Kathleen Tynan 1

Kathleen Tynan

Weaver

LNG 312

February 16, 2011

Striving for Freedom

You live in a world where you can do anything you desire, like choosing a job, saying what you

feel, or even just spending time by yourself; so what would you do if you had to live in a world where

none of your desires matter and even thinking is illegal? Harrison, Equality 7-2521, and Vincent have

lived in a collective world their entire lives, until one day, they decide they want change. In “Harrison

Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut creates a society where his characters live in a world in which no one can

exceed the limit, everyone is the “same.” A similar theme of collectivism appears in Ayn Rand’s Anthem

where everyone is “we” and there is no “I.” Andrew Niccol’s movie Gattaca follows the same idea of

limits, where only the genetically healthy may succeed in anything they want to pursue. All of these

authors convey a common theme of the dangers of the society’s limitations and how the characters

must overcome them to fulfill their dreams and save their precious freedom from the dangers of “we.”

In the worlds of Harrison, Equality, and Vincent, they all have absurd limitations. Harrison’s

society does not allow anyone to be better than one another because the leaders of the world believe

being equal will solve all the world’s problems. As such, the society is limited by handicaps, like carrying

weights, wearing glasses to blur vision, and hearing annoying sounds every 20 seconds to make them

forget like an average, just to make everyone equal for the sake of overcoming the obstacles of his

society. Harrison has great features: he is smart, good looking, athletic, but his good features are set off

since he “carries 300-pound handicaps… Nobody had ever worn heavier.” In Equality’s world, “none

among men may be alone.” No one can have time to himself or herself; there is no conversation for

“you may not think what others think,” because it won’t benefit “we.” All of these rules limit so the
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people of the society may not do as they please since doing what you want only benefits yourself and

not everyone. Vincent explains that in his society “all that really matters is your blood test,” because you

must be “healthy” to succeed in the life of an individual in this society. No matter how much he tries to

reach his goal, like learning about space and how it works, Vincent is an “invalid,” worthless, because he

does not have the “right” blood test, the key to doing anything you want to do. All of the characters are

unhappy that they must be restrained. Harrison, Equality, and Vincent start to build a motive against

their society. They want to be different and to do as they please. No conversation, no overachieving, no

being your own person keeps these characters from reaching their goals; however, Harrison, Equality,

and Vincent find a way to overcome the harsh obstacles so that they can live freely and the world can

too.

Harrison, Equality, and Vincent take risks to overcome their society’s biggest laws. “Harrison

tore the straps of his handicap like wet tissue paper,” revealing his strength and his rebellious attitude.

He eliminates the handicaps, which you are never allowed to do, and stands up for himself, showing all

who he is and what everyone else, like his love, the beautiful ballerina, can be too. Equality runs into the

uncharted forest stating, “We made it… We made it alone.” It is illegal to be alone and to run away, he

risks his life to stand up for what he believes in, overcoming the law of being equal. He gains his freedom

and may speak, write, do whatever he may please. Vincent’s parents, along with Anton, Vincent’s

brother, said, “No one exceeds [Anton’s] potential,” but Vincent saved Anton from drowning while

playing a game of chicken, a game seeing who can swim out the farthest from the shore of the beach

without becoming scared. In this moment, Vincent realizes he is just as good as his genetically

engineered brother and he strives for his goal by becoming “Jerome Marrow,” a genetically engineered

man who was hit by a car and became crippled. He proves that you do not have to be genetically

engineered to be successful in life. The characters express rebellious personalities. Their strive for

freedom allows for the motive of the need for individualism to overcome the difficult obstacles to
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achieve their goals. The way the characters overcome the law tries to get the overall message of the

stories across. The characters overcoming the restraints of their society reflect a similar and lasting

message of how important individualism really is and what people would do to hold on to it.

Vonnegut, Rand, and Niccol all use the theme of an individual striving for freedom. Harrison

rebelled against his society because he is against the use of handicaps and restraints. He yelled out,

“Now watch me become what I can become.” Vonnegut’s message tells us that Harrison just wants to

be free and wants everyone in the society of 2081 to be free to become what he or she is meant to

become. Equality says, “The word ‘we’ is lime poured over men.” He is explaining that when “we” came

more into thought, it made men believe we should all be one, brainwashing the world like hardening

cement. This is when Equality fully understands how absurd the society had become. Vincent beat his

genetically “stronger” brother, Anton, in a game of chicken and saved him from drowning making it “the

moment that made everything possible.” This moment proves to Vincent and makes him realize that

genetically engineered babies are no better than him, a “god baby.” Vonnegut, Rand, and Niccol make

their characters strive for freedom and individualism. The authors try to get the point across that a

world of limits with no opportunity to be better or overachieving would be miserable and we should

never let the “everyone must be equal” idea come into thought in our world. This message brings the

stories to have the same common theme.

The stories tie together with a common theme that can be seen through their society’s harsh

limitations, the characters’ arduous tasks of overcoming the law. The authors hint that we must keep

our sacred “EGO” and not think of difference as a sin, but as something to treasure, not something taken

for granted. We can make the world better by giving everyone equal opportunities, not equal

restrictions. Do you think our world will ever be “equal” or will we always preserve the treasures of

individuality? We- those who provide the legacy of our future must make a commanding commitment to

think for ourselves.