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.