Harrison Bergeron Absolute Equality

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a story literally exaggerated to its limit by showing, in the near future, what it means to be equal in every way by having people not being able to show any form of intelligence or creativity whatsoever. When Harrison Bergeron breaks the chains of government oppression, he dies for his failed cause. He dies because he chooses not to conform to the rest of his oppressive society. His parents, George and Hazel, who are nothing more than two bodies under the government’s mind control, can do nothing to save their son or seek justice for his death. The story is not only a reflection of the author’s concern with controlling the masses through

​Harrison Bergeron and Fahrenheit 451 both relate to the need that the government controls everything with strict ruling and suppresses freedom by titling it as equality. Main character Harrison, from the short story “Harrison Bergeron” and Guy Montag from the novel “Fahrenheit 451” both experience the socially enforced equality portrayed by the government. Not one individual was smarter than anybody else, this is expressed in the quote from the story, “Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” (1) Bergeron. This quote proves that equality was key in the eye of the government.

"There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about" (1) George is extremely intelligent so in order to keep him from taking advantage of his brain he "had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times." (1) Whenever the buzzer sounded in his head, "His thoughts fled in panic," (1) This is a cruel thing to do. "It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling.." (2) Not only are the sounds so debilitating that it reduces George to Hazel's level, but it also, physically hurts him. Sometimes making him even pass out.

Imagine living in a place where all your freedom, rights, and skills were taken away from you. You can't pick important things like your job, your spouse, and your name. You have to wear “handicaps” so you aren't better than anyone else. If you don’t follow the rules, you die. In literature, a lot of societies like this come from the desire for equality. Although many times some equality is a good trait to have in a society, complete equality can lead to a dystopia. Two stories called “Anthem” by Ayn Rand and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut illustrate how complete equality can lead to no individuality.

First and foremost, only the gifted of “Harrison Bergeron” had to wear handicaps. To elaborate, George, a very intelligent person had to wear handicaps, while Hazel didn’t have to. This is because she was perfectly average, and didn’t feel the pain of what George had to. This is corroborated in the text when it says “Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself; she had to ask George what the latest sound had been.”

What would actually happen if everyone was forced to be equal? Kurt Vonnegut envisioned this in his masterpiece, “Harrison Bergeron.” The story is about “what would happen if a government or some other power takes this notion serious” (Mowery). The protagonist, Harrison, who is arrest for “exuberant individuality,” escapes from prison and goes on a national television station to declare himself emperor, only later to be killed by the handicap general Diane Moon. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut satirizes the movement toward egalitarianism and the effect of television on people.

“The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” Aristotle spoke these wise words. Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” exemplifies just how unjust true equality can be. Though inequality can be hard to see as an insider, it can be overwhelmingly evident from the outside looking in.

Kurt Vonnegut has strong themes of lack of individuality and government control in his stories. In the story Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut uses themes of both individuality and government control to give readers a deeper meaning to his story. In a country where "Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else"(Vonnegut 1) our main character Harrison is above the government mandated level and the government was unable to disable him like his dad who was required by law to wear his handicap ear radio at all time(Vonnegut 3).

Total Equality Equals Totalitarianism To all those that believe that I am an elitist and an opponent to egalitarianism, I assure you that you are wrong. The purpose of my story “Harrison Bergeron” is to express my sentiment about how total equality is not the best way of life. Our founding fathers based this entire country on that the citizens should have a say in their government and that the government only originates from the consent of the governed. They also wanted individual freedoms for their people.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s futuristic story, “ Harrison Bergeron”, is in the year 2081, where everyone is equal. No one was smarter or stronger than anyone else. No one was better looking than anyone else. Everyone was exactly the same. Harrison Bergeron is a 14 year old boy who had absolutely hates how equal everyone was. Harrison was stronger, smarter, handsome, and bigger than everyone else. Harrison was the opposite of being average. He plans to override the government and forbid equality so that the people can be themselves and unique. One lesson the short story suggests is that equality isn’t always a good thing. Difference can make people better.

Throughout this short story, Vonnegut Jr. shows us not everything is great about “All men are created equal.” This is shown through the characters on George and Hazel Bergeron who happen to be Harrison’s father and mother. The government also handicaps George Bergeron like his son. As they say, like father, like son. George is intelligently gifted as well as physically and this leads to “A little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sort of sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains” (195). This is showing if you have thoughts that are “too smart” you are being punished for it. With this individuals are being punished for having an imagination and thinking outside the box. Not only is this is penalizing the individual, but it is also penalizing society. New developments such as medical equipment, technology and new ways

It’s a common thought that everyone should be equal, but is that really what’s best for society? Kurt Vonnegut, in Harrison Bergeron, created a universe where everyone was equal to each other, or so it seems. In the short story, the world is set in 2081, where everyone has to be equal to everyone else, or they’ll get punished. The focus is about a couple, George and Hazel, who has a genius son, Harrison, but he was taken away for plotting to overthrow the government. However, George and Hazel do not remember their son, due to Hazel’s “average” intelligence, and George’s transmitters, which blow an ear-piercing sound every twenty minutes to prevent him and others from taking advantage of their intellect. Everyone else in this community is like George and Hazel, who have handicaps to prevent them from reaching their full potential, which could possibly be a safety hazard. When finding the deeper meaning of the story, one may find that maybe this society isn’t really equal, and maybe the world wouldn’t be better if everyone was the exact same. This society illustrates the extremities a community would have to go to just to have the same abilities, strengths, and looks.

The idea of equality is one that has been entrenched into the hearts and minds of the citizens of the United States since the days of the founding fathers. The thought that one person is better than another is an ideal that as a nation, the founding fathers strove to overcome. They believed that each person should have the identical rights and opportunities of every other person in our society. This sentiment becomes grossly perverted in Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron”. In the tale, the American government has taken the idea of equality to an extreme that is not only inhumane, but in essence takes away our freedom and individuality, the very fabric of what we consider American.

the story. “Harrison Bergeron”, the narrator, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., describes the modern society in the year of 2081. In this society, the epitome of equality is the golden rule, which is enforced by adding limitations or rather, “handicaps”, to those who bear physical, mental, or any talent or prowess whatsoever. For example, Harrison Bergeron, who was the ideal specimen (he was intellectually gifted, had the physical appearance of Hercules, or to sum it up, was a want-to-be superman), was given weights to counter his mountain of muscles, radios (boom boxes) glued to his ears to limit his cognitive function, and was basically an abomination of metal. These Handicaps made sure that Harrison would not have an advantage, making everything “equal”

The government handicaps George’s mental abilities since they are above average, while Hazel’s mental abilities are average.