General Handicappers

These are both traits adopted by the citizens as a product of propaganda. This is shown in paragraph 3 of page two when George responds to Hazels remark about how she would change the sounds in his mental handicap to only chimes on sunday by saying that “Then I could think.” This shows that George has accepted that he shouldn’t be allowed to think. Since George seems to be at least some degree of intelligence by today’s standards, there is no way that he would accept that he shouldn’t think unless he has been systematically brainwashed and conditioned by the government to believe, essentially, that it is wrong to be talented. This is also presented on page two paragraph 11 when George states (in relation to the 47 pound bag of birdshot around his neck) that “ I dont notice it anymore. It’s just a part of me.” This shows that George is not only accepting, but almost approving of the restrictions imposed upon him. If he had wanted to be rid of hid government issued handicap then he would have at thought about Hazel’s proposition, or at very least hesitated, but he immediately tells her that it isn’t even an option, and that he doesn’t even want to be free from his crutches. This would not be his opinion if he hadn’t been brainwashed by the government’s

Yet it also demonstrates that he is following the handicap general rules because he doesn’t want to go back to the dark ages where everyone needed to compete and was better than one another one. As states in the reading, “If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people’d get away with it-and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that would you?” (Vonnegut 2)

Based on what I read, it says “every few seconds, a transmitter would make a sharp sound to stop George from thinking”, “That was a pretty dance, Hazel said”, and “George toyed with the idea of ballerinas shouldn’t be handicapped.” This is significant by the reason is that in twenty seconds, George was still able to think of how the ballerinas should not be handicapped when he has handicaps stopping him from thinking a few seconds later. As for Hazel, all she can think of was how the ballerinas dance beautifully. While others may believe that handicaps can control and maintain people to be equal, what they should think about is about the intelligence each person has. For example, George is above average and is able to have the advantage to think of many things.CONCLUSION

The irony behind it is that if everyone is the same in intelligence and capabilities who can enforce the laws, one person is in fact higher than everyone else and that is the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. George and Hazel’s son, Harrison, was put in jail by Diana herself for his uniqueness and wants to overthrow the government. Later on in the passage Hazel states, “I don’t care if you’re not equal to me for awhile,”(36). This is quite absurd and in ways this thought of equality has been embedded into their brains as if more of a law and customs than wants. This also reflects the irony which later on in the story their son, Harrison escapes prison and breaks all his handicaps. The ballerina describes Harrison in a very absurd and ironic way, she states, “ … He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous,” (37). Mind you Harrison is only 14, he is in fact almost a prodigy and his intelligence is a threat to the government but to enforce equality he is considered a

To achieve equality, the government denies it’s citizens their freedom and expression while torturing them in the process. The intelligent, strong, and beautiful are forced to hinder their attributes by wearing handicaps. Since George is considered one of the bright, he is required to wear a handicap radio in his ear: “Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains” (Vonnegut 1). Meanwhile, the athletic and attractive are paying for having an upper hand as well: “They were burdened with sash weights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, … something the cat drug in” (Vonnegut 1). Having an advantage is the opposite because the government realizes it is more attainable to

By allowing the government to pass over 200 amendments to the constitution they are tolerating their lives being run for them. Without voting against these amendments or trying to repeal them they have gotten to a point where there is now nothing they can do to go back and change things. "They were equal in every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else." These were the laws that were passed in the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the "Constitution." As of now, in 2005, our society has 27 Amendments. To think of having over 200 is unfathomable. The society is apathetic and content with being "average." They don't revolt or vote against these injustices, they accept them. "Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on." It is obvious that the people can remove their handicaps, they do have control over them, but they choose not to, even in private. Hazel tries to get George to take out a few of the "lead balls" because he has been "so tired lately – kind of wore out." Yet, he won't he has been programmed to obey the law by any means. By not taking off the handicaps, the society and the people in it have perpetuated the actions taken by the government and those in charge.

Each time period had people with different views of disability and ways of treating those with disabilities. For example, early European colonists in 1492-1700 had a definition for disability that discussed productivity in regards to things such as class and gender. For children who were born with disabilities, the women were always blamed. For the time period of 1700-1776, slaves who had "undesirable bodies" were left to die. After that until 1865, African and indigenous women compared to white women were compared to animals and viewed negatively due to their features. Each time period had people who viewed disabilities in different capacities and took

The handicaps are based on what the individual citizens is better at and what they are not. For example, George one of the characters in the story, for whom is very intelligent and sharp. Because, he’s so intelligent his handicap has to be a device that has a loud distinct beep that disturbs his train of thought every twenty minutes. George also has a bag of lead balls that weigh him down. The irony of the so call handicaps is that the people of this nation like George will get use to their handicaps. After a while a person will get use to the weight and learn to think faster than twenty seconds

demonstrates how good intentions of the government are slowly used to manipulate people in society. One way the idea of manipulation is shown in the story is when the Handicapper General (H-G) Men takes away perceived people to be better than anyone else, to prison for a potential revolution and give little care for it by the handicaps put on them. As Vonnegut tells us, “ And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard.”(Vonnegut Jr. 1). In the extract, the author explained that the government would take action to potentially avert danger in any way; but presents the oppressive government exerting their power to kidnap Harrison Bergeron because he was more talented than other people. Harrison’s parents, George and Hazel did not remember his son taken from because they were manipulated and not able to think long and hard about what happened to restrict the right of their choices. The other way is shown in the story, are the handicaps themselves and the way government uses it to their advantage. As the narrator introduces George, “ And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to bear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send

The government forced the people to have handicaps for the very same reason that firefighters in Fahrenheit 451 burned books; to make sure everybody was equal so that the people are happy. “If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people’d get

The Handicapper General is Diana Moon and her task is to enforce the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the people of the United States. She basically was in charge of dumbing down and disabling the people who were “above average”. If I lived in Vonnegut’s imagined society, I believe that I would’ve been handicapped in some way. They probably would have given me the body weights to wear because I play sports and I can tumble, and they also probably would’ve given me the earpiece that scrambles up your thoughts because I’m not amazingly smart, but I'm not dumb

A prominent symbol within the text is the handicap which represents the government’s control over the population. In the beginning of the story, George is introduced as a man with above average intelligence so, he is “required by law to wear [his handicap ear radio] at all times” (Vonnegut 33). George is unable to have stimulating ideas due to his impediment because it plays loud noises to interrupt his train of thought. The handicaps are a mechanism for the government to subdue those who appear to be a threat and censor citizens’ thoughts. Hence, these impediments are a symbol of governmental control over the people as an attempt to achieve total equality. Consequently, the egalitarian based government heavily regulates society through handicap restrictions on individuals to erase the attributes that makes them unique. Moreover, Harrison Bergeron himself is a symbol of the rebellion against the government and the repercussions of implementing total equality. While on live television, Harrison breaks free from his impediments and begins to dance gracefully with a ballerina in which “[n]ot only are the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well” (Vonnegut 36). In addition to breaking the amendments by removing his handicaps, Harrison also moves

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The families without a child disability gave a higher satisfaction level in their overall family well-being. In the non-disability group, they had a range of satisfaction level between 80% to 89%. The author notes that the non-disability group needs to help with any disability services. As a result, support from the community, family satisfaction level, and family's needs to serve an important factor in the disability groups. This article explains bias in the data because of the family's response to their well-being, their involvement in the study and their family issues. The study found that family relations, leisure and enjoyment of life, career planning, and health were a contribution to the overall family quality of life. Health was a concern

Disability in Australia has progressively become a more recognised social issue in todays contemporary society. The perception and ideas of disability has transitioned from one of institutionalisation to one of extensive support, which has lead to the development of many disability policies within Australia that aims to holistically meet the needs of disabled individuals. The development of three central disability policies, The National Disability Insurance scheme, National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 and the National Disability Agreement 2012 has altered the services available to disabled citizens, how supports are implemented, the wellbeing of disabled individuals and societal attitudes towards disability. The policy area conns