Dystopian Literature Synthesis Essay Sample

Passion, a purpose that all individuals have. Passion is an objective humans live to achieve, but also a cause of hardships when not approved by others in society. Ayn Rand, the author of Anthem, Kurt Vonnegut, the author of “Harrison Bergeron”, and Van Pelt, the author of “Nor A Lender Be”  show that individuals must not be held down by the boundaries placed upon them by others and achieve what they want. The authors warn that we must break free of the restraints established by society if we wish to follow our own individual passions.

In Anthem, Rand shows that individual goals are the most important things to achieve. In the text, Equality follows his dream of inventing and learning, even though society forbids him from doing so. He agrees that he is “false in the faces of our brothers…and yet there is no shame in us and no regret…​​in our heart, there is the first peace we have known in twenty years” (Rand 9). He feels this way because he knows that what he is doing is what he was born to do, and continues doing it even after several punishments.  In doing so, Equality realizes that his beliefs are more important than the beliefs of his fellow men and leaves the community to follow his ambitions, just like humans must do in order to be happy. Once he leaves, he realizes that “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.”(Rand 101). He comes to this conclusion because he realizes that the only thing that can take an individual’s freedom away from them is other people in society. Through his journey, he better understands the power of individualism, and the purpose humans have in the world to achieve what they want, whether or not others allow it. He learns the importance of living freely, the way he wants to live, even if he has to struggle against the world to get to where he wants. However, unlike Equality’s simple path to follow his passion, society can also impose its will on individuals more forcefully.

In “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut shows the ways that groups can try to control individuals and shut down rebellious individuals, but also that they can break free. The people in the text were forced to wear items handicapping them to equalize everybody.

These handicaps were painful and forced people to be at the same level as the weakest person. For example, “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. (Vonnegut)” In this way, they were all forced to be under the control of the Handicap General because they were too weak and unintelligent to revolt and follow their individual passions. Yet, some people break free of their handicaps after understanding that they are being forced to lose their individual strengths through the use of these impediments. After realizing how he was losing his unique skills, “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet toilet paper, … straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds. (Vonnegut)” Harrison, though his fate ended violently, decided to break free of his handicaps to achieve what he wanted in his life and follow his passion. These physical handicaps represent the chains placed on people by society. The chains that weaken and force people to follow the path laid out by others instead of the individual fate they have. The chains that stop them from following their purpose and being truly happy. The punishments of breaking out of society’s grasp may be great, however, the rewards of following individual dreams are greater.

In “Nor A Lender Be”, Van Pelt demonstrates the happiness humans gain from their passions is greater than the many struggles they need to go through to follow them. Though William was banned from teaching and punished every time he broke his contract, he still continued to teach wherever he could. He did this because he “ didn’t care. He’d teach in a barn. He’d teach at a bus stop. Every concern dissolved in the face of students and the material (Van Pelt)”  because of the love he had for his craft. Teaching was more than his passion, it was a part of his personality. Stopping teaching was losing his happiness, and he could not do it. In fact, when he heard that he was being prevented from teaching, he could not even respond. His only response was, “They can’t do that (Van Pelt).” That is why even in danger of punishment, nothing could stop him from following his passion because for him, it was his purpose and the reason he lived and breathed. Passion is what makes us distinctive and what individuals must strive to achieve even if society tries to stop us from doing so.

Through their stories, Rand, Vonnegut, and Auden warn that we must break free of the restraints established by others if we wish to follow our own individual passions. They show how passions lead to true happiness. Though people may attempt to stop individuals from reaching their goals, they should escape the overbearing society they live in to have power over their own lives. People need to be their unique and skilled selves instead of being a disregarded part of a larger group. The unique differences and skills each individual possesses is what sets them apart. Once humans follow their conscience instead of the obsolete norms set upon them by others, they will achieve what they are meant to. Their purpose. Their objective. Their passion.