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Jonice Jackson

Mrs. Field

LNG 322

15 February 2011

No True Perfection

Who defines perfection, the individual or the collective? Perfect is something

most strive to be, but what happens when there is only one definition of perfection?

When a person willingly allows another to define him, he submits himself to

oppression; however, when he goes against his society, he is able to find a truth

that society tries to hide. The society’s in Rand’s novel, Anthem, Niccol’s movie,

Gattaca, and Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” all try to be what they

think is perfect. This causes conflict for the main characters Equality, Vincent, and

Harrison because the vision they have of perfection is different from their society’s.

In order for a society to reach “perfection,” certain things about the individual

have to be taken away. For Harrison and Equality everyone is supposed to be as “…

good as anybody else…” However, that is not true, because some people are

favored over others, and Harrison and Equality aren’t one of the favored. Society

holds them back from reaching their full potential. In worlds like these “no one

exceeds his potential,” but for Vincent and Equality boundaries are set for them, by

society, so they won’t go on and be more than is expected of them. How can a

society claim to be perfect if it deprives the people within it from being happy?

Those few people who realize that they are deprived has no choice but rebel against

society, and do what he thinks is right.

For Harrison, Vincent, and Equality to find what they are missing in their lives

they have to go against everything they were ever taught about how they should
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live their lives. The strength that lies inside the three characters is best said in

Vincent’s comment to Anton “I saved nothing for the swim back.” Each optimist

lives every day thinking about his ultimate goal – his reason for being. It is human

nature for someone to want to gloat. Even though Equality and Vincent aren’t as

brazen as Harrison, they to want to tell society to “…watch me become what I can

become.”(5) Harrison, Equality, and Vincent start to “… [follow] preference…” (53).

By doing this, they all realize there is a deeper meaning to life than there society

wants them to know.

Life means more than anyone realizes, but what happens if society takes

away the small part man understands. Harrison, Equality and Vincent all find that

they do not want to be the only one who knows that society is wrong for what they

are doing to people. They all want to “... [lend their] dream, ” so their knowledge

won’t then they do. Each of these men are “…Unconquered…” (56), meaning that

society hasn’t changed their beliefs and they are able to see past the happy

charades of their society.

Equality, Vincent, and Harrison Bergeron are perfectly imperfect. Their

“imperfections” are the reasons that society holds them back from reaching their

full potentials; however, they go against government and start to find out the true

meanings of their lives. Every society is different but alike in one way, they all are

flawed whether they accept it or not.