Blog #3 - Nicole Cavalieri - Period 9 - 2/6/2020

2/6/2020

Nicole Cavalieri Period 9

Aim: How does Kurt Vonnugut Jr. 's background and choice of literary devices provide greater insight and clarity to his work, “Harrison Bergeron”? 

Do Now: How do students in your school feel about the pressure(s) to be “the same” —to act, think or dress the same way others do? Do you believe this pressure derives from outside forces or from personal desires? Do you think being the same makes most people happy, or would they really prefer to act on their own? Explain 

Discussion/Answers of Do Now: 

• The class discussed that the pressure came from what we personally desire and perceive as “cool”, but also society, especially pressure on young girls to look or act a certain way to be “good enough” or “pretty enough” or “feminine enough”. 
• Differences are good to promote growth of people. Being individual and unique makes you happy. 
• There is some natural inclination to conform, “Maslow's Hierarchy”: psychological needs, one of the biggest parts of the hierarchy is a need to fit in. 
• Adults telling you to be different ironically makes you the same 

Intro to “Harrison Beregeron”:

• Short story published in 60s in science fiction magazine 
• Kurt Vonnugut Jr. grew up in Depression, attended public school unlike his siblings who did private school 
• More accepting as a result, exposed to more people 
• Private schools lend themselves conformity and authority 
• Depression also affected his style 
• His novels are mostly social satire— discuss morality, freedom, and values 
• WW2 held prisoner in an underground meatlocker, inspired Slaughterhouse Five 

Literary Terms: 

• Satire: a type of entertainment that makes fun of parts of everyday life (i.e. SNL) 
• Dystopia: Is often the futuristic vision of a society in which miserable conditions of life are miserable, and characterized by a crushing of hope and backwards morality. 
• Direct Characterization: Writers TELL us directly what characters are like and what their motives are 
• Indirect Characterization: Writers SHOW us characters (through speech, appearance, private thoughts, other characters reactions, and actions) but allow us to decide what characters are like 
• STEAL Method for Identifying Indirect Characterization:
• SPEECH: What does the character say? How do they speak?
• THOUGHTS: What does the character's private thoughts reveal?
• EFFECTS: What is this character's effect on others?
• ACTIONS: What does the character do; how do they act/behave?
• LOOKS: How does the character dress? What do they look like?

Characterization Exercise:

• Toy Story 3 Clip 
• Direct Characterization:
• Toys: Andy describes them
• Indirect: 
• Andy: kind and friendly, taking great care with the toys and being kind to Bonnie 
• Bonnie: imaginative, playing pretend with her toy, but also shy it takes a long time for her to talk to Andy, she hides behind her mom for a while
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Clip 
• Indirect Characterization: 
• Hermione: Bossy, hardworking 
• Ron: More careless 
• Direct: 
• Ron tells Hermione she’s “clever” and “bossy” 

Start Reading, “Harrison Bergeron”

“Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that stresses “equality” to the point forced conformity. The main characters are Hazel and George Bergeron, the parents of 14 year old Harrison Bergeron. We only got about halfway through the story in class, but so far the reason for him being taken is unbeknownst to us. The society is so “equal” that George, who is of above average intelligence must wear an intelligence handicap, that keeps him from thinking too much with a loud noise every minute or so. He is also a tall and strong man and must therefore wear weights to keep him on everyone else’s level. Even the professional ballerinas on TV are not allowed to be better at ballet than anyone else.

Reflection: 

This lesson was about conformity in society and societal pressures to be the same, it was also about an author’s use of direct vs. indirect characterization. We examined these topics through the lens of Harry Vonnugut Jr. 's 1961 short story “Harrison Bergeron.” It can be inferred that Vonnugut’s upbringing inspired parts of this story, Vonnugut attended public school after seeing his two older siblings go through private education. The trivial rules of conformity in a private school, such as wearing a uniform and acting in a specific way for fear of punishment are not too different from the ideals of “equality” in the society of 2081. While attending public school, Vonnugut would have been exposed to a more diverse group of people and could learn to appreciate that diversity as an interesting and necessary part of life. As discussed in the Do Now, uniqueness makes life better and allows for growth and progress. The use of direct and indirect characterization demonstrates the point that our differences make us stronger. Through the direct characterization of the story we are told that George is highly intelligent, while Hazel is more simple-minded. However if we look at the conversation the two characters have and indirect characterization , it is clear that while Hazel is not traditionally intelligent, she is creative and curious. She wants to know what the different sounds are like and imagines themes for the noises heard by those of above average intelligence. If they were not so restricted Hazel might be an artist or some other creative profession, but because of the government's view of what “equal” or “average” is Hazel and George are not allowed to use their own unique strengths. The government only saw what was on the surface, the direct characterization, so they stifled the progress that could have been made. This is the true difference between “equal” and “alike” from our lesson the other day, equality is not everyone being the same, it is everyone being free to have the same opportunity to “pursue happiness” and be the best person they can be in their own unique way.