Harrison Bergeron: Is Harrison A Hero Or Hero?

471 Words2 Pages
Why is Harrison considered a hero? He disrupts a peaceful society, endangers the lives, and tries to overthrow the government. In this story the protagonist is painted as a hero, but looking at his actions objectively, he seems more like a danger to his society than anything else. This essay will go over the reasons why Harrison Bergeron was a danger to his society rather than a hero. The first piece of evidence that shows that Harrison was a societal danger is that he tries to usurp power from his government. In the news report in the story, the ballerina says that Harrison was arrested for plotting to overthrow the government. Later on in the story, Harrison barges into a television studio and declares himself the emperor. This shows that…show more content…
Had anyone in the audience been convinced by Harrison, they would have been killed as well. Had Harrison succeeded in overthrowing the government, anyone who tried to stop him would have been killed as well. Harrison was described as incredibly strong and could have killed his enemies himself or had one of his supporters do the job. The final piece of evidence against Harrison is that the society was peaceful before his actions. Even after he died no one resisted against the Handicap General. Harrison’s demonstration was the only time of civil unrest that the audience knows of. Everyone goes about their business in ignorant bliss before Harrison and afterward everyone forgets that it even happened. The society is, though possibly could be considered unethical, at a time of peace. Two of the main arguments to support Harrison having been a hero would be that Harrison was trying to get rid of something that was wrong and that he had died for what he believed in. The first hole in this theory is that right and wrong are based solely on someone’s opinion. Something that could be considered right by one person could be considered wrong by someone else. Secondly, just because someone does what they believe in doesn‘t mean that it is best for that society. Harrison’s society was peaceful, and Harrison tried to disturb
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