Harrison Bergeron Research Paper

Fourteen year old Harrison Bergeron is a passionate character that symbolizes equality in society during the year of 2081. Harrison rebels against the government in a way that shows how everyone in “Harrison Bergeron” was not absolutely equal. This community and its citizens has lost its rights after the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution. Everyone was not actually equal in the story since people could not use their own intelligence, express their true beauty, and display their strengths. The citizens were scared of the United States Handicapper General and they do not have the freedom to be themselves.

The story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt VOnnegut Jr. explores the idea of a perfect society. A life where you are completely oppressed to be like everyone else. A young boy known as Harrison Bergeron seeks to have change in society and for everyone to be free.

The main conflict of the story is between Harrison Bergeron and the government. Harrison disagrees with the government’s way of controlling and handicapping society, especially since he has been given several handicaps. Harrison does not believe one should be limited, however, he is

“Harrison Bergeron” is a story about Big Government forcing equality on citizens by the use of handicaps; in doing so they hold everyone back from their fullest potential. The year 2081 is oppressive to say the least; people are punished for being above average in intelligence, beauty, physical abilities or any variety of capabilities. No one is supposed to be more attractive, stronger, more intelligent or quicker than anyone else. The quest for egalitarianism is faulty; people who are born gifted are hindered by ridiculous weight bags, glasses to cause blindness and headaches, ear radios that send nerve racking noises every twenty seconds courtesy of a government transmitter and hideous masks are a few objects implemented to make

“Harrison Bergeron”, written in 1961, is set in the year 2081. It tells the story of a future America where human equality is forced through the use of rudimentary devices that handicap above average people. The story’s baseline for average is a fairly low one, and the collective dumbing down has produced a society with almost no attention span and very little independent thought.

Have you ever been told you can’t do something because you are too qualified? In Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” this is what America has turned into in 2081. Vonnegut uses characters in his story to show the effects of a truly “equal” society with what happens when they want everyone equal and what happens to some of their health. Some of the characters he uses are Harrison, George, and the ballerinas.

The desire to be different in a world full of people trying to be equal, is a challenge most people have encountered. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, the main character, or the character which the story is based upon, lives in a futuristic society, which the government has tried to make equal. Harrison is forbidden to use his above average intelligence and physic to stand out, or to become anything more than equal to the average person. The reader becomes aware that Harrison has been imprisoned due to rebellion against the government, which controls his every move or action. Harrison escapes from prison, breaks rules, and is ultimately killed for his actions. Harrison’s character development and desire to be different

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

Harrison Bergeron and Equality 7-2521 are both rule breaking outcasts in their dystopian societies. Already frowned upon for their physical and intellectual superiority, they both dare to be different by discovering alone (Equality 7-2521) and showing his true self (Harrison Bergeron). At the same time they are different because Harrison Bergeron’s society is a lot sctricter and taking his handicaps off unfortunately ended in his death. Both characters made many sacrafices but their courage and bravery has changed their societies

Imagine a world where everyone is equal and no one is stronger, faster, or smarter than anybody. Imagine a constitution were everyone is equal. The government makes everyone equal by making everyone handicap and no one is better stronger faster are smarter than anybody.In the story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut propaganda and utopian is used to control citizens so everyone is equal due to the 211th 212th and 213th Amendments.

In Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” the time period is set in the future all the way to 2081. At this time everyone in society is completely equal in every way. The more intelligent and better looking individuals had to have a handicap radio in their ear and weights around their necks, while the “average” people had nothing on them. Harrison, the main character of the story was taken by the H-G men at the age of fourteen. In the short story it shows how he is treated differently than the others and how he defied the government.

Harrison Bergeron was a satire of the policy of equality of outcome, a belief system that favors equality over equity, and McCarthyism. The story begins with the words, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” (Vonnegut, 1). The protagonist Harrison Bergeron is initially a victim of the laws implemented in this society, since he is depicted as an extremely handsome teenage genius. As a countermeasure to enforce equality, he was taken away from his parents and sent to prison. Harrison’s parents, George and Hazel, are watching ballerinas on TV when it is revealed that Harrison has escaped from prison. They show a picture of Harrison; he is forced to wear huge earphones as a mental handicap, a grotesque mask to cover up his face, and is covered in 300 pounds of metal He then bursts into a TV studio, rips off all of his handicaps, and declares himself emperor. He then says that the first woman to stand up will be his empress. After a ballerina stands up, Harrison takes off all of her handicaps and reveals a beautiful woman. Then, the pair began to dance, and in an act of defiance, “they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each

Harrison Bergeron is a 14 year-old boy, who lives in a dystopian society where everyone is "equal" because the control of the government. Harrison is a highly intelligent and gifted individual and is given handicaps in order to lower his standards and make him equal to the others. Harrison Bergeron is a threat to this society because he believes he is better than others in society, he will not be accepted, and he can doubt and seek changes that the government does not want.

Is Harrison Bergeron a hero or a danger to society. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. the main character Harrison is in an illusionistic society that portrays a utopia but is really a dystopia. This society believes that equality can be achieved through laws and amendments, hence the 213 amendments they have in the constitution. However Harrison believes that this is wrong because the world is limited education wise, and the Government issued handicaps to restrict people and ear radios used as handicaps to scatter thoughts.

Harrison Bergeron and the trailer 2081 are very similar and somewhat different. There are also elements of science fiction in these stories. Harrison Bergeron the short story was about how the government took over the people and try to make them equal with handicaps or restrictions. Comparing and contrasting stories and movies is important because the producer of the film changes parts of the book to create a difference for the audience.