Equality, according to Dictionary.com, is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities; this is what societies think is the most vital part to having a great society. The societies in Anthem and "Harrison Bergeron" thought the same way as well, but later realized that it only led to their demise. Both Ayn Rand's novella, Anthem, and Kurt Vonnegut's story, "Harrison Bergeron," focus on the theme of equality, and it is apparent that the theme reveals that being different is wrong, that people are naturally different but are forced to be equal, and that equality is a barrier from individuality, which both suggests that everyone is naturally different; therefore, making the reader know that they should embrace rather than fear their differences among others. …show more content…
In Anthem’s dystopian society, “it is not good to be different from [their] brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them” (Rand 21), signifying that if members of the society are different from other members, they will threaten society for being able to distinguish themselves from others in their collectivist society and break the society’s philosophy of collectivism. Similarly, being different was also a threat in Vonnegut’s version of the United States in “Harrison Bergeron.” People in that society were all handicapped to make “nobody…smarter than anybody else, nobody…better looking than anybody else, [and] nobody…stronger or quicker than anybody else” (Vonnegut), which prevented people from having the advantage over others. Both societies have a same point-of-view on equality being a horrible thing but each have different ways of handling