"Harrison Bergeron," "The Lottery," and "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas" are stories that examine society and the human desire to make it orderly and just. In each story the method for perfecting society is different, but flawed. In each story the author exaggerates the situation in order to show the ridiculousness of assuming that any good can come of these methods. In each story there is a refusal to see beyond or beneath the superficial appearance of everyday events. This will be examined in each of the three stories.
             In "Harrison Bergeron," for example, the characters suffer from externally imposed "handicaps." Vonnegut begins the story by exposing a common misunderstanding of the meaning of equality, the idea that nobody can be better than anybody else. The narrator tells us: "They were equal every which way. Nobody was any smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else" (p. 34). The author wants us to see that there will always be people who have more money, better looks, higher intelligence, a better education, and more talent than other people do. People are supposed to be equal in their rights, opportunities, and privileges, whether they are rich or poor, stupid or smart, beautiful or ugly, talented or incompetent. Vonnegut uses the story to expose the myth among Americans that equality, if we ever accomplished it, would mean loss of freedom to excel, succeed, or make a profit. The leveling that takes place in the story is intellectual. Vonnegut makes fun of anti-intellectualism, a very American form of leveling. The characters believe, "Ignorance is bliss." Hazel, who is not exactly bright, says, "Who knows better'n I do what normal is?" as though her ignorance and inability to reason were virtues.
             Similar to "Harrison Bergeron" in which ...