Harrison Bergeron story
A second American Revolution has resulted in the United States becoming a dystopic egalitarian society. The year is 2053. It is loosely adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 dystopian short story of the same name.
21 total · 1 choice · 4 major · 16 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| people forced to be average dystopia | choice | We saw a society in which people with above average abilities, be they mental or physical, were forced to wear handicap items, including intelligence dimming headbands and heavy weights for certain athletes. In general, citizens were pushed to strive to be of equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess and social status to all around them. |
| revolution in society | major | It was explained that after the second American Revolution started during an ongoing economic depression that was a result of a combination of technological advancement and a widening disparity between the very rich and the very poor. Harrison made a bid to start a third American Revolution in an effort bring about an end to the dystopic egalitarian society that the United States had become. |
| romantic love | major | Harrison and Philipa fell passionately in love. |
| ruling elite utopia | major | It turned out that the society in which it was mandated that all people be equal in all things was being secretly managed by a cabal of ruling elites. |
| wrestling with one's conscience | major | Harrison struggled to understand how he and the other ruling elites could justify their being mentally exceptionally in a society where citizens were pushed to strive to be of equal wealth, intelligence, athletic prowess and social status to all around them. |
| arranged marriage | minor | We saw a society where marriages were decided by computer. |
| brother and brother | minor | Harrison played chess with his younger brother Garth. |
| capital punishment | minor | Harrison and Wang opposed executing a man who'd committed a minor traffic violation: he was put to death in the chair. |
| economic downturn | minor | It was explained that the second American Revolution started during an ongoing economic depression that was a result of a combination of technological advancement and a widening disparity between the very rich and the very poor. |
| father and daughter | minor | In a surprise twist, it turned out that Philipa was John Klaxon's own daughter. But even that did not stop him from having her lobotomized when she tried to run away from the National Administration Center. |