Hi All,

Glad I found this msg board! I just finished reading my 13yr old niece's copy of "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld.

It is the first of three books set in a future where the people, through a massive disaster, now live in a controlled society where at 16 years of age one is transformed from an "ugly" into a "pretty". This structure eliminates any disadvantage people experienced due to the difference in their looks and the world is at peace.

I was reminded of a Ray Bradbury story in which anyone with a talent, or trait that sets them beyond the others, must wear some sort of homogenizing handicap: the strong man must carry heavy weights around.

Does anyone know the title of this story? I would like to return my niece's book to her along with a copy of the story, and "The White Mountains" by John Christopher.

Thanks for your help and knowledge!

Lena

The story you refer to is "Harrison Bergeron", I believe, but is by Kurt Vonnegut, not Bradbury.
Welcome to the Board, though, all the same!

Ahhh, the wonders of the internet. It's our handicap for actually going to the library!

You are 100%. "Harrison Bergeron" is exactly the story of which I was thinking, and here is a link to the text:
http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/hb.html

It also makes sense that it was Vonnegut, as I have consumed almost everything he has written, and only dipped a toe into Bradbury. It must have been my recent purchase of an illustrated Martian Chronicles that made me think Bradbury.

Thanks again for your excellent brain matter!

How many votes does that MAKE for "Harrison Bergeron"? As I've stated here before, when I told Bradbury that was the #1 story attributed to him which he didn't actually write, he was far from pleased.

Perhaps the question should not be, "How many", but "Why do people mistake Mr. Bradbury for the author of Harrison Bergeron?"

For me, I believe the reason would be that I read "Welcome to the Monkey House" concurrently with "Fahrenheit 451" at an impressionable time in my life.

I've also heard that he was not happy with Michael Moore and "Fahrenheit 911". I suppose it is only natural to feel strongly possessive of your work, and wish to not be mistaken for others.

Was Mr. Bradbury "far from pleased" because he did not like the story? or just did not like being mistaken for Kurt Vonnegut?

lenad: Mr. Vonnegut, another octogenarian still very keen at his craft, does not strike me as Bradburian, or vice versa. Vonnegut, for me, was always a bit more inclined to satirize and criticize with his stories and characterizations. Mr. Bradbury has always been the poetic storyteller of things that we have known or that may be awaiting us. Though he too has written many stories that cut neatly into social nerves.

Both have the gift of metaphor leaping from the tips of their pens, but each does so through a very different style and voice. KV's Trafalmadore is no Mars, Venus, or other alien locale of RB's. Their narrations also serve different purposes throughout their stories. (Admittedly, I haven't heard much on the relationship of these two grand writers.)

As for the big "2M," Mr. B "was not happy" is an understatement. Never one to mince words, RB called it as he saw it. But then, that is what he has done throughout his career! Admirable.

Just a friendly clarification:

I did not intend to imply I believe Bradbury's and Vonnegut's styles to be similar, or easily confused. They are quite different.

My confusion about the author stemmed from remembering only vague details of the Vonnegut story that I read several decades ago, and the recent purchase of a Bradbury novel.

Bradbury characterized Vonnegut as "a friend" but "negative" in outlook. He characterized Moore in terms best left unrepeated.

lenad: No, I took your post as you have implied. Interestingly, I read more Vonnegut while in college than I did RB. I had a keen interest in Mr. B in hs and then occasionally, but since the days of the white towers, it has been Green Town, Mars, Ireland, a white whale, firemen, dinosaurs, singed pumpkins, lightning rods, illustrations, and other countless stories, it seems, from which metaphors endlessly spring.

Mr. Vonnegut was interviewed on the Imus Show last week. Still quite a character. I was able to take in a presentation he offered at the college I attended. Though I have enjoyed his works and find them memorable, Ray Bradbury's are infectious and moving to the core, as many here have attested.

We hope you stay on and visit more often. What RB novel are you reading?

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
He characterized Moore in terms best left unrepeated.

Yeah - it starts with an "A", and ends with a...nevermind.