Discussion Web Question: Is it possible to create a society in which all people are equal?

Directions: Get into the groups of four (4) that you usually work in. In your assigned groups, work
together to generate both yes and no responses to the above focus question. Remember to set aside
your personal beliefs momentarily to ensure that both sides are fairly presented.

Harrison Bergeron (published 1961) Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922 2007)

Kurt Vonnegut
German-American
Joined the US Army and fought in WWII Prisoner of War
Combines science fiction, social satire, and black comedy in his novels
Vonnegut's themes spring from his contemplation of 20th-century horrors: dehumanization in a
technological society.

Terms to Know:
1. Satire is a literary genre or form that uses sarcasm, irony, exaggeration and/or distortion to expose
the folly (foolishness) or vice (an immoral or evil habit or practice) of humans, usually with the aim
of improving them; A kind of literature that tries to open peoples eyes to the need for change by
exposing the flaws of a person or society.

Note: Humor is a part of satire. For it to be satire there must be serious criticism mixed in with the
laughter. There must be a sneer or a snarl or a thinly veiled expression of contempt for something the
satirist clearly despises.

2. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of comedy and satire
where topics and events that are usually treated seriously death, mass murder, sickness, madness,
terror, drug abuse, rape, war etc. are treated in a humorous or satirical manner

3. An Allusion is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art.

4. Utopia
In 1516 the English statesman Sir Thomas More (1478-1535, English statesman and author)
published a book that compared the condition of his England to that of a perfect and imaginary
country, Utopia. Everything that was wrong in England was perfect in Utopia. More was trying to
show how people could live together in peace and happiness if they only did what they thought was
right. But the name he gave his imaginary country showed that he did not really believe perfection
could ever be reached.
o Since More's time, utopia has come to mean "a place of ideal perfection" (especially in laws,
government, and social conditions). Over the years many books similar to Utopia have been
written, and many plans for perfect societies proposed, most of them impractical.
o Utopia means, literally, "no place," since it was formed from the Greek ou, meaning "no, not,"
and topos, "place." * an impractical scheme for social improvement
http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?utopia

5. Dystopia
A dystopian novel describes an imaginary, usually futuristic, society where people lead
dehumanized and often fearful lives.
Some dystopian works emphasize the pressure to conform in terms of a requirement not to excel.
In these works, the society is ruthlessly egalitarian, in which ability and accomplishment, or even
competence, are suppressed or stigmatized as forms of inequality.
In addition, dystopias are often filled with pessimistic views of the ruling class or government
that is brutal or uncaring, ruling with an "iron hand" or "iron fist." These dystopian government
establishments often have protagonists or groups that lead a "resistance" to enact change within
their government.