James. The pragmatism was that an individuals actions should be guided by his or her thoughts and that truth is the consequence of a persons belief. (http://go.galegroup.com)

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The satire of this story is the exaggeration of capitalism theology. Le Guin is able to convince the reader that there is no good reason why certain groups, such as African Americans, are forced to suffer while others, such as white middle class Americans, are able to thrive and gain from capitalism. (Sobeloff, 2002) Society allows this injustice to occur. Society allows the injustice of the child and the suffrage of the minority for the benefit of the majority. The child is symbolic of the minority in a capitalistic society. Comparison Utopianism is used to present and ridicule extreme forms of political ideology. The use of utopianism as a form of satire was discussed to persuade the reader toward the authors political view. Kurt Vonnegut used the theme utopia in his story Harrison Bergeron, to demonstrate to Americans that their views of socialism and Marxism are not realistic. Satire is used to convince the reader that there is no way to control the individualism of the person. Ursula Le Guin used the theme of utopia in her story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas to point out and ridicule the flaws of capitalism. The good of the majority should not be dependent on the suffering of the minority.

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References Abrams, M. & Harpham, G. (2012). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning Hattenhauer, D. (1998). The politics of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron". Studies in Short Fiction,35(4), 387+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA91040892&v=2.1&u =sunyit&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=wVonnegut, K. (1961). Harrison Bergeron. Retrieved from: https://sunyit.sln.suny.edu/section/default.asp?id=201209%2DUTI%2DENG%2D312%2 D35W Mowery, C. (2012). An overview of 'Harrison Bergeron,'. In Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420003759&v=2.1 &u=sunyit&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Overview: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". (1997). In K. Wilson (Ed.), Short Stories for Students (Vol. 2). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430001463&v=2.1 &u=sunyit&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Portolano, M. (2012). The rhetorical function of utopia: an exploration of the concept of utopia

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in rhetorical theory. Utopian Studies, 23(1), 113+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA289359795v=2.1u=s unyi&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Rhetoric. (n.d.) Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Retrieved From http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/dictionary.do Sobeloff, J. (2002). An overview of 'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas'. In Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sunyit.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420006138&v=2.1 &u=sunyit&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Timmerman, J. (1995). A Nations Voice: an Anthology of American short fiction. Fortworth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers