Equality Essay

Wesley Dent

Mr. Horner

February 13, 2015

Literature

The Novel Theme of Equality

            The theme of equality appears in novels and in real life. In books, short stories, and news stories about different countries in war, equality can be seen and identified. As the Declaration of Independence states, “All men are created equal.” In some cases, this is false. In the selected novels, Animal Farm, The Crimson Cap, and Harrison Bergeron, one will learn about Animal Farm’s equality failure, The Crimson Cap’s success with equality in some cultures, and Harrison Bergeron’s attempt to set up equality.

Equality in Animal Farm is a major aspect in the story. After the animals take over the farm, the pigs establish rules for the animals, one of them being, “All animals are equal.” Throughout the story, the rules fall apart and the pigs start to rule over the other animals. In the end, all of the rules are removed except for one, which reads, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Napoleon rules the animals and all signs of equality are gone. Orwell is known to have hated a famous communist named Karl Marx, who wrote about equality in several documents. Orwell wrote Animal Farm to show that, in his opinion, communism, an economic system based on equality of ownership, would fail.

            Equality in The Crimson Cap appears where ever the protagonist, Pierre, is taken. At first, Pierre is with the French. They treat him like a child, do not give him much respect, make him walk, and blame him for everything. La Salle, the leader of the expedition, is given a horse to ride, plenty of food to eat, and clean clothes to wear. While Pierre is with the Indians, he is treated like everyone else. He gets clean clothes, plenty of food, hospitality from the female Indians, training from the male Indians, education, a house with a bed, and a river for bathing. Even the chief Indian is treated like everyone else. When Pierre is taken by the Spanish, they throw him in jail and give him no respect, but they let him go, even though he is French. Even though Orwell wrote about the failures of basing a culture on equality, the Indians were around for thousands of years with some communities based on equality.

            Equality in Harrison Bergeron is what the story is about. The government does not let anyone have any advantages; for example, if someone can run faster than someone else, they put weights on them to slow them down. All of the common people have to be equal, but the government is given more than the common people. The quote from Animal Farm works in this case, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Rebellion is a key factor in this short story. Harrison Bergeron, a rebellious teenager, stands up for what is right and is killed in the process. He spreads the message about the unfair rules the government set up. The people have this message ringing in their ears. Bergeron’s goal was to make them rebel against the government. This act against equality is the start of a revolution.

            Equality in these books is expressed in different ways. In the books Animal Farm and Harrison Bergeron, equality is more obvious and is the main aspect of the story. The Crimson Cap, however, is a non-fiction book; the main aspect of the story is not equality, but how people in real life dealt with differences among classes.  These books show that equality can be seen differently in history and in fiction; by people required to conform and those who want to rise above the expense of others. Equality can be positive, yet destructive at the same time.