In this
futuristic dystopian society, everyone is "made" equal through the use of handicaps
that hinder their talents and abilities. So, good dancers are given weights to keep them from
being graceful. Beautiful singers are told to sing horribly. Tall people are weighed down, and
intelligent people are shot with loud bursts of noise to keep them from thinking straight.
These handicaps also apply to announcers. Typically, television announcers get the job because
they can speak well, fluently, quickly and elegantly. However, in Vonnegut's future, he writes
thatas the announcers come on the air with a bulletin,
"It wasn't clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer,
like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment."
He goes on to describe that it took the announcer so long to stutter out "Ladies
and Gentleman" that he just gave up and had a ballerina read the bulletin instead. So, if
you have a serious speech impediment, like stuttering, you were given the job of announcer.
That way, you don't make anyone feel bad because you are too eloquent or well-spoken.
I hope that helped; good luck!
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