The Effect of Martyrdom on Society Throughout history, ordinary people rise to power, only to coerce or ruin a society and its morals . There are also some who stand up and fight back. In stories as in real life, these “heroes” who fight back usually end up dead. Even today, the sacrifice of a martyr is essential in most changes in society. An example of martyrdom in today's literature is illustrated by the short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron." In this story, a society is governed by "disabilities" in order to "equalize" citizens, but this equality bar has been set low. So overall society has been brought down to a very low level. Harrison Bergeron was different, however. Diana Moon Glampers, the general handicapper, attached various objects to him, in order to make his appearance grotesque. But that didn't matter to Harrison. Despite his handicaps, he loudly displays his vision of freedom and it is for this reason that he is imprisoned. The regime knew he was smart and that scared them. After escaping from prison, he dances with a ballerina, both freed from their handicap. That's when Diana Moon Glampers burst into the room, killing the ballerina and Harrison on live television. Their deaths were quickly forgotten, due to mental disability, limiting their memory and their capacity for intelligence. Their deaths were not in vain, however. They achieved true freedom, something no one had ever achieved before. The most common martyr in history would be Jesus of Nazareth, who is the basis of Christianity. He claimed to be the “king of the Jews” and was later imprisoned for this little statement. They mutilated him until he could barely stand and finally crucified him. They forced him to...... middle of paper ......ster. His father was the only member of the family to survive and returned to the annex after the war ended. While searching in the annex, her father found her diary in which she wrote down everything that had happened over time. He published it and sold millions of copies around the world. He refused to let his daughter die in vain. She showed that even in the shadow of death, we can be a light of happiness. This indicates that without sacrifice, personal freedom is unachievable. Throughout history, man has been mistreated in one form or another. During these difficult times, at least one person stood up for their beliefs and helped others do the same. The U.S. Constitution states that man has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This notion, of course, was aroused at the expense of many martyrs willing to give for such a cause..