Triangulation Essay

What, exactly, makes a dystopian society or or story? One way to learn this is to compare dystopian stories such as the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, the novella “Anthem”, and the movie “AntZ”.

Each story had what is called a “dystopian protagonist”. In “Harrison Bergeron”, it is, in fact, Harrison Bergeron, In “Anthem”, it is Equality 7-2521. In “AntZ”, the dystopian protagonist is Z. These protagonists didn’t fit in with what was normal. They wanted to be able to have a say in what happened to them, and were intelligent thinkers. Because of these things, they were unhappy, and they rebelled. However, there were differences between these characters. Harrison died at the end of the book, because the rebellion he began was violent and unplanned. Equality survived and led a free life with a few others. Z completely changed the entire society of the colony. Perhaps they both survived because their rebellions were more peaceful. Both Harrison and Equality were humans, while, as the title “AntZ” suggests, Z was a worker ant. Both Harrison and Equality were above average, both mentally and physically, while Z was above average mentally and below average physically. While Equality and Z eventually had followers, Harrison had no more than the balled dancer, who was also killed.

The antagonists were also a key point to discuss. In Harrison Bergeron, it was the Handicapper General, in “Anthem” it was the World Counsel, and it “AntZ”, it was General Mandible. Each antagonist was power-hungry, and each was revered and thought to be great and wonderful, at least at first. All three antagonists were a part of either the government or the military. This is one of the most important and significant parts to a dystopia, to my mind. However, not everything about these antagonists was the same. Mandible knew that Insectopia was real, and I believe that the World Counsel and the Counsel of the Scholars knew what electricity was. However, the Handicapper General was no better than anyone else would have been, and knew nothing that other people did not know, by the very handicaps which she imposed. Also, the fate of the antagonists varied between stories. In “AntZ”, Cutter allowed Mandible to drown. In “Harrison Bergeron” and in “Anthem”, however, there was no change in the government or counsel.

Another topic of discussion could be the setting and ending of the stories. All stories had a dramatic ending with government/military involvement. There were sacrifices made: Weaver and Cutter could have died trying to save other ants, Equality sacrificed the comforts of civilization, and Harrison lost his life. The protagonists realized that not all people want to hear what they have to say, because, after all, this is a dystopian setting, and what the protagonists want seems crazy. Both “Harrison Bergeron” and “Anthem” are set in a future time, while “AntZ” is not. In “Harrison Bergeron”, everyone’s skills are hampered; in “Anthem”, someone’s job is the reverse of their skill; in “AntZ”, people are randomly picked for jobs. At the end of “Harrison Bergeron”, the people went back to their lives. In “Anthem”, only a few people’s lives were changed, but in “AntZ”, everyone’s life was made better. “Harrison Bergeron”’s ending was negative, “Anthem”’s ending was neutral, and “AntZ”’s ending was positive. Both “Harrison Bergeron” and “AntZ’ had surprise endings: Harrison was killed and Cutter was revealed to not, in fact, be evil like Mandible, though the ending in “Anthem” held no surprises.

In conclusion, a utopian/dystopian society doesn’t have to be futuristic. A mind-controlled population, like in “Harrison Bergeron”, eliminates the want to rebel, and destroys the success of the rebellion, if one would ever happen. Still, there is another thing they have in common: ANYONE can rebel. They don’t have to be important, or rich, or strong.

Brave New World - Post Reading

I think that a world where people are falsely happy should be more feared than one where the government’s control is so oppressive that the people have no choice for themselves. If someone is falsely happy, they see no need to rebel. With an oppressive government, the people will eventually know that something is wrong. They will, at some point, find a way to rebel. If the people are falsely happy and never know that anything is wrong, they will never get even so far as to know that something is wrong to begin with.

For example, in Greek mythology, there was a tribe called the Lotus Eaters who tricked some of the men of Odysseus into eating of the Lotus flower. The men were overcome by bliss. They were forcefully returned to the ship, and had to be chained to the rowing benches to prevent them from returning. If they had not been forced into leaving, they would have stayed there for ever. This example supports the idea that false happiness is worse than oppression, and it is true for stories such as the short story that we read in class, “Harrison Bergeron”.

In other stories, such as in “Anthem” and “AntZ”, people are not literally being mind-controlled or -influenced like in “Harrison Bergeron”, where their thoughts were interrupted by annoying sounds. They are told that a particular thing is true. In “Anthem”, they are told that they must never think of themselves, and that they should never have individual thoughts. In “AntZ” they are told that they must do everything for the good of the colony. Though they have been somewhat brainwashed, they are still able to actually think of something different.

Perhaps this is why the rebellions in both “Anthem” and “AntZ” were successful. People were able to see the actions of the protagonists and join them if they wanted. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the people forgot what they had seen immediately after it had happened, even Harrison’s parents.

Never let anyone trick you into being falsely happy. Always learn something for yourself, don’t just take someone else’s word for it, and you will be less likely to be brainwashed like in “Harrison Bergeron”.

Brave New World - Pre Reading

In my utopian society, there would be no social media so that so that people would have to interact more personally with each other and bypass drama. There would be less technology. For example, there would be radios instead of TVs. However, people would still have cell phones, from which they could either call, text, or video call someone. Still, these communications would be rationed. Food, clothes, and other goods would be rationed. Income would be lower, because it would not be necessary to spend it on these things, as the ration cards would serve as “gift certificates”.

When people turn sixteen years old, they take a personality test. This test determines jobs and “Living Sections” that would benefit that person according to their personality. However, the person can still pick what they want to do. The test does not restrict them, it only gives suggestions.

People go to school until they are sixteen years old. Any further schooling depends on the job they pick, and it is possible to fail the course that people take to get a certain job. Jobs available for someone are influenced by their Living Section (For example, farmers can only be in the Rural Section, and Business owners must live in the Urban or Suburban Sections). Someone must have certain grades in school before their test to qualify for certain jobs.

The three Living Sections are Urban, Suburban, and Rural. After someone chooses a Section, they spend a year learning the ways of its people, even if they grew up in that section. Each new member is assigned a mentor for that year.

The test also determines whether you can become a parent, and whether you are allowed to own weapons. You are required to retake the test after life-changing experiences, such as the death of someone you knew or a car crash.

The test itself is rather simple. There is a written portion under a lie detector. People also wear a certain tracking bracelet for a month which is locked onto them. This is to see what they do in their day to day activities. People have to drink something which prohibits them from changing their activities during the month, but it wears off afterwards.

Children in all Living Sections are encouraged to play games that require imagination and to read. In the Rural Section, children play outside and are allowed more freedom. In the Suburban Section, children play in fenced yards, and in the Urban Section, they play inside most of the time.

Transportation is mostly by walking or riding a bike, though trains and buses are still very common. Cars and planes are not used much, though more common in Rural Sections, which are large and spread out and do not have buses. When someone wants to cross a Living Section, they are required to go through a checkpoint. This is only so that the government knows where people currently are in case of an emergency. In an emergency, they have lists of where people are so that they can count and make sure that everyone is accounted for.

Income is not restricted, nor is there a minimum wage. However, community service is required, and everyone is provided with a job and house. The cost of the upkeep of the house is varying from person to person by income.

This society is not perfect because a true Utopian society is impossible, but there are many advantages to it.