Harrison Bergeron

Harrison’s physical appearance by itself would overwhelm the rest of society. Just by seeing Harrison, one could sense his overwhelming amount of attributes by his impressive amount of handicaps. Harrison mental capacity is impressive as well, he is able to override his earphones that the H-G men has put on him. Vonnegut allows the reader to notice that Harrison has more to offer to the world, yet society is applying handicaps to hold him down and take away all his attributes. In this sense, Harrison represents the difference between every individual, he is the only one with the courage to stand up to his society where the government controls all aspects of total equality because everyone else is too

Author Kurt Vonnegut suggests that total equality is not something worth striving for. To obtain physical and mental equality among all citizens, the government makes beautiful people wear masks, intelligent people listen to noises that block their abilities to think, and graceful and strong people wear weights around their necks at all times. While equality may be achieved, freedom is the price to pay.

Picture a society, far in the future, where everyone, by government control, must be on the same level. Would this be Hell or a utopia? This is the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”. In this society, the gifted, strong, and beautiful are required to wear multiple handicaps of earphones, heavy weights, and hideous masks. In turn, these constraints leave the world equal, or arguably devoid of, from brains to brawn to beauty. With the constant push for equality among all people, Vonnegut reveals a world that society is diligently working toward. “Harrison Bergeron” is written as a form of satire with heavy irony, to demonstrate the clear difference between equity and equality in society. “Harrison Bergeron” is

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” Kurt Vonnegut portrays Aristotle’s philosophy brilliantly in his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” The story depicts the American government in the future mandating physical handicaps in an attempt to make everyone equal. Vonnegut describes a world where no one is allowed to excel in the areas of intelligence, athletics, or beauty. Yet, the inequalities among the people shine even brighter. Vonnegut uses satire to explore the question of whether true equality can ever really exist.

Others might say that people like Harrison Bergeron are also treated like him, I say that some people that are above average is treated differently. I say this by how George, in the story, was wearing a handicap too but he was not considered a criminal and disrespected by other citizens. Therefore, everyone in the story was not equal to each other, by how they were treated differently.

The only thing preventing Harrison from success; was the only true thing that ensures equality - the firearm, which Diana Moon Glampers just happened to have. That is why it is nicknamed “the Great Equalizer;” because strength or speed are no match for a speeding bullet. The firearm does not enforce equality in the same way as enforced as in the society in “Harrison Bergeron,” it strengthens the individual rather than weakening them. Ironically, Glampers manipulates this, allowing a frail little woman (suggested by her odd name), to stand up to a strong, brolic man, proving this hindrance is inherently unequal.

Harrison Bergeron is a valuable story that has underlying themes, which are very relevant in our current society. The theme of equality can be seen throughout the book, and it is the principle that is enshrined in America’s constitution now, whereby they claim that all men are equal. Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates the issue of equality in a Utopian society. Vonnegut in his story, cautions Americans on the dangers of creating a truly equalitarian society, whereby citizens go to an extent of sacrificing their freedom, and individuality to the state, to create a place where all people are equal. Vonnegut creates a society whereby, all people are made equal. The beautiful are forced to wear hideous masks to disfigure their beauty, those considered intelligent are to wear radio calls, and ear splitting noises that are supposed to impede their thinking, and the strong are forced to wear weights around their necks throughout the day. The author uses masks, and the weights as symbols to symbolize

"If I tried to get away with it, then other people'd get away with it—and soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again…" This statement by George Bergeron sums up Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s short story "Harrison Bergeron" in one line. "Harrison Bergeron" is the story of a futuristic United States in the year 2081, where all individuals are made equal regardless of what their natural born characteristics were. They are made equal both mentally and physically, all to the same measure of intelligence and strength. In "Harrison Bergeron" the society has become apathetic and equally conformed because of the power of the Handicapper General, the forced use of handicaps, and the people within the society who continued to let

One characteristic of the human spirit it the idea of equality. Humans strive for equality through every aspect of life. In “Harrison Bergeron” the author takes the idea of equality, and takes it one step further. Everyone has handicaps so they are all of the same status. For example, George Bergeron has a mental handicap. “Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantages of their brain.” (par. 3) This shows that the people of this society believe that solely being smart is unequal to those who are not as academically strong. This quotations is just one example of the handicaps that were used in “Harrison Bergeron”. One more instance of equality is how far the authority in the story will go to achieve this equality. At the end of the story, the ones who disobeyed were

In society, it is perceived as peculiar to act different than everyone else; to go against the norm is against the rules, in a way. In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, George and Hazel Bergeron’s son gets the ultimate punishment for wanting to be different. Breaking the chains of his “handicaps” such as weights hung around his neck and glasses with thick distorted lenses, Harrison Bergeron tried to persuade a small group at a television station to remove their handicaps as well. He had just escaped from prison and called himself the Emperor. For breaking the many laws of equality established before the current year 2081, Harrison was shot and killed instantly, right in front of his parents who were watching

Even though many may believe that thanks to the handicaps, everyone was equal, I strongly disagree with that. The first reason I believe that the society they lived in was not equal because in the text it says “nobody had ever been born with heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could make them up.” which shows that they weren't actually equal because the handicaps didn't really work on harrison, because no matter handicaps Harrison had, he was still able to outgrow then which meant that he always had more power than everyone else no matter what handicaps they made him wear.

Due to this, the people of “Harrison Bergeron” are unequal because the gifted had both figurative, and physical

Vonnegut's, short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, portrays Harrison as a considerate, ignored hero but also an outsider, standing up for the people’s and his rights. Vonnegut made it clear that Harrison’s appearance and beliefs are portrayed negatively to others, while the equipment used on him and others, but also the responses from him and to the handicap generals, ballerinas, and news reporters have made them get a wrong

In “Harrison Bergeron,” it becomes clear very soon that the society depicted in the story does not favor exceptional human qualities of any kind, be they related to intelligence, physical ability, or outward appearance. For instance, as the Bergeron family watches a ballet dance recital, the manner in which they determine which dancer is the best-looking is by the “hideousness” of the mask that the dancer is forced to wear. As the excerpt reads: “’Ladies and Gentlemen,” said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by the two hundred pound men” (Vonnegut n/a). When examining this passage through a Marxist theoretical lens, it becomes clear that Vonnegut is

What makes you unique? Your looks? Your opinions? Your wisdom? Now, imagine living in a society where you are not allowed to stand out and you are forced to be like everyone else. The short story Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut, displays a society in which people have to adapt their qualities, such as appearance and intelligence, to fit equal standards. The reader experiences a day in the lives of George Bergeron, a man with an above average intelligence, who is forced to lower his mental capacity to the level of average people like his wife, Hazel Bergeron. The laws and standards in this society are created and controlled by an association called The United States Handicapper General. The author’s message in the book is that total equality