Harrison, the main character from “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut, is a fourteen year old boy who must live everyday of his life with constraints that restrict him from freedom and independence. In this short story, citizens of the dystopian society live during a time where equality restricts every aspect of human life. However, Harrison is aware of the flaws and strives to change the society’s view on life. The second character Rainsford from the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a skillful hunter who finds himself on an remote island where he is forced to play a game which determines life or death. Rainsford is able to be rational and use his intelligence to ultimately win the game and survive. Both Harrison …show more content…
He is deemed as highly dangerous since he is the epitome of all desirable human traits which is why so many constraints were enforced upon him such as 300 pound weights and goggles that make him half blind. Unlike Rainsford, Harrison deals with his constraints by fighting against without any rational thought. Despite knowing that removing his handicaps will result in his inevitable death,”[He] tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds”(Vonnegut). We see how Harrison savagely abolishes his dreadful constraints in an attempt to escape the injustice of his world. By doing this, Harrison looks more like an animal rather than a human as he does not take into consideration of his actions. Although Harrison was finally able to rid himself of his constraints, his decision was met with consequences. As a result of Harrison fighting back without any thought,”Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double- barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor” (Vonnegut). Unlike Rainsford, Harrison does not survive which is seen when he, the Emperor, gets shot by the Handicapper General after he liberates …show more content…
Rainsford deals with the problem by using his experience and knowledge to defeat the general’s game in which he has to survive for three nights while being hunted. Instead of running away from the problems and trying to hide, Rainsford uses his skill to ultimately beat Zaroff in his own game. Rainsford’s ability to reason is seen when “he got a grip on himself, stopped, and [took] stock of himself and the situation. He saw that straight flight was futile; inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea.”(Connell) This incident, when Rainsford has just began the game has to think logically and quickly as every second matters. He must do whatever he can to fool the experienced General. The fact that Rainsford is able to reason under such pressure while being hunted down makes his effort exceptional. Despite being constrained on an island, Rainsford is still able to survive as he realizes that “Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then he leaped far out into the sea. . . .” (Connell). Rainsford must make a life deciding choice as he finds himself trapped with killer hounds and the fierce ocean raging below him. Rainsford realizes that his only option is to jump which he does. The general consideres the game to be over but is surprised when sees Rainsford waiting for him. As a result, the General has himself killed while Rainsford
In the short story, Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth that Rainsford was playing with him was greatly evident. Rainsford’s inner conflict involves him not becoming panicked but if he faced the reality, the outcome of the “game” could have turned out better for him. As a
If I find him, the general smiled, he loses” (Connell 5). In this section of the story, Zaroff is explaining the rules of the game to Rainsford. When Zaroff says “If I find him….. he loses,” you can highly infer by this that when he says “loses” he means they die, so he’s practically saying that is Rainsford loses, he dies. Typically, when one knows they are going to die, they do what they can to save themselves, which is what Rainsford did.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford fits the category of Zaroff’s ideal animal to hunt, because Rainsford displays the attribute to reason by being able to make many life saving decisions throughout the story. Rainsford has the ability to reason from the very beginning of the story, because he was able to remain calm to make a life saving decision in an unnerving situation, which proves that he fits the quarry for Zaroff to hunt. As he was in the water, he recalls the gunshots he heard while he was still on the yacht, “they had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (Connell 14). Whereas most people would have panicked in the situation
Rainsford does anything to get away from General Zaroff. In the story :” The Most Dangerous Game” the author says “ then he leaped far out into the sea. . . .” (connell 235) This quote basically means he jumped into the ocean just to get away from Zaroff. This proves Rainsford will do anything to get away from General Zaroff.
In the movie Harrison started off just going through the motions with his handicaps, trying to pretend that his brain was being “slowed down”. Then he got taken in by a secret society and was under the influence that he was being granted freedom. Later after falling in love with a girl named Phillipa in the society he realized that he needed to help his family and the citizens be able to experience life without being held back. He acted upon this and showed the world the possibilities if they didn’t have handicaps. With dvd’s from a long time ago.
Harrison wanted to show society that there is beauty in everything and yourself. To prove the point “ “Now watch me become what I can become!” Harrison tore the straps of his handicaps…” on page 4. This piece of evidence proves that he wanted to show that society can hold him back.
In the two short stories," Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut and "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, it can be determined that people should be allowed to have freedom instead of being completely restricted. Throughout both of these stories, there are a few similarities that prove this argument; however, at the same time, the concept of having limited freedom is expressed differently through varying plot elements. First of all, a major similarity between the two stories is how people defy the rules that are forced upon them in order to attain freedom. For example, in "Harrison Bergeron", Harrison was imprisoned at a young age due to his vastly superior powers and intellect compared to the rest of society, which was designed to be average. Harrison
Compare Contrast Essay You’re smart and athletic and are a danger to society. You are too superior for the rest of your community. You must be just as intelligent and just as athletic as the rest of your community. You must be equal.
In the short story The Most Dangerous Game, the author Richard Connell shows that Rainsford needs control of his emotions, patience , and expert hunting and decision making skills in order to defeat Zaroff. Rainsford needs to gain control of his emotions to outthink Zaroff, who symbolizes Rainsfords "steep hill". When he finds that he is going to be hunted his natural instinct is to run and panic, but then he stops to look around and get a grip on the task at hand. Then at a critical moment when Zaroff finds him in a tree, Rainsford panics again because he realizes Zaroff is on his trail and is toying with him. Once again, he gains control of his emotions and formulates a plan.
Harrison Bergeron was a book written in 1961 that portrayed an abnormal child defying the dystopian government; in 2009 a movie was made, based off of it called 2081 that changed the character both physically and morally. The differences in how Harrison Bergeron, the main character, appears in each story changes how the audience perceives his morality. These changes are easily highlighted in Harrison’s age, dialogue, and appearance. The tone of the story is also changed, resulting in similar changes to what the audience interprets. As both stories continue these differences become more and more apparent and by the end, there is a clear split in what the audience ‘takes away’.
(pg 12). The law was that everyone was equal in Harrison Bergeron, but in The Most Dangerous Game that was all Rainsford got while General Zaroff got hounds guns and his whole mansion to sleep and
Moreover, Harrison was speculated about plotting to overthrow the government and was thrown in jail, however, he “Has escaped from jail”(Vonnegut 137). To enumerate, Harrison is not supposed to be opposed to the government as everyone is supposed to be equal but he continued anyway which shows he is rebellious. Harrison’s rebelliousness conflicts with society since the government does not want him to rebel, instead, to simmer down and be ‘normal’. Additionally, Harrison was legally required to wear a handicap to control his strength to be equal with other individuals but “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds”(Vonnegut 138). To elaborate, Harrison was under handicaps to support five thousand pounds but he shredded to handicaps which indicate that he is exceptionally strong.
The General did not like that Rainsford didn’t want to haunt with him so the only way he could survive on the island is if he played the game. The game was if Rainsford could survive a few days while getting hunted he could leave in peace. In the end Rainsford kills the General
In “Harrison Bergeron”, each person was not truly equal. For example, the ballerinas in the story were prettier than the maximum people, so they were required to wear masks. Hazel, the mother of Harrison, believed that the ballerinas were beautiful since her mask was extremely ugly. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicap General, forces them to be like the public and will punish anyone who says different. Consequently a few people enjoy being the same, it is not easy, and following the Handicap General’s rules is challenging.
Books and movies have been around for many years and lately movie directors have been making more and more movies based off of books. Most people do not know that around 50% of movies are based off of books. Although, it really depends on what people mean when a movie is “based” off a book. Some directors say a movie is based off a book, but has a different plot and seems totally different. So, in order to keep true to the book, directors keep the plot relatively the same, but there are a few times they decide to change the message entirely by changing just a few key events.