Harrison Bergeron Questions

Harrison Bergeron Study Questions

1. It seems at the opening of the story, that an extreme form on equality has been imposed on society, by the government. This would seem to be a consequence of Communist thought, or perhaps simply equality, misunderstood then taken to its logical ends.

2. The extreme nature of the changes described are impossible under capitalism and most other systems as well. The situation in the story is taken to an extreme to make a point and illustrate the base idea behind some of our current beliefs. The story is attempting to define our understanding of equality. In the story, and under some schools of thought in reality, “equality” meant everyone being equal in every way; intelligence, attractiveness, income, and on and on. The story shows the logical conclusion of the “you’re all winners” philosophy.

3. The agents enforce mediocrity. Anywhere someone attempts to think outside the norm, they are there to ensure “equality” There are many means to achieving such a society. Over time, a society can be deluded to the point that such an extreme is possible.

4. He is obviously parodying our attempts to down play personal responsibility, by lumping children, and adults, together rather than judging them based on their actions. His story is a satire on a politically correct America, where we all can be winners, rather than those who work for it.

5. It is represented in that it follows that all aspects of human life must be dumbed down so that no one person excels above another.

6. Harrison is pushing past the system that has been forced upon him. The handicaps that have been imposed on him are forcing him to break through in an opposite response.

Short Story Questions

Literature Assignment

Who is the story's main character, Connie or Arnold Friend?

I think the main character of the short story is Connie. From the beginning of the story, her life is the focus, and her choices, especially when Arnold comes on the scene are still what the story revolves around, I believe. We see her desire for something new and different, and how the evolves into this situation with Arnold at the climax of the story.

Who is Arnold Friend? Do you think he is appropriately named? What is the significance of his car? His clothing? His language?

He is a swinger type of guy, who goes around attempting to “smooth talk” girls into relations with him. In short, he’s a con artist. I think his name is appropriate as he attempts to pass himself off as a “friend” to Connie. His car, clothing, and language all enforce his “cool guy” image he is trying to create. Using all of these, he can persuade girls to take a ride with him so he can take advantage of them.

Do a little research about the significance of the numbers 33 19 17. What are some of the ideas that have been suggested about their meaning? What do you think they mean?

There are many ideas floating around about the significance of those numbers. Some claim they are a biblical reference to the Judges 19:17 “And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going, and where do you come from?" Judges is the 33^rd book in the bible if you count backwards. Some believe they indicate something sexual, while many believe they mean nothing at all. I would have to go with the latter explanation.

Describe important images that you see in the story and what they do to create meaning within the story.

Imagery is very important to the story. The drabness of Connie’s life at home, contrasted by her social life and her adventures with boys, paints a very good picture of escape, and new horizons. Also, the description of Arnold Friend and his car gives a eerie hint to his sinister nature.

Where have you been, Baby Blue?

Where have you been, Baby Blue?

A good story is something that transcends many levels of knowledge. They can be told orally, written down as books, or acted out as plays. But whether a story takes the shape of a novel, poem, song, or play, the story itself remains the same. This has been done for many ages in cases like Homer’s Iliad, and others. As time has passed, our modern culture has become comfortable with several common tropes. These ideas are very familiar to most of us, and are seen in plays, TV shows, movies, books, songs, poems, and anything else we use to communicate with. Basic stories of forbidden love, betrayal and irony, have been told and retold in different forms for ages.

For example, Homer’s Iliad entails the story of how a man surrendered to forbidden love, regardless of the horrendous consequences for him and his people. This story has been told in countless iterations. With each one, the basic plot of the story is seen in a different light. The story in Tucson, Arizona of how Charles Schmid murdered two young girls, inspired Joyce Oates to write “Where have you been?, Where are you going?” This story identifies with some other common tropes in our culture, such as “be careful what you wish for?, you just might get it” and the common story of breaking free of mundane life for something greater. This idea behind the story is seen in Bob Dylan’s song, and the movie Smooth Talk. Each one changes the story in a different way, while holding true to the foundation of the idea. From the story in Tucson, Joyce Oates changed some aspects to create her short story, and from that, the movie Smooth Talk was made, which mostly preserves Oates work. This is an example of how literature is fluid, and an idea or a story can traverse many different means of communication.

Three Pieces to Literature

The three pieces of literary structure are quite important. They define what a piece of literature is. The ingredients first, make up a great deal of a piece of literature and are the most identifiable. Things such as setting, characters, tone, and other simple facts are common ingredients, although there are many others. Ingredients provide detail and are for the most part, the basic building blocks of any piece of literature. Like in a cooking recipe, the ingredients form the foundation for the process and eventually the “made thing”. They give the overall piece meaning and descriptive substance.

The second piece is the process. The process involves how the ingredients are used in a certain piece. Many things such as wording, person choice, and sequence of events can fall under the process. Things that have to do with process, are not just ingredients, but certain techniques and placement of those ingredients. The process is basically the recipe that will take the ingredients and form them into the made thing.

The made thing is the final piece to this structure. In it lies the overall purpose or theme of the piece of literature. Both the ingredients and the process are used to hone in on one or multiple key ideas. The made thing is often some broad point or perspective which the author wishes to bestow upon his or her readers. This is the apex of the writer’s construction, the final piece of art after all the strokes have been applied. Reading any work with these pieces in mind will enable a reader to analyze the text to find meaning.

Lit. Heritage Assignment (Updike & Poems)

Lit. Heritage Assignment

After watching the interview with Updike, I saw his “A &P” in somewhat of a different light. From his perspective, Sammy really was doing something heroic it seemed. But the moral of his story as he described it seemed to be more about vain heroism. Sammy transfixed himself on the girls since he first saw them in the story, and this progressed until he finally quit his job. The point of the story to Updike, I thought was the vanity of this, in that he never found the girls, and they never knew what he did. Watching the interview did not so much change my view of Sammy as a hero, but it did help me understand where Updike was coming from when he wrote “A & P”

Sharon Olds’ poems “Rites of Passage” and “The One Girl at the Boys Party” are interesting poems delving into the subject of male leadership or headship I believe. In both poems she subtly belittles the brutish nature of boys and men. In R of P she is an overseer to the small talk of war between children, and in “The One Girl at the Boys Party”, she paints the girl as the controlling force, while the men just look on boorishly it seems. At least, this is what I got out of it. Both poems hint at feminism to me. They seem to follow Updike’s hero, in that, they question the normal definition of hero, by trivializing simple boyish talk and passions, to nothing more than vain ambition.

What is Heroism?

Heroism is a term that has been used for ages. We’ve seen countless movies, TV shows and real life situations where men and women are attributed this quality of heroism. But what does it truly mean? Since it is a semi recent event and one that is surly engraved in our minds, I wish to use the firefights of New York City as an example of the definition of heroism. We all remember where we were on 9/11, as our nation was brutally attacked and New York City was stunned into quick response. As the day went on and for long after we continued to hear of the bravery and heroism of the city’s firefighters and police, who rushed into the trade center even as it was collapsing. Isn’t this what heroism is? They fought through the rubble to save their fellow men and women from a cruel fate, and many did this to their own peril. There are few who would not say that their acts are anything less than heroism. But however, was this not their job as firefighters? They did get paid to do this, although one would admit, something of this magnitude did not happen ever day. We must ask ourselves what defines heroism? Must the hero have a good motivation to be heroic?

One reason this is a difficult thing to grasp is because we too often associate heroism and perfection. In storybooks and movies the hero is often portrayed with little flaws. But true heroism is not perfect. A person can perform a heroic act, making them a hero; yet have done if for selfish reasons. Police officers, who may be corrupt, cruel men in some situations, still save the lives of many citizens every day. Are they not too, heroes? I believe making a morally right decision has much to do with motivation, but heroism, the act of doing something heroic, could be separated from motivation all together. Many times heroism is done more out of instinct, then motivation. This is strange to me since naturally one’s instinct would be selfish, to look after the interest of one’s self. But heroism, many times puts self in danger. Perhaps to have the instinct to always jump to do the hard or selfless thing is a character of heroism, rather than simply exhibiting it in one or two actions.

If we apply this criteria of Heroism to Updike’s “A&P”, we find that Sammy quitting his job, was more or less based on his selfish desire to find approval with the girls, rather than take a stand against discrimination. The girls, however do not notice his act, and his intentions are never fulfilled. The question is, if an act of heroism in never seen, and the persons motivation for the act are flawed, then is it heroism at all? Surely we would argue that the firefighters who died in the trade center were not less heroic because they failed to get out, and died while attempting heroism? Herein lies the dilemma of heroism. I believe that heroism can be simply an action, and it can be made by both the commonly heroic, and the commonly corrupt.

Chapter I

Page 6:

1. The north wind is forceful, cold and harsh. it does things based on strength and brute force. The sun is more subtle, warm. it does things the opposite way from the wind. Good illustration of paradox.

2. The north wind's direct attempt to remove the man's cloak failed. His attempt caused the man to need his cloak more, therefore hold on to it tighter.

3. The Sun on the other hand created a situation where the man no longer valued his coat, and shed it easily.

4. The human is there to be an example of how two different means of getting the same thing are responded to.

5. the direct approach is not always the most advantageous. Subtlety and guile sometimes are of more avail.

Page 8:

1. the italic part gives exposition. The first sentence gives us the setting.

2. He uses the story to create a metaphor for his situation that would allow the men to understand his position.

3. He understands how to use a fictitious story to communicate meaning in a literal dilemma

Page 19:

1. Updike has a very close attention to detail throughout. This creates many points of reference which a reader might relate to, thus making the story realistic.

2.Sammy is seen in an extensive light due to the fact that we see as readers from his point of view. Typical guy who over thinks every detail, especially when involving girls. We don't see a whole lot with the doctor expect his defiance of death, which tells us a little about him.

3. The exposition is during the first part of the story, with the shopping and the description of the scene.

4. Sammy gets more and more obsessed with them as times goes by. He's less and less judgmental as a result.

5. The conflict lies in the confrontation and ensuing argument between the girls and lengal. the climax is sammy quitting his job.

6. He quite to impress the girls due to his new found infatuation with them.

7. The mundane way the store is described foreshadows the climax.

8.Sammy comes to the conclusion that quitting his job was a pretty dumb idea with unpleasant consequences.

9. He is making a statement about class, in regards to career. He's saying there is nothing exciting or heroic about working at a supermarket, or something equally mundane.