Like I'm pretty sure the conclusion I had was "oh haha I see your point mr. Vonnegut, too much equality can indeed be a bad thing!"

And I definitely don't remember my teacher suggesting anything about it being viewable as satire of red scare paranoia either

  • HumanBehaviorByBjork [any, undecided]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    But the state ideology isn't presented as having any merit at all at any point. What "equality" might mean or how a society might have reached this point are never really explored, nor is it made clear how the existing order benefits anyone, including the state. All the reader gets is a story about the most special boy in history born into an absurd world of pointless, arbitrary tortures.

    • Kerenskyeet [any]
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      4 years ago

      It’s a short story, and an exceptionally short one at that; you’re doing more with less, and it’s necessary to attempt to unpack it with some good faith, especially considering that’s it Vonnegut. As for the pointless, arbitrary torture that upholds an order that isn’t really “beneficial” to the state beyond holding its power; well, idk how you can’t see the very apparent parallels between that and, well, modern nation states. The characterization of Harrison as “the most special boy in the world” is extremely dismissive & doesn’t consider what the character actually is in the context of the story, and dismisses the piece without analyzing it on its own terms. I reread the story last night; I really don’t see the anti-communism or anti-socialism element of it, it seems much more about power & ideology, and Vonnegut’s own attitudes reflect this. Thinking it’s not a very good short story? Fair enough, I’d agree to a considerable extent, personally I still like it.

      • HumanBehaviorByBjork [any, undecided]
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        4 years ago

        to be clear, I think Vonnegut wrote the whole thing as a joke. I think it is a good short story, in that it's funny, and told in so blunt a manner that a critical reader can't take it at face value.