Citizens in Power
people working together in order to create a better society
Thesis Statement
Citizens, being the majority should be allowed to rule and create laws that benefit everyone without the government holding them back from making improvements to their society.
The two stories “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson both show how the government controls the people’s lives in a negative way.
This is shown through both traditions and rituals that take place. In “Harrison Bergeron”, everybody had to be equal when it came to things like looks, talent, and many other things. In “The Lottery”, every year a small town held a “lottery” in which someone was stoned to death to keep their tradition consistent.
“Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard” (Vonnegut 3).
This quote shows how the government controlling affects the citizens negatively. Since Harrison was seen as above average, he had to undergo various setbacks to his talents and his looks. The government shouldn’t be able to rule because of the way that the citizens are treated badly for their own benefit. Harrison was granted a fundamental right to express himself however he wished to and the government disobeyed that right.
"’It isn't fair, it isn't right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her” (Jackson 7).
This quote shows that Mrs. Hutchinson doesn’t agree with the government’s actions. In this story Mrs. Hutchinson is stoned to death because of a ritual the government initiated in the first place. The government made citizens turn against their own people for the sake of tradition. The citizens are so accustomed to this tradition that they never speak out and say that it’s wrong to murder their own out of cold blood.
Harrison Bergeron
Harrison is the troubled son of George and Hazel. He is a citizen trying to overthrow the government's equality laws that they have enforced. In the act of going against the government, he was killed.
Mrs. Hutchinson
Mrs. Hutchinson is the wife of Mr. Hutchinson. She was okay with the yearly stoning that occurred in their "lottery", until she was chosen one year. She died just because of a tradition the government created.
Conclusion
I think that citizens ruling instead of the government because the government creates laws and regulation that only benefit them instead of the citizens. In the upcoming election, I look for the person that is the most considerate of the citizens and how they can make their lives better. I am afraid of someone like Donald Trump because he puts certain groups at a disadvantage just because of their religion, race, or gender.