Yarbrough 1

Ty Yarbrough

Field

LNG 322

15 February 2011

I’m Doin Me

Even in a perfect world where everyone is the same, there are still some people who

choose to have individuality. Vonnegut, Rand, and Niccol express that all the societies are equal,

but there are people in those societies that defy the standards of it. In Vonnegut’s “Harrison

Bergeron”, the Handicap General puts handicaps on everyone to make them all on the same

level. In Rand’s Anthem, everyone is being brainwashed, that way no one thinks above any other

person. In Niccol’s Gattaca, people are engineered at birth to be perfect. Individuals in a society

should be able to choose their own actions, make their own decisions, and live their own life.

Harrison, Equality, and Vincent all have the same philosophies and characteristics.

Harrison is a superior person and he doesn’t believe in equality. He, along with the others, does

not think everyone should be equal. He breaks out of his handicaps, because the H.G. put them

on him for being a superior person to all others and thinks above all others. Equality goes above

all others by building the box, which results in him to think on a move advanced level. Equality

also doesn’t believe in equality. He has the same thoughts that he shouldn’t be like the others.

Vincent gets Jerome to give him his “perfect” blood and other bodily samples. Vincent is not

perfect in the eyes of the society, so he wants to get into a perfect place like Gattaca. He is going

above his society’s laws and getting illegal samples.

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When everyone isn’t allowed to make their own decisions, the society starts to make its

citizens or occupants equal to each other. The three characters make their own decisions from the

rest of society. If not, then it results in people becoming similar. Now people are losing

individuality. Harrison gets or breaks out of his handicaps. Harrison makes the decision of

breaking out so he can live free and do whatever he chooses. Equality breaks out of the prison

and finds love and goes into the forest. He is making his own decision to break out and find love.

If not he would still be with the brainwashed people. Vincent makes the choice of making a false

identity to get into Gattaca. The reason he needs these samples is he was born as a “God child.”

When people aren’t allowed to make decisions for them it creates similarity, in result it makes

everyone equal.