Examination Day by Henry Slesar Analysis Essay

📌Category: Literature
📌Words: 711
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 19 January 2022

All people want at the end of the day is to be free and respected. That’s why so many governments have been created to make sure everybody gets independence, and freedom of choice. Not every government has always been this way, however. The physical altercations of the Cold War weren’t necessarily the inspiration behind “Examination Day,” but the types of government arising in the world were. Totalitarian governments in the USSR were increasing the fear of a strict, controlling government. In the Dystopian short story, “Examination Day,” by Henry Slesar, children at the age of twelve are required to take a test mandated by the government. The test measures a child’s intelligence, and if the child scores too high, the government will kill them. The trends of government control and civilian fear are shown throughout the entirety of the short story. 

The control that parents and children have in the current society is left behind in the dystopian world that takes place in “Examination Day.” Throughout the story, governmental control is criticized through the lack of choice in childrens’ futures and the guiltiness felt for the child. On a child’s twelfth birthday, the government obliges that the child take part in a government exam. Most kids never learn what the exam is about, but they are told that the test is just a “government intelligence test they give children” (Slesar 1). The child or parent never gets to decide whether or not that child in particular will take the exam; they are forced to do it because it is what the government has decided all children must do. Apart from the fact that children do not get any choice in taking the exam, neither the parents nor the child gets to make the decision of whether or not the child lives after the exam. If the child is considered “too smart” for the government, they are killed. After Dickie finishes his test, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan recieve a phone call informing them that Dickie’s  “intelligence quotient is above government regulation” (4). Due to his cleverness, Dickie is eliminated by the government, just like many children before him. Dickie’s fate leaves a sense of mourning with the reader. The government is essentially controlling how smart every citizen is, and punishing them for it. It doesn’t matter what the child’s situation is, their exam score will define their future. The instances convey how much control the government has over its citizens; as well as give the reader reasons to feel guilty for the children in these circumstances. As the reader feels more and more guilty for the victim, less and less remorse is felt for the offender, the government. The actions of the government give reason for governmental control to be criticized.

Civilian fear is criticized through the feelings of Dickie’s parents. Whenever Mrs. Jordan first mentions the exam, it causes “[Mr. Jordan] to answer sharply” (1). Just the thought of the exam makes Dickie’s parents tense up and become anxious. Their reactions to the mention of the exam indicate that they are worried about Dickie’s future, and are fearful of what the government has in store for their son. Dickie’s parents live in constant fear that their son will be killed for the way they raised him. Not only does the suspense of the exam make Mr. and Mrs. Jordan nervous, the actual result is excruciatingly painful. When Dickie’s mom finds out about Dickie’s death, she “[cries] out, knowing nothing except the emotion she [reads] on her husband’s face” (4). Mrs. Jordan’s reaction is important, because it really makes her emotion and her situation seem real. Much like the child being killed, her reaction is so powerful, it makes the reader detest the strategy of implementing so much fear into its citizens; the citizens who are just trying to live their life. Everything about the way the government is ruling over people is a malicious way to treat others. The government spreads fear amongst its citizens, and it really makes their approach of ruling very sickening.

Taking everything into account, it is very obvious how government control and citizen fear is denounced through the actions of the government, and the feelings of the characters. Thankfully, the government in “Examination Day” is very far from the governments that exist today. While some still have their negatives, most have developed into a somewhat fair, and just government. Even though that may be how it is now, who knows what the future governments have in store. Perhaps the current world may somehow evolve into a government where people are killed because they are too smart.

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