STUDY GUIDE: POWER AND DYSTOPIAS UNIT TEST
This test will cover the following texts from our unit study of Power and Dystopias:
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“American dystopia more reality than fiction” (CBS News article)
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Anthem by Ayn Rand (novel)
“Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd (song)
“Uprising” by MUSE (song)
“The Phone Knows All” (TIME Magazine article)
There will be 72 questions, total, on this test. The majority of these will be true/false and multiple-choice questions.
There will be two questions that ask you to analyze some quotes (given in this study guide) from Anthem and one
question that asks you to write a paragraph response to a given question. I have listed the # of questions on the test
next to each specific section on this study guide.
To prepare for the test, you should re-familiarize yourself with these texts. Be sure to study what the main idea or
claim of the text is as well as how the text applies to our study of power and dystopias. In other words, answer the
question: why did we read this text in this unit?
“American dystopias more reality than fiction” and “The Phone Knows All” News Articles (1 question)
For these texts, consider the 4 A’s:
AUDIENCE: Who does the author think the article is being written for? Who stands to learn something from the content of
the article?
AGREE: What do you agree with in this article?
ARGUE: What do you want to argue with in this article?
ASSUMPTIONS: What assumptions does the article make about it’s audience or its content?
Also, be able to relate these articles to our study of dystopias. How do these articles present a version of a dystopian
society?
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (15 questions)
Look over the main characters from the short story:
Harrison Bergeron
Harrison Bergeron is the fourteen-year-old son of George and Hazel Bergeron. He is above average in many respects: he is
seven feet tall, highly intelligent, and extraordinarily handsome, athletic, strong and brave. Furthermore he is willing to live
as a full human being and does not want to obey the laws of the Government, who have taken upon themselves the
responsibility of creating "equality" for the whole American society.
George Bergeron
George Bergeron is Harrison’s father and Hazel’s husband. He is a very smart and sensitive character but he is handicapped
artificially by the Government. Just as his son, he has to wear mental handicap radios in his ears which keep him from
thinking intensely and analytically. Because he is stronger than the average man, he has to wear weights around his neck.
He wants to obey the laws of the Government and is not willing to risk the punishment for a little comfort. He believes that
the situation in 2081 is better than it had been back in the days when there was still competition in society.
Hazel Bergeron
Hazel Bergeron is Harrison’s mother and George’s wife. Hazel has a perfectly average intelligence which means that she
cannot think deeply about anything. Helpless as she is, she is still a very sweet and well intentioned character. She is a
loving wife and mother. In the end all of her kindness does not count because her stupidity outruns her good intentions.
Diana Moon Glampers (The Handicapper General)
Despite appearing in person for only four sentences, Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers represents the oppressive
government. It is mentioned early on that Hazel resembles Diana, and Hazel mentions improvements she would make to
Diana's handicap regulations. She shows a bitter ruthlessness.
Ballerina
A beautiful dancer who was burdened with an especially ugly mask and excessive weights ("as big as those worn by two
hundred pound men"), as she is the fairest, most beautiful and most graceful of the dancers.
Be able to answer the following questions:
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How is the society in this story considered a dystopia?
How are the people in this society being oppressed or controlled?
Who is controlling or oppressing the society in the story?
Why do the restraints and handicaps not work on Harrison Bergeron?
Why is the “average intelligence” of Harrison’s mother (Hazel Bergeron) considered desirable by the Handicapper
General’s society?
What happens at the end of the story?
How are beautiful people handicapped in this society?
Why is competition seen as a negative aspect of society in this story?
What commentary about our current society is this story making?
Anthem by Ayn Rand (48 questions, including 2 quote analysis questions)
This will be the largest section of the test. Be able to define the following terms/ people/ places, etc in relation to the story.
This means you should understand the significance and the “who/ what/ when/ where/ why” of the listed item. For any
people listed, know their occupation, approximate age, and any physical descriptors we are given.
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Palace of Corrective Detention
Union 5-3992
International 5-8818
Council of Vocations
“Street Sweeper”
Unmentionable Times
The Tunnel
The Forest
The meaning of the title: “Anthem”
Liberty 5-300 (The Golden One)
The Unspeakable Word
The Home of the Useless
The Unconquered
The Saint of the Pyre
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The World Council of Scholars
The Palace of Mating (eugenics)
Prometheus/Gaea
The City Theater
The Candle (when was it developed, according to this society?)
Also, be prepared to be given quotes from the novel and explain their significance as well as how they are representative of
the dystopian nature of the society in Anthem.
Look at the following quotes from Anthem. Be able to explain how the quote helps to further the concept of a dystopian
society (in the novel) and be able to explain a possible commentary that is being made about our current society (think back
to our work with the film trailers for this part).
A. “We blew out the candle. Darkness swallowed us. There was nothing left around us, save night
and a thin thread of flame in it, as a crack in the wall of a prison.”
B. “Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past . . . but when the
majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas, as all men
must.”
C. “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper
no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own.
And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone”
D. “The shoulders of our Brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were
shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight.”
“Comfortably Numb” and “Uprising” (songs) (1 question)
Look over your TAPS handouts for these songs:
TOPIC: What is the song about?
AUDIENCE: To whom is the song directed? Who would benefit from listening to the song?
PURPOSE: Why was the song written? What purpose does it serve?
SIMILARITY: How does this song reflect a similar concept or thought as our other dystopian stories/texts?
Be familiar with how the songs are representative of a dystopia as well as what evidence from the song your could give
to back up a claim that these songs portray dystopian concepts.
Unit Vocabulary Words (7 questions—one for each word)
1. Utopia: an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.
2. Dystopia: an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or
environmentally degraded one.
3. Chimerical: unreal; imaginary; visionary; wildly fanciful; highly unrealistic.
4. Mediocre: of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
5. Preeminent: famous and respected above or before others; superior; surpassing; distinguished, peerless,
supreme.
6. Adherence: steady devotion, support, allegiance, or attachment.
7. Gravitate: to move to, to tend to move to, typically under the influence of gravitational force.