Analysis Of Kurt Vonnegut 's ' Harrison Bergeron '

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. tells the story of a futuristic America where people who are given handicaps if they are better than other people in order to give complete equality to everyone. The main message of “Harrison Bergeron” is that everyone doesn’t have to be the same for them to be happy. In fact, when everyone is equal they are sadder because they don’t know what real life is like, and they are able to be controlled. Harrison and Phillippa demonstrate that being unique brings happiness as they take off their headbands and learn how wonderful life can be when they can express who they are.

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

There is no true definition of equality as there are many ways to interpret its meaning. Kurt Vonnegut defines equality as everyone being the same in terms of intelligence, looks, and athletic ability. This type of equality creates a society that cannot think or act on its own. The author creates a lifestyle that he believes would be contributable to today's society. Vonnegut uses examples of imagery and irony in his short story "Harrison Bergeron" to depict an overall theme of equality.

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

Kurt Vonnegut wrote a short story called “Harrison Bergeron.” This story takes place in a world where everyone is one hundred percent equal through restraining anyone with an above average natural anything. It start of with the George and Hazel Bergeron watching television. Then a strong and intelligent young man named Harrison Bergeron made the choice to appear on that broadcast and speak against the handicaps before getting shot by the Handicapper General. This story shows that individuality makes perfect equality an impossibility, because human nature can 't be suppressed.

“The story is a satire, a parody of an ideological society divorced from common sense reality” (Townsend). As Townsend stated Kurt Vonnegut makes a satire about society in his fictional short story Harrison Bergeron, which in their society there has been attempt of conformity through the handicaps of the people, the similarity to an authoritarian government, and the technology, whereas the people will eventually overcome.

When you look at it, the perfect society is what Russia was looking to achieve

The subject of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is equality. The theme of this short story is that society should make an effort to value individuality and fairness, in which everyone receives what they need to prosper, instead of universal equality. The forms used to elevate this subject and theme are point of view, syntax, characterization, irony, and humor.

Harrison Bergeron, a fourteen year old teenager believes that he can change this cruel new world into the world it used to be, but, the question is, is Harrison a hero or just another imposter like Diana Moon Glampers. In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, the author, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, discusses the year 2081 and the hardships everyone goes through just to be equal and fair to the less gifted folk. When Harrison Bergeron is first introduced, he seems like a hero to the people and the reader, but as the story progresses, the reader begins to see that all Harrison is trying to do is get the people’s attention and love so that they will rebel for him and soon he will gain control and become a dictator over the society.

In America’s future, corporate interests outweigh the desire of the individual. The individuals of the three stories are going by rules and doing things at their own risks. The writers of the three stories describe how individuals do things for society that outweigh the desire of themselves. The regular individuals in each story is like they are the target and the corps has every ability over everyone. They have no way to control it and is forced to go by whatever they say.

Through “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut J.r. illustrates his vision and hope for equality. For example in the text when George and Hazel were talking George says “The minute people start cheating laws, what do you think happens to society?” In this excerpt, George is saying that without equality society will fall apart and be destroyed, furthermore adding to the fact that violence is never the answer. In the text Harrison said “I am the Emperor! . . . Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once . . . she fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead.” Equality had some resistance from Harrison but he was stopped quickly. This is Kurt Vonnegut portraying equality as unstoppable

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a futuristic dystopian short story. It’s told by in an omniscient third person narrator that you get to notice by the objective the narrator is written by. The story takes place in 2081. Because of the amendments 211, 212 and 213 to the constitution, were every American made “equally” trough a physical and a mental handicap. Diana Moon Glampers, who is the Handicapper general, enforced the law.

Written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, ‘Harrison Bergeron’ explains a society with no political justice. As the text states, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They were equal every which way”. Nobody stood out or had the chance to be original. It was frowned upon to be prettier, stronger, or smarter. You were punished if you did exceed the normality. Life was boring for the citizens, but what was worse was their emotional and physical state because of this new civilization they lived in.

For this paper assignment I will be discussing the short story of Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The short story was published in 1961. I chose this short story out of all our readings because I found the story very interesting. When I was reading Harrison Bergeron, I read straight through it because the story drew me in and in the other readings I would usually take a few breaks as I was reading. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut uses humor to explore and exposes several problems that can happen if our current lifestyle gets out of hand. The problems that come up in the story are; how the government can try to control us, the problems of wanting total equality, and how technology can stop our growth as human beings.

A major theme I saw in the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was that he was showing us basically where the wish for equality in this current time will lead us to future problems. There were restrictions to make sure everyone was equal to one another along with laws that George explains to Hazel when she asks if they can take some of the weight out or even take the weights off of him while he is at home. He replies by saying how they would get a huge fine and he would be arrested if he got caught and that if he was doing it then others would and the result would be catastrophic. Many of the people were smarter and more athletic than the rest of the people so they were forced to wear contraptions which scattered their thoughts