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Harrison Bergeron Analysis

Decent Essays

Harrison Bergeron is an Icarus tale written by Kurt Vonnegut about a society where everyone is forced to be equal. This story takes place in 2081 where people have handicaps to create an environment where everyone has the same physical and mental capabilities. Harrison Bergeron is the main character who tries to overcome his oppressive society and be free. Harrison achieves his freedom, but it is short lived and he perishes soon after. This is almost identical to Ovid’s Icarus, where Icarus flies towards the sun to be free, but dies soon after. In the story Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut is warning the read not to dwell on insecurities because they trap people in negativity, cause people to lose sight of surroundings, and weigh people down.
Vonnegut uses the story to tell people that their insecurities can trap them in negativity. Vonnegut (1961) writes, “April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel's fourteen year old son” (lines 12-14). Early in the story, Harrison is taken away by the government for having such inconceivable physical and mental capabilities and locked in jail because of it. This is completely unethical seeing as they have violated his human rights and have weighed him down, they are attempting to trap Harrison because of his abilities, trapping him in this idea of being lesser because of his genes. Vonnegut (1961) also

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