The Dystopian Character Analysis
Essay
The Introduction
1)Hook
2)Mention author and title of work
3)Two to three sentences which discuss the
how the society the character lives in is
dystopian
4)Thesis statement : indicates that the essay
will cover how the dystopian society forces
your main character to change
Go
The Hook
A) This essay will be about Harrison Bergeron in
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
B) The book is called Harrison Bergeron by Kurt
Vonnegut
C) In the novel, Harrison Bergeron, Kurt
Vonnegut introduces his dystopian
protagonist, Harrison Bergeron.
A
B
C
Sentence C
In the novel, Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut
introduces his dystopian protagonist, Harrison
Bergeron.
This sentence correctly introduces the title, the
author and the subject matter. It does not use the
“purpose” statements of the previous examples nor
does it use the words “essay”, “topic” or “paper”.
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2) Mention two to three Statements
about the Character.
a)
Harrison is a misunderstood guy who is picked on by
people in his society. He tries to show others how the
Handicapper General is a bully.
b)
In spite of strict rules against being unequal, Harrison
steps out into the world to show others the evil of
equality enforcement. Harrison struggles to show the
world the truth of the Handicapper General before she
can destroy him.
A
B
Option A
Harrison is a misunderstood guy who is picked on by people
in his society. He tries to show others how the
Handicapper General is a bully.
This sentence is too informal for formal essay
writing. The sentence is too vague to be specific to
Harrison (it could be a statement about anyone) and
also does not help the reader understand more
about Harrison’s dystopian society.
Back
Option B
In spite of strict rules against being unequal, Harrison steps out into the world
to show others the evil of equality enforcement. Harrison struggles to
show the world the truth of the Handicapper General before she can
destroy him.
These sentences show a good understanding of
Harrison in general. They offer general motivation for
his actions (the danger of equality) and it hints at the
oppression of the Handicapper General . The last
sentence does a good job of preparing the reader for
the thesis statement.
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3) Thesis statement
A) He is a good guy that has to do bad things.
B) Harrison Bergeron breaks free from the ideal
that individuality is bad so that he can show
the world that controls of the Handicapper
General are dystopian.
C) I’ll talk to you about how Harrison changes.
A
B
C
Thesis A
He is a good guy that has to do bad things.
This thesis is vague and though it
does show us that Harrison has to
change. Also, it does not show us
that the writer has any real
knowledge of the story.
Back
Thesis B
Harrison Bergeron breaks free from the ideal that
individuality is bad so that he can show the world
that controls of the Handicapper General are
dystopian.
This is a good thesis; it states that
Harrison has to “break free” or
change and is simple and to the
point!
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Thesis C
I’ll talk to you about how Harrison changes.
This thesis uses first person (never used in
formal essays) and does not mention the
dystopian characteristics. It is too
informal and sounds as if the writer is
“chatting” with us.
Back
The First Body Paragraph:
Dystopian Society
1) Topic sentence: name the characteristics of the
dystopian society
2) Introduce quotation and then insert quotation
3) Explain how quotation supports your point
4) State second characteristic of a dystopian society.
5) Introduce quotation and then insert quotation
6) Explain how quotation supports your point
Go
Topic Sentence
1) One of the dystopian characteristics is that a
concept is worshipped.
2) There are a lot of dystopian characteristics.
3) In Harrison Bergeron, the citizens worship
the concept of equality and have their
independent thoughts restricted.
A
B
C
Topic Sentence A
One of the dystopian characteristics is that a
concept is worshipped.
This topic sentence only states one of the
dystopian characteristics. Because you’re
talking about one or more, the topic
sentence needs to mention all that you will
be discussing.
Back
Topic Sentence B
There are a lot of dystopian characteristics.
This topic sentence does not actually
mention any of the dystopian
characteristics. It is too vague to be a
strong topic sentence.
Back
Topic Sentence C
In Harrison Bergeron, the citizens worship the
concept of equality and have their
independent thoughts restricted.
This topic sentence is perfect; it is
short but also mentions all of the
dystopian characteristics.
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2) Introduce quotation and then insert
quotation
a)
b)
c)
The following quote, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His
thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm."
(Vonnegut 1) proves independent thought is restricted.
In the book it says, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His
thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.”
While watching TV, George tried to remember his son
Harrison, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts
fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm. ” (Vonnegut
1).
A
B
C
Intro quotation #1
The following quote, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His
thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm."
(Vonnegut 1) proves independent thought is restricted.
It is not good practice to write
“following quote”. It is not a smooth
quotation integration. You should
also not use the word “prove’ with
literature.
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Intro quotation #2
In the book it says, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His
thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.”
First, you should use the word “novel”, not
“book”. Also, you will notice “it” doesn’t
actually refer to anything and is a vague
reference. It’s also missing the
parenthetical reference (last name of
author plus page number in parenthesis)
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Intro quotation #3
While watching TV, George tried to remember his son
Harrison, “A buzzer sounded in George's head. His
thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.”
(Vonnegut 1).
This is a good introduction to the
quotation because it offers context
(information about the quotation)
and is still a complete thought with
the quotation.
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3) Explanation
A) This quote proves that citizens live in a dystopia
in 2081.
B) The restriction of independent thought is proven
due to the fact George hears noises in his ears.
C) George’s inability to concentrate due to the
mental handicaps he has to wear shows that the
Handicapper General is restricting independent
thought by distracting George from
concentrating on any idea for too long.
A
B
C
Explanation A
This quote proves that citizens live in a dystopia
in 2081.
Notice that this explanation does not actually explain
why the quotation illustrates a dystopian society.
The writer leaves it up to the reader to figure out
why. The writer also used “proves” which is not an
appropriate term for English ( you can “prove” a
math equation, but not a literary opinion)
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Explanation B
The restriction of independent thought is proven
due to the fact George hears noises in his ears.
While this is slightly better than the first
explanation, it does not explain very well; why
does hearing noises restrict independent
thought? Also, the phrase, “due to the fact” is
unnecessarily complicated and should be
simpler.
Back
Explanation C
George’s inability to concentrate due to the mental handicaps he has
to wear shows that the Handicapper General is restricting
independent thought by distracting George from concentrating
on any idea for too long.
This explanation points out the context
of the quotation and shows how it
supports George is distracted from
his thoughts.
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Last,
4) State second characteristic of a dystopian society or mention
that this is another example.
5) Introduce quotation and then insert quotation
6) Explain how quotation supports your point
After you state the second characteristic of a
dystopian society, you repeat the previous
process: introduce the quotation, insert the
quotation, and explain how the quotation
supports your point.
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Sentence B
• The book is called Harrison Bergeron by Kurt
Vonnegut.
Like Sentence A, this sentence lacks creativity and
imagination. The purpose of the “hook” is to draw the
reader in. This sentence not only incorrectly calls it a
“book” instead of a NOVEL, it does not really help the
reader understand what the essay will be about!
Back
Sentence A
• This essay will be about Harrison Bergeron in
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.
This opening “hook” is too obvious a purpose
statement. It is neither interesting nor does it
grab the reader’s attention. The purpose of the
“hook” is to draw the reader in with a thoughtprovoking idea. Just stating what the essay will do
lacks imagination and interest.
Back
For the Dystopian Controls,
You’d follow the exact same procedure: state the
control, introduce a quotation and then insert
the quotation, and then explain it. State the
second control or second example, introduce
the quotation and then insert the quotation,
and then explain it.
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Concluding Paragraph
This paragraph should include the following:
• a restatement of the character and character traits,
using some of the original language or language
that "echoes" the original language. (The
restatement, however, must not be of the first
sentence of your essay.)
• a summary of the main points from the body of the
essay.
• a final statement that gives the reader signals that
the discussion has come to an end. (This final
statement may be a "call to action" in a persuasive
essay.)
Concluding Paragraph
Restatement
Talon, in Neal Shusterman’s novel Downsiders,
is a responsible and thoughtful young man who must
overcome his impulsive and combative nature in
order to lead his people out of the darkness and into
the light. Shusterman wants the reader to feel Talon’s
frustration as he has to overcome the betrayal of a
Summary
friend, the corruption of a government and the
reluctance of his people to leave their homes for the
unknown. Talon sacrifices everything showing the
reader that the journey from childhood to adulthood is
full of difficult decisions that lead to the eventual
letting go of childish ways.
Final statement
Notes on the Conclusion
• For the conclusion, it is always best to avoid “I”.
• Many of you may write “I think______ is” when
you could simply write “_______ is _____
because.”
• Using I, you or we is not appropriate for formal
writing.