Essay on The Handicapper General - 803 Words

It is the year 2081. Because of Amendments 211, 212, and 213 to the Constitution, every American is fully equal, meaning that no one is stupider, uglier, weaker, or slower than anyone else. The Handicapper General and a team of agents ensure that the laws of equality are enforced. One April, fourteen-year-old Harrison Bergeron is taken away from his parents, George and Hazel, by the government. George and Hazel aren’t fully aware of the tragedy. Hazel’s lack of awareness is due to average intelligence. In 2081, those who possess average intelligence are unable to think for extended stretches of time. George can’t comprehend the tragedy because the law requires him to wear a radio twenty-four hours a day. The government broadcasts†¦show more content†¦Hazel thinks George looks exhausted and urges him to lie down and rest his â€Å"handicap bag,† forty-seven pounds of weight placed in a bag and locked around George’s neck. He says he hardly notices the weight anymore. Hazel suggests taking a few of the weights out of the bag, but he says if everyone broke the law, society would return to its old competitive ways. Hazel says she would hate that. A noise interrupts the conversation, and George can’t remember what they were talking about. On TV, an announcer with a speech impediment attempts to read a bulletin. He can’t overcome his impediment, so he hands the bulletin to a ballerina to read. Hazel commends him for working with his God-given abilities and says he should get a raise simply for trying so hard. The ballerina begins reading in her natural, beautiful voice, then apologizes and switches to a growly voice that won’t make anyone jealous. The bulletin says that Harrison has escaped from prison. A photo of Harrison appears on the screen. He is wearing the handicaps meant to counteract his strength, intelligence, and good looks. The photo shows that he is seven feet tall and covered in 300 pounds of metal. He is wearing huge earphones, rather than a small radio, and big glasses meant to blind him and give him headaches. He is also wearing a red rubber nose and black caps over his teeth. His eyebrows are shaved off. After a rumbling noise,Show MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis : The Pit And The Pendulum 1100 Words   |  5 Pagesis something all the antagonist share. They all have their own version of evil, either traditional and strict evil , or insidious and sadistic evil either way there evil is still morally wrong. Okeke is not as evil as the three Judges and Handicapper General. This is because he is not as cruel as the rest. Okeke’s punishments were not the worst possible. Nnaemeka explained to his father, Okeke, that he did not want to marry the women that was chosen for him instead he wanted to marry Nene. â€Å" HisRead MoreThe Lottery and Harrison Bergeron1100 Words   |  5 Pagesa citizen is entitled to do. In todays day and age, life without basic freedoms and rights sounds unthinkable. However, in Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery† and Kurt Vonneguts â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† this is the reality. Old Man Warner and the Handicapper General show that people in positions of authority encourage outdated traditions that ultimately lead to innocent people getting hurt. Old Man Warner, an important person in society, advocates villagers continue to participate in the dated traditionRead MoreTheme Of Harrison Bergeron806 Words   |  4 PagesNo one should change a person in anyway not even if they tried. In the beginning of â€Å"Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† is taking place in George and Hazel Bergeron’s lifes . It begins in mid April with United States Handicapper General Taking Hazels and Georges fourteen year old son, Harrison away. But so then Hazel and George couldnt think about it much it would hurt them physically. George was overly intelligent so they had puttin a little mental handicap radio in his earRead MoreSimilarities and Differences Between ‚Äà ºthe Lottery‚Äà ¹ and ‚Äà ºHarrison Bergeron‚Äà ¹950 Words   |  4 Pageshandicaps by Handicapper General. They would either boost their abilities to an average human or decrease their abilities to an average human. Even though people did not like the way Handicapper General was treating them, they did not protest against her. It is not bad to change the lifestyle if it’s for the best. â€Å"The Lottery† and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† describe how people are vulnerable to great leadership and are blinded in how it is affecting their lives. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† the Handicapper GeneralRead MoreHarrison Bergeron998 Words   |  4 Pages all to the same measure of intelligence and strength. In Harrison Bergeron the society has become apathetic and equally conformed because of the power of the Handicapper General, the forced use of handicaps, and the people within the society who continued to let themselves be controlled. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, is the person in control of this societys laws determining what handicaps people should have. She also is the enforcer of keeping these handicaps on and keepingRead MoreEssay about False Perception of Equality in Society1262 Words   |  6 Pagesthe United States Handicapper Genera1 while the country is under totalitarian control. Handicaps are forced upon the people by the Handicapper General to create an all-equal society. The character George Bergeron is forced to stay equal by the government’s laws of equality while his wife, Hazel Bergeron, is of only average intelligence, and consequently not given a handicap. Their son, however, has broken the laws of equality and is fugitive of the United States Handicapper General. The conflict betweenRead MoreSociety In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut Jr1176 Words   |  5 PagesVonnegut Jr demonstrates how the three main characters; George, Hazel and Harrison act in this new futu ristic society. We get a small glimpse of what the year 2081 will most likely be made of. This will be ruled by the agents of the United States Handicapper General. The people will be force to be equal in every way; their appearance, their intelligence, their religion, etc. We get to see people who obey the laws as well as people who want to overthrow the government. In this futuristic society, intelligenceRead MoreHarrison Bergeron Character Analysis756 Words   |  4 Pagesthe couch watching television. George is intellectually superior so every few seconds a raucous noise is played in his ear to keep him from being able to hold a consistent thought, which happens continuously throughout the story. This system of â€Å"handicappers† is overseen by a rather unsympathetic woman named Diana Moon Glampers. As George and Hazel are watching a ballet on the T.V., the show is interrupted by a bulletin warning viewers that Harrison Bergeron, George and Hazel s son, has just escaped Read MoreEquality And Diversity In Kurt Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron1263 Words   |  6 Pagesis equal in every conceivable way. When introducing the reader to this future reality Vonnegut says â€Å"All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments in the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General (Vonnegut 1).† The reader can tell this is sarcastic because America currently does not have nearly that many Amendments, and the phrase â€Å"unceasing vigilance† has an underlying sarcastic tone of its own. Two hundred and thirteen amendments isRead MoreI Am A Cripple By Nancy Mairs1420 Words   |  6 Pagesthem as â€Å"My God is not a Handicapper General† (Mairs). The Handicapper General is a character in the Harrison Bergeron story by Kurt Vonnegut. In this story, everyone is given handicaps (prep) to make every person the same. For example, if someone was really pretty, the Handicapper General would m ake that person wear a mask so they would be the same as everyone else. She implies that someone who takes away others’ good qualities by changing them, like the Handicapper General, is not needed because

Music of the 1950s Free Essays

Kayla Curlett Period 5 Music of the 1950’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, Pop, RB, and Swing are some of the popular genres of music during the decade of the 1950’s. Music during this time period had a major influence on the people. It influenced their clothes, hair, fashion, dance moves, and their independence. We will write a custom essay sample on Music of the 1950s or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many teenagers during this time used the slogan â€Å"Sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll. † Some famous artists included Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Fats Domino and Pat Boone. One of the biggest hits about the decade was Don McLean’s â€Å"The Day the Music Died. † Classic Pop dominated the charts for the first half of the decade. Classic Pop often used orchestras to back up the vocalists. Pop music often included elements from other styles like urban, dance, rock and much more. However these elements defined pop music. These songs had repeated choruses and catchy hooks. Electric guitars, drums and bass were some of the main instruments used in these songs. Despite the racial problems during the time, there was a sense of equality in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Chuck Berry was one of the first black Rock ‘n’ Roll performer that appealed to both audiences. He combined the sound of Rhythm and Blues with Rock ‘n’ Roll. The movie, â€Å"Blackboard Jungle,† gave Rock ‘n’ Roll a huge audience when Bill Haley and the Comets performed â€Å"Rock Around the Clock. † Bill Haley and the Comets practically became famous overnight. Elvis Presley was the king of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He was said to have the greatest impact on early Rock ‘n’ Roll. For Elvis Presley, 1956 was a year like no other. In January he became a regional sensation but by the end of the year he had become a national prodigy. His first two albums were million dollar sellers which included top songs like â€Å"Hound Dog,† â€Å"Love Me Tender,† â€Å"Don’t be Cruel† and â€Å"Heartbreak Hotel. † He appeared on national television eleven times and appeared in his first movie called â€Å"Love Me Tender. † Elvis Presley had a unique style that was either loved or hated. He became a cultural icon especially to teenagers. In March of 1958, Elvis was inducted into the army for two years; however, the Memphis Draft Board postponed his leaving so he could finish filming his fourth movie, â€Å"King Creole. Elvis’s famous ducktail hair, crazy dance moves, and popular music make him the legacy that he is today. Another popular Rock ‘n’ Roll artist of the 1950’s was Buddy Holly. He was described as â€Å"the single and most influential creative force in early Rock ‘n’ Roll. † His signature style was his wayfarer glasses. Buddy was first inspired by Elvis Presley but as Buddy became famous his popularity rivaled Elvis Presley’s. In 1952 he recorded the song â€Å"I’ll just pretend† with Bob Montgomery. Later on he formed his own band, â€Å"The Crickets. † In 1958, Buddy decided to open up his own recording studio called Prism Records. He earned a huge amount of success in such little time; unfortunately On February 3rd, 1959 he died in a plane crash along with two other Rock ‘n’ Roll legends Ritchie Valens and J. P. â€Å"The Big Bopper† Richardson. This was considered the first and greatest tragedy that rock ‘n’ roll has ever suffered. It later became known as â€Å"The Day the Music Died,† in Don McLean’s song â€Å"American Pie. † The single â€Å"American Pie† was a number one U. S. hit for four weeks. Although the lyrics to this song may be puzzling, they have a significant meaning. Each verse represents important events that took place during the 1950’s. In the lyrics, â€Å"That music used to make me smile,† represents the happiness and optimism of the 1950’s in America. Buddy Holly was McLean’s idol and when Holly died the day the music died became the day innocence and optimism died. American pie and Chevrolet are both references to the 1950’s in America. American pie was a common symbol or an American icon used during that time. A Chevrolet was one of the most common cars during the 50’s. The verses â€Å"If the Bible tells you so, do you believe in rock ‘n’ roll, can music save your mortal soul† represent how America was shifting from faith in God to faith in music. â€Å"And while the King was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown,† this represents how Bob Dylan stole Elvis Presley’s fame and became the number one musician in the hearts’ of the fans. And the three men I admire the most, the Father Son and Holy Ghost,† McLean is referring to the Father Son and Holy Ghost as Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. â€Å"They caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died,† here McLean is referring to the plane crash that killed three amazing musicians of the 1950’s. Some may say that music has no significance to an era, but it does. It i s what shapes a culture and the people during a time period. It changes people’s thoughts, style, and actions. Even music from past decades has a significant impact on our society today. Elvis, Pat Boone, and Ricky Nelson were all popular back in their time, yet they are still widely known in the present. With the downturn of quality of music today, there has been an increase in preservation of keeping old school music popular, in hopes to re-shape the minds of young people in our society. It is widely believed that music is a reflection of society and the people in it, and for that reason, positive and inspirational music of the 50s must be introduced to the young ears of society for decades to come. How to cite Music of the 1950s, Essay examples

Is Mulan a Special Disney Classic Character free essay sample

She was a remarkable woman who totally changed the views of ancient Chinese women and encouraged them to pursue their dreams and to do what they want to do. However, throughout the years, the story of Fa Mu Lan has changed from storyteller to storyteller, each with its own dramatic difference. To illustrate the dramatic changes that occur among storytellers, one can compare Kingstons interpretation of Fa Mu Lans story to Disneys Mulan. Although changing some parts of the original story is necessary for the film producer to make a fantastic movie, the adaptation of Disneys Mulan loses the essence of this legendary woman. Mulan† still falls into the Disney classic princesses’ stereotype. Although Mulan totally changes the classic princess face, which is highly curved bright female body, big breasts, tiny waist, fluttering eyelashes etc, the story of â€Å"Mulan† is still similar to those classic princess movies. Disney embraces normative gender roles and promotes marriages. Because the market tends to favor the classic spirits of those traditional princess, the semi-change of Mulan is just for getting into Chinese market and gets more attention from the public. The Chinese market is quite attractive to western companies, including the Disney Company. However, Chinese children are not like American kids who have spent time with Disney cartoons, Disney toys, and Disneyland. So the Disney Company decided to make a film to get into the Chinese market. However, the Chinese government hates the Disney’s princess’s images terribly, because Chinese people suffered for thousands of years’ domination under of the royalty. The idea of royalty is not worth of being praised in China. In Shu Ping’s article, she points out that Chinese government was afraid that any emotions towards royalty would lead people nostalgia about the past, the royalty lives, which would influence the peace of the new country (97). For these reasons, Disney Company had to make a special and new style of the Disney princess, a non-royalty blooded woman, Mulan. In 1998, Disney’s Mulan helped Disney Company successfully got into the Chinese market. Generally, Mulan looks different from the classic princesses. Because she is Asian, she is not a blond, and she is not really a princess in China. In addition, she has no talent for housework. She cannot cook, or weave. She cannot even remember those rules for taking care of men. She was not born in a wealthy and high status family. On the surface, Disney makes a lot of effort to correct their stereotype that women can only be blond and pretty and good housewives and that only those born in wealthy families, can be a great princess, who absolutely deserves people’s love and recognition. Disney did a lot to modify this Chinese princess, and wanted to inspire girls all over the world, just like how Mulan’s legend inspires Chinese women from one generation to the next. The Disney movie producers attempted to make Mulan to be a new image of the Disney princess, but the story possesses a lot of stereotypes that classic Disney princesses usually have, which leads the image of this legendary woman to fade. For example, in the legend, Mulan did not fall in love with any man, but in the film, it indicates the romance between Mulan and Sheng Li (Zhang Renjie). In traditional Disney movies, some romance is always added in the cartoon so that children will begin learning traditional courtship rituals, and that little girls will learn that marriage is the most important ending for a story. In a classic Disney movie is that princesses always want to meet their princes and get married with them so that they can live happily ever after. In fact, the similar scene just happens in â€Å"Mulan†. In â€Å"Mulan†, Sheng Li appears at Mulan’s house and prepares to give her a big surprise. Later, Sheng Li with Mulan’s family has a great dinner, and Mulan looks so pretty nearby him. Although the movie does not directly tell the audience that these two will get married, its strong implication makes people believe that this movie’s happy ending should be these two people finally can get together without war. This guess is not unreliable. In the later comic series about â€Å"Mulan†, these two are a real happy couple (Beth Hannan Rimmels). Obviously, Disney’s â€Å"Mulan† is just another version of classic princess story. But this time, it is not about prince and princess, but the captain and female warrior. The only way to make Disney producers satisfied is always to let the main characters get married. Whether it is Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty, Ariel or Mulan, the princess’s beautiful life always has her handsome prince. If adding romance was not enough to place Mulan as a classic Disney princess, Disney also misrepresented her family and discarded important history in the film. One such drastic difference is that of how Mulan enters the war. In Disneys version of this myth, Mulan is at home at the time of her fathers conscription into the army. To prevent her father from dying in battle, she steals his armor and weaponry, and enters the war as his only son, having had no previous battle experience ( Shen Qi 667). It is just like the â€Å"Beauty and Beast†; in the name of saving father, Bella decides to go alone to meet the beast secretly. Because the love from daughter towards father is touching for audience, the Disney cartoon uses this trap in every film, including â€Å"Mulan†. However, Kingstons story of Fa Mu Lans entrance into war is quite different. Fa Mu Lan has been off training to be a warrior for 15 years before she returns home to take her fathers place in war. In the myth, the reason that she went to war is that she wanted to. This special Chinese girl loved to practice Kongfu and was a professional warrior after fifteen years training under her father’s instruction (Zhang Renjie 781). Instead of using this amazing fact, Disney changed the story to make â€Å"Mulan† unique for being brave enough for sacrificing herself for saving her dearest father. The reason Mulan became Chinese legend is that she was unique, because she wanted to fight for the country, not because she had to. Fa Mu la is the best representative of the bravest women, who was not afraid of going to the war. The reason why she was a remarkable woman is that she had the strongest desire to save her country and thousands of families. If Disney intended to show the brave woman through â€Å"Mulan†, they have not succeeded. It is true that Mulan is a masculine among those other Disney princesses, because she went to war and saved the country. Usually, Disney princesses are well protected and far away from the war, and always the ones who need to be saved by their horse-riding princes. However, the ugly truth is that Disney just does not want to admit the fact that Mulan had masculine tendencies, so Disney gives Mulan the excuse that she has to go to the war so that she had to be disguised as a man. At the end of the movie, it still shows how cute Mulan is, the girlish and pink inside of her heart. Mulan wears a pink dress under the tree and smiles shyly towards Sheng Li. This completely shows a girly side of Mulan, which interprets by Disney producer that this is supposed to be Mulan’s original side. According to the history, this is not the case. The truth is that Mulan started to practice Kongfu at the age of three and had fifteen years training after went to the war. Disney uses different ways to get rid of the fact that women are not all born in feminine way. Masculine girls deserve people’s love, too, just like Mulan. Disney always wants to deny the fact that their movies persuade girls to be pink and cute by adding different features. However, it always ends at the same. Disney pushes normative gender roles in â€Å"Mulan† , just how they did to the Disney princesses’ movies. Disney princess movies are almost imaginary. They are not real. However, Mulan was a real woman, but the Disney company still produces her story as fantasy. Just like the Snow White, who will be woken up by a kiss. Cinderella’s crystal shoes have never disappeared. Bella’s tears will change the beast’s scary face. This time, Mulan saved the whole country through lack of experience and illegal access to the war. Disney’s â€Å"Mulan† ignores some important facts of history. According to Myth, Fa Mu Lan tells her father she will take [his] place (Zhang Renjie 34). Not only does her father accept that she will take his place in war, but so does most of the town. How beautiful she looks, the people said, [as she] put on mens clothes and armor (Zhang renjie 36). The town accepts the fact that a woman is going into battle, and men even decide to fight under her. Although it is quite strange that the Chinese executed women who disguised themselves as soldiers (Zhang Renjie 39), at that special time, the government terribly needed soldiers to defend the country. However, half the young and strong men died in war. Using women was a smart way to increase the population, because women can take some men’s places so that men could stay at home. This special time did not last a long time and disappeared immediately, but this was the main reason that Mulan could go to war. On the other hand, it shows how girls improved their social status by going to the war. At that time, there were a lot of poems to praise those women’s beautiful images when they practiced Kongfu. InOde to Mulan, Zhang Renjie argues that Chinese knowledgeable man were willing to marry women, who know Kongfu, because it is also a way to show off their haracteristic that they do not choose their wives by their appearance. In addition, women were proud that they could practice Kongfu to protect themselves. (754) That means, in China, people accepted and respected women who were masculine and powerful. However, the Disney Company just treats our legendary lady as other princesses. They care more about fantasy more than t he value of the real original story itself. Although Disney’s â€Å"Mulan† makes a lot of mistakes about the history and decreases the charm of Mulan, at least, the purpose of making this film is good. No more blonde ladies, no more house cleaning with traditional folk songs, and no more princesses victimized by their families. Disney has made progress by creating this film. However, in Chinese people’s eyes, the story of Disney’s â€Å"Mulan† is too easy and simple. Disney only preserve a traditional view of women as sweet, passive and only interested in marriage. It cannot contain Mulan’s special features that she behaved like a boy and her masculine tendencies. In addition, it does not reflect how special the time for women in China to get a chance to fight with men with glory.