Critiques of American Society in Science Fiction Assignment

How does Vonnegut use the dystopian society in this story to create satire? Check all of the boxes that are true of Vonnegut's writing.

How does Vonnegut use the dystopian society in this story to create satire? Check all of the boxes that are true of Vonnegut's writing . To make a connection between American society's desire for equality and its fears of conformity To exaggerate the absurdity of the American vision of a utopian society in which everyone is equal To warn citizens of the dangers of government control through an imagined, futuristic society

The rest of Harrison's appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody had ever borne heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.

How does the author use a description of technology to create satire in this passage? To show the extremes a society would need to engage in to create equality

George came back in ... [and] paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. "You been crying?" he said to Hazel. "Yup," she said. "What about?" he said. "I forget," she said. "Something real sad on television." "What was it?" he said. "It's all kind of mixed up in my mind," said Hazel. "Forget sad things," said George. "I always do," said Hazel.

What ironic contrast does Vonnegut include in this scene? George tells his wife to forget sad things, but readers would expect George and Hazel to want to remember their son.

It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains. —"Harrison Bergeron," Kurt Vonnegut

What makes this an example of irony? Characters are forced to limit intelligence, which is normally a positive attribute. Characters are forced to limit intelligence, which is normally a positive attribute. Based on the irony in this passage, Vonnegut is critiquing a society that Values equality of intelligence