Our Ironic World

In the dystopian short story, the author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. leaves behind some traces of irony, hinting a commentary about our present world. Some may believe that this is utopia,  but really it's neither utopia or dystopia. There are great things and terrible things in the world, and all those shades of grey. But really, we can't label anything without knowing the full picture. One example would be quite obvious, in the beginning of the story. This is when two of the characters, Hazel and George discuss about the old world (the story takes place in 2081). "“You been so tired lately--kind of wore out,” said Hazel. “If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. just a few.” “Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out,” said George. “I don’t call that a bargain.” “If you could just take a few out when you came home from work,” said Hazel. “1 mean you don’t compete with anybody around here. You just sIt around.” . “If I tried to get away with it,"’ said George, “then other people’d get away  it-and pretty soon We’d be right back to the dark ages I again, with everybody  against everybody else. You Wouldn't like that, would you?” “I’d hate it,” said Hazel. “There you are,” said George. “The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” If Hazel hadn’t been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn't  have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head.“Reckon it’d fall all apart,” said Hazel. " (Page 132-133). Vonnegut was explaining clearly what he thought of the world. It's true though; everyone's competing. We all compete with exams, sports, music, etc. It's just life right now is all about who can do it better and faster and who is left in the dust. Vonnegut shows that like there are bad things about the world, and that might lead to our downfall. However, what George doesn't mention is the wonderful things in the world. Making a comparison, I have concluded that what George says about the world and the handicaps are both the same. The handicaps limit people to their least level of potential, hiding their talents, and the quote shows that George is only limiting to the negatives, and nothing of the positives. In that way, both are similar, and what I believe Vonnegut was trying to get across was showcase your talents, never let they dry out or be hidden. You would realize everything you could have had if they were taken away. It's definetely worth fighting for.