Credit: Some of the questions below have been borrowed from other teachers who shared them on the net. Thank you to the original authors.
1. What is the state of U.S. society as described in the first paragraph of the story? How has “equality” been achieved?
In 2081, everyone is equal, not only before God and the law, but in their characteristics such as physical appearance, intelligence, and talents. This equality is achieved by giving people with ability certain handicaps. For example, for intelligence (like in the case of George, Harrison's father), people with higher than average intelligence have to wear an earphone that breaks their thoughts.
2. Consider the character of Harrison in terms of both his physical qualities and personality traits. What is he like?
Harrison is 7 feet tall, physically strong, attractive, and intelligent, and so the Handicapper General has worked hard to get him down to average in all of those areas by putting on weights like a "walking junkyard" and making him look like a clown. To hinder his intelligence, he wears headphones that interrupt his thoughts. He says "I am the Emperor" and that makes him sound like he has gone mad--He is launching a futile revolution on the TV stage. He throws off his handicaps, chooses an Empress and frees her as well, and sets the orchestra free
3. What is the significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the ballerina? In your opinion, what does it mean?
To me, the dance is a rebellion against repression of freedom of expression. They have cast off their chains of handicapping and perform with their whole potential. When they kiss the ceiling and each other at the climax of the dance, they are expressing the powerful joy humans can feel when they are free to express themselves. When the Handicapper General kills them with a shotgun, they
4. What do you consider to be Vonnegut’s purpose for writing this story?
Vonnegut wrote this in 1961, but I think the significance of his story is timeless in terms of several important themes.
To me, the strongest theme is the meaning of equality. For equality to exist in society, do some people have to be held back or hindered in their abilities? The reference to socialism is obvious, but all societies may have a "handicapping" element to some extent. So, in what ways does human society try to keep some people "handicapped" in order to achieve a sense of security? Do we do this when the rich pay more taxes or when talented children are kept in the same group as students who struggle so that the fast kids can help the slower kids. To what extent is "holding back" necessary, and should it ever be imposed in a mandatory way. Or, should it always be voluntary, so that those with talent or ability hold back of their own free will in order to help those who struggle. The handicapping done in HB is obviously a systematic, compulsory, government policy and it seems ridiculous to us in the way it is portrayed, but it is interesting how Hazel and George express their support of it. What type of "handicapping" is actually good handicapping? Is there any possibility that our societies are doing it?
There are certainly many other interesting themes such as freedom of expression, the effect of media, and rebellion against established laws and government. I'll look forward to the ideas my students bring.
5. In your opinion, how is the world of 2081 similar to that of your own society today? Also, what does the story mean to you?
In what ways does "handicapping" mirror US society or Japanese society? Does US or Japanese education have such characteristics? Definitely. And my instinctive reaction is that Japanese society mirrors it in a much stronger way--but ironically, that is one aspect of Japan that I really like and respect. The key question, which I hope we can discuss tomorrow, is: To what extent is it desirable, and at what point does it become excessive and a violation of individual freedom to pursue their full potential.
In Japan, the education system, especially after WWII, has emphasized equality very strongly. Some manifestations of this emphasis on equality are:
1) teachers efforts to keep the class moving at the same pace, regardless of ability, with little or no differentiation of instruction (I assume this is still true),
2) the rejection of any system that allows students to repeat a grade or skip a grade, and
3) the idea that all schools in the country of Japan should have similar curricula imposed in a top-down fashion from the central Ministry of Education, with very little room for flexibility or innovation by individual instructors or principals.
4) The use of school uniforms and other school rules in Japan such as prohibitions against make-up, jewelry, hair color etc. that prevent students from standing out. There are horror stories of teachers forcing students to straighten their naturally curly hair.
Extra: Any other reactions or ideas or discussion questions?
I'm very curious how the discussion will go, especially considering the fact that my students were the top students in their high schools and may have been like HB in some cases, held back for the sake of imposed equality, in some aspects of their education.
One thing I fear and want to avoid is that my students will look for "correct answers" in terms of interpretations of the story. I hope they will take the story and make it their own, and try to discuss, among other things, what the ideal balance in Japan should be for uniformity and individuality, for equality and competition, and how our society can aim for that.
Other questions:
1) To what extent are we "handicapper generals" of ourselves? What weights do we put around our own necks to make ourselves as average as possible?
2) How is television or other mass media used in the story, and how is that similar to media in your own society?
3) "Pretty soon we'd be back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else." Where is the balance of too much competition and too much imposed equality?
4) Are all humans "equal"? What does that mean? What should it mean? In what ways should people be equal, and in what ways should equality not be aimed for?
We discussed it in small groups for about 40 minutes, and had 20 minutes of whole group sharing.
返信削除Many themes came out. What kind of equality is good equality? How does education in Japan attempt to control equality of opportunity for children of various talents? To what extent is that effort justified and ideal, and where does that go too far? Some examples discussed were sports festivals that emphasize cooperation rather than competition and how Japanese schools tend to integrate handicapped children rather than separate them.
I think both of those examples show the good side of equality, and in general, education should emphasize cooperation over competition. This is because human nature leads to competition and dismissal of the weak unless there is intervention. However, interestingly, Japan worries about how its young people have lost their competitive edge, possibly due to affluence over many decades, and how to make them have a stronger sense of competition. That's another interesting discussion.
Unfortunately, time was short and we have to move on to our next story and discussion. I hope some valuable seeds of ideas stayed with each student.