Sunday, October 18, 2015

Week #5 Blog Post

Hi, Karen Chau here.

"Harrison Bergeron" creates a fictional world that is different from the reader's world by explicitly stating the setting and rules of the fictional world. The year that the story takes place is 2081, and true equality was the rule of the land. Once Vonnegut sets the scene, he elaborates on the previous inequalities and describes how that inequality was made fair in 2081. He achieves this through character development. His descriptions include the use of simile, metaphors, and other visual aids that illustrate how the characters look physically and what they are like mentally (i.e. intelligence). Examples of this are "bandits from a burglar alarm," (763) and "bar snapped like celery," (767). The plot of the story is advanced by a conflict that builds up with the existence of Harrison Bergeron. As the protagonist of the story, Harrison challenges the rule of the world (equality), and this gives the story its climax. As he marches into the studio, there is suspense about his success/failure which leads the reader to read on. Finally, telling the story through third person creates an objective tone. There are descriptions of the plot and characters while the emotions of the characters are minimized. Even when the characters express sadness or anger, the reader is less attached to those emotions because the emotions are being presented with a neutral tone.

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