At the end of the story, the attempt to enforce "equality" is taken out to an absurd degree. Harrison is so handsome and talented that he must wear a red ball on his nose, shave his eyebrows, and make his mouth look snaggle-toothed. He is also forced to wear many pounds of junk attached to his body to weigh him down, and headphones and spectacles that impair his hearing and seeing. Likewise, the ballerina must wear an ugly mask and "handicap bags" to keep her from dancing well.
This kind of exaggeration shows the absurdity and foolishness of trying to build a society that tries to keep everyone equal at all costs.
The response to Harrison tearing off all the items meant to handicap him and removing the ballerina's mask and bags is also exaggerated: they are both shot and killed with a rifle on live television by the Handicapper General. This exaggerated ending emphasizes the sheer waste of destroying talented people rather than allowing them to develop their gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment