Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut creates the characters within “Harrison Bergeron” using structured and basic sentences. The situation of equality in this story affects the dialogue between the couple George and Hazel. The sentences are short and simple which makes them seem almost robotic to the reader.

In this story a man and woman, George and Hazel Bergeron, have a son whose name is Harrison. In this futuristic world, people are meant to all be treated as equals, which is where the theme of the story comes from. It is much like the movie Equilibrium. If you are too intelligent, they dumb you down, as with George Bergeron they have an earpiece implanted that randomly makes noises in order to distract his thought process. Those who are too beautiful are made to look disfigured and those who are graceful or strong have to weight themselves down in order to have less appealing stature. Harrison had been taken away from the Bergeron parents, and when they were sat down watching television, an announcement came on

Second, as there are only a few characters in both short stories, they are very different characters but left imprints in my mind. First, in “Harrison Bergeron” there is Harrison Bergeron who is 14 years old, a genius, a strong athlete, and wears the strongest handicaps of all the people such as bifocals to damage his sight, three hundred pound weights hold him down, and the loudest ear radio. Second, there is Harrison’s father, George Bergeron who is also handicapped by the government for being smart and strong. Third, his mother, Hazel Bergeron who doesn’t need any handicaps because they classify her as an average American who lacks smarts, beauty, and brains. Then the TV announcer who has a speech impediment tried to speak for a few moments on an interrupted new cast, but then passes the microphone to a ballerina to read, who people could tell was beautiful, and strong because

This shows that Hazel didn’t suffer, while George had to. This in it of itself shows inequality. This is an example of suffering the consequences of what you have no control of.

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

“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.

That Hazel has an average intelligence and can only think in short burst, but George is very smart and has to wear a mental handicap to make him be equal to everyone. (pg 1) George's handicap would make loud noises in his ear to disrupt his thinking. George only has to wear a mental handicap and physical handicap. Some other people also a mask as a handicap for beauty.

Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” tells a brief story of the Bergeron family. The family is torn apart and suffering under an oppressive, dystopian society in which the government puts physical limitations on people who have above-average intelligence, looks, and athletic abilities. The story’s main characters are husband and wife George and Hazel Bergeron and their son, Harrison Bergeron. Harrison is ultimately gunned down after breaking out of jail and dancing without limitations by the Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers, responsible for enforcing the handicap laws that govern their society. Lexi Stuckey argues that Kurt Vonnegut is a strong advocate for a “homogenous society” and, in a way, endorses the execution of society rules

In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, everyone is equal by control of the government. People who are smarter or better looking than the average person must wear some type of handicap in order to make them more of an equal to everyone else. People who are more intelligent must wear an earpiece in their ear which is monitored by the government, and if their thoughts get too deep, they will hear an excruciating noise to distract their thoughts. People who are better looking than the average person must wear a mask. Harrison Bergeron is described in the story as being jailed for his extraordinary abilities and looks.

This shows discrimination against everyone because they are taking that person's freedom away and judging them on their looks and abilities. A man named Harrison who would be a sport super star in real life because of his outstanding talent is fitted with weights and other handicaps to make him like everyone else. He revolts and overcomes his handicaps but is soon killed for breaking the law. In this story discrimination plays a big part in how the main character revolts.

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.

Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds” (Vonnegut 4). Harrison Bergeron is shown to live in a dehumanized state because just because he didn't look normal, he was sent to jail and forced to wear hundreds of pounds of handicaps. Likewise, Shades by AJ Said is another story that demonstrates the idea that citizens in a dystopian society live in a dehumanized state that denies individual rights. Jake from the story Shades by AJ Said is another character who faces the inequalities of living in a dehumanized

Harrison’s actions of can be described as heroic due to the fact that he attempted to revolutionize the society in a way that benefitted the population as a whole, not just himself. Many other people were angered and confused by the idea of handicaps, and by standing up to the government when all other people were afraid to do so, he acted in a selfless manner, a characteristic of a true hero. An example of another person doubting the intentions of the Handicap General can be seen at the beginning of the story, when George, Harrison’s father, realizes that it is unfair to place the hindrance of a handicap on a ballerina. On page 2, the text states, “George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn't be

The point of view in “Harrison Bergeron” is third person with limited insight. The focal character is George Bergeron, the titular character’s father. The story is written to show two settings: the living room of George and Hazel Bergeron, and the scene they are watching on their television. This point of view helps to develop the theme by showing what we assume to be an average couple in a futuristic setting, and by establishing a societal norm for the dystopian setting. The mundane point of view contrasts nicely with the very outrageous personality of Harrison Bergeron and his theatrical antics. This point of view also gives the reader a relatively objective look into the conflict between Harrison and the United States Handicapper General. The use of George as the focal character gives the reader insight into the mind of a man who wears a mental and a physical handicap. This allows the reader to see into George’s thoughts and how they process with the mental handicap in place, “every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking advantage of their

The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is about a couple in the year 2081. In 2081 the government wants everyone to be equal so they hand out handicaps to people with good looks, vision, strength, brains, and other talents. The couple, Hazel and George Bergeron, are watching dancers on tv when an announcer comes on. He says a person named Harrison Bergeron has escaped prison. Then they hear a thud and see a figure matching Harrison’s description at the door. He goes up to the stage, rips off his handicaps, and asks one of the dancers to volunteer to be his Empress. When one comes up he takes off her handicaps and they begin to dance. They start to float till they kiss the ceiling. The doors burst open and in walks the Handicapper General. She pulls out a gun and shoots them both. I’m going to prove that the setting of this story needs more detail and that the characters, specifically Harrison and Hazel Bergeron, have nice subtle backstories.