Let me just start off by saying, I read Tyler's review of the short story, and I also really liked this short story. But I also don't have a clue what he's saying when he makes all those cultural references. Why are you name-dropping so many things that I don't understand the references to. The Trees? Rush? Slaughterhouse 5? Anyways, I'm not entirely sure if we read the story the same way (I wasn't really amazed at anything nor did I see "deep beauty), but I think I echo his sentiments.
I feel like Vonnegut really took on this dry, sarcastic tone when he wrote it and I loved it. For example, you can kind of see this in the description of the setting, where Mom and Dad Bergeron are sitting casually in their living room, watching television - I imagine, sipping tea. There's this irony of the normalcy of this setting despite having their only child literally stripped away from them, and the pure ridiculousness of what this world must have looked like where everyone wore masks and had weighted bags attached to them.
I thought it was also smart of Vonnegut to illustrate that beauty is not only in the physical things, but also in things like art - specifically in this story, dance and music. Again, outlining how ridiculous this is. I'm going to take a slight tangent now. In this new world, who even decides what is average? How does one decide what is considered beautiful? These are things that you can't really define into simple little boxes, So my reaction / takeaway to this theme is really that we need to embrace beauty, embrace individuality.
Anyways, let's go onto the shocking ending and climax of the story, the revolt. I agree with Tyler - the beginning of that story didn't prepare me for that twist at all. (That's one of the things I hate about short stories; another is how they end so abruptly.) But I have to say, when he burst into the room, I got really excited like YES - speak brother! Demand your individuality! I don't know what Tyler's talking about when he speaks about this short but deep love between him and his Empress (you crazy, Tyty). I think Harrison was just at a breaking point in his insanity - an insanity brought upon by being a genius and simply aware of his circumstances, under a repressive state. I feel like he was at a point where he was just so desperate for the full experiences of everything he knew existed but never got to see, such as love, passion, art, beauty, etc. and he knew he had a 15-second window of opportunity and he wanted to seize it.
His death shocked me a little. It was quick and sudden. The end of the story left me feeling sad. Not really because of his death, but more so because of the implications of the government that I think Vonnegut was trying to convey. We as people are so fickle. If we don't take the time to process what is really going on around us, if we let ourselves get distracted by the noises in our ears (lives) or the targeted messages around us, we can as easily become mindless also.
I feel like Vonnegut really took on this dry, sarcastic tone when he wrote it and I loved it. For example, you can kind of see this in the description of the setting, where Mom and Dad Bergeron are sitting casually in their living room, watching television - I imagine, sipping tea. There's this irony of the normalcy of this setting despite having their only child literally stripped away from them, and the pure ridiculousness of what this world must have looked like where everyone wore masks and had weighted bags attached to them.
I thought it was also smart of Vonnegut to illustrate that beauty is not only in the physical things, but also in things like art - specifically in this story, dance and music. Again, outlining how ridiculous this is. I'm going to take a slight tangent now. In this new world, who even decides what is average? How does one decide what is considered beautiful? These are things that you can't really define into simple little boxes, So my reaction / takeaway to this theme is really that we need to embrace beauty, embrace individuality.
Anyways, let's go onto the shocking ending and climax of the story, the revolt. I agree with Tyler - the beginning of that story didn't prepare me for that twist at all. (That's one of the things I hate about short stories; another is how they end so abruptly.) But I have to say, when he burst into the room, I got really excited like YES - speak brother! Demand your individuality! I don't know what Tyler's talking about when he speaks about this short but deep love between him and his Empress (you crazy, Tyty). I think Harrison was just at a breaking point in his insanity - an insanity brought upon by being a genius and simply aware of his circumstances, under a repressive state. I feel like he was at a point where he was just so desperate for the full experiences of everything he knew existed but never got to see, such as love, passion, art, beauty, etc. and he knew he had a 15-second window of opportunity and he wanted to seize it.
His death shocked me a little. It was quick and sudden. The end of the story left me feeling sad. Not really because of his death, but more so because of the implications of the government that I think Vonnegut was trying to convey. We as people are so fickle. If we don't take the time to process what is really going on around us, if we let ourselves get distracted by the noises in our ears (lives) or the targeted messages around us, we can as easily become mindless also.
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