Outline For Harrison Bergeron

The story of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is about a dystopian future of America that forces its citizens to be completely equal. The way that they enforce the rules is by forcing the strong to wear weights and the intelligent to be given mental handicaps. The style of writing Vonnegut uses to portray his story of equality is very subtle. Vonnegut uses diction, imagery, and syntax, to help the reader understand the characters, mood, and visuals.

In "Harrison Bergeron," by Ray Bradbury, the government forces handicapped people with above average qualities to make equality. In resemblance to “Examination Day” the story also suppresses individuality and potential. To go along with this, the story reaches its

The author in Harrison Bergeron wants to show how total equality could be problematic and could come only with a sacrifice. The citizens must comply with all rules and remain equal to everyone else at all cost. Harrison Bergeron defies this and because of his actions a conflict is created between him and the government. The conflict shows how total equality cannot be reasonably reached. When Harrison Bergeron rips off his handicaps and is eventually shot dead on national tv, it just shows how influential tv can be.

The main difference is the handicaps. In the story, this is said to describe Harrison as he enters the frame. “Nobody has ever been born with heavier handicaps. He has outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up.” This quote shows that Harrison from the story is more handicapped than everyone else for their safety as protection from his perfection.

During the story, the author shared many political views. “Political Angles” of How to Read Literature Like a Professor it addresses the world’s realities of social and political problems. This shares similar ideas from Harrison Bergeron. For example, in Harrison Bergeron, it starts out by stating the 212th, 213th, and 214th amendments of the Constitution that made the society equal. It continues with having a Handicapper General acting in the role of the president of the United States. The Handicapper General put handicap devices on

Vonnegut's, short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, portrays Harrison as a considerate, ignored hero but also an outsider, standing up for the people’s and his rights. Vonnegut made it clear that Harrison’s appearance and beliefs are portrayed negatively to others, while the equipment used on him and others, but also the responses from him and to the handicap generals, ballerinas, and news reporters have made them get a wrong

In "Harrison Bergeron," Harrison is taken away from his family because of his extraordinary abilities. The government places him in elaborate handicaps to ensure that he was "equal every which way" to everyone else. At the end of the story, when he rips off his handicaps "like wet tissue paper," he challenges the laws of the land created and supported by the American people and the "211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution." This makes him a danger to his society.

One characteristic of the human spirit it the idea of equality. Humans strive for equality through every aspect of life. In “Harrison Bergeron” the author takes the idea of equality, and takes it one step further. Everyone has handicaps so they are all of the same status. For example, George Bergeron has a mental handicap. “Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantages of their brain.” (par. 3) This shows that the people of this society believe that solely being smart is unequal to those who are not as academically strong. This quotations is just one example of the handicaps that were used in “Harrison Bergeron”. One more instance of equality is how far the authority in the story will go to achieve this equality. At the end of the story, the ones who disobeyed were

Questions like “What do I want to accomplish in my life?” “Where do I want to go

Now watch me become what I can become!” (Vonnegut 234). This is a significant part of the story because as Harrison frees himself of all his handicaps, he is rebelling against his overly controlling government. This scene allows the people in the story to see that the society they live in is not normal and that it is preventing them from becoming their best selves. The last, most important literary device that the readers can identify is the theme. One of the themes in “Harrison Bergeron” is that attempting to control a society to achieve complete equality is not realistic. This theme was mentioned in the very beginning of the story, “They weren’t only equal before God and the law. 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” (Vonnegut 231). Every single character in the story “Harrison Bergeron” was held under equal standards and possessed the same rights. In addition, the characters were forced to have nearly identical physical attributes and thoughts to keep them

Harrison Bergeron is a story written by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut’s story is a warning to the world about the quest of equality, which is spreading all round in many nations with America on the lead. The story shows the reader how the equality issue can have negative impacts on people’s individuality, and the society. The story revolves around the protagonist, Harrison Bergeron who is an archetypical symbol that represents defiance, and individuality. He is used to represent the people who will stand up, and protest against cruel laws imposed by the state on equality, and encourage others to protest with him. Through the characterization of Harrison, George and Hazel, Vonnegut shows how the equality idea can go to the extreme. The

This is significant because when he removes the handicaps from the “empress” and musicians. “Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all he removed her mask.... The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped them of their handicaps, too. ‘Play your best,’ he told them, ‘ and I’ll make you barons and dukes and earls.” This quote shows that even people who are considered professionals are downgraded to average. The sweet idea of equality has blinded the people from what it means to put hard work into something. Working hard give joy and pride to the person who succeeded. The bitter, sour, hard work leads to the sweet enjoyment of success. If hard work does lead to enjoyment and the government handicap people who have a talent or put hard work into a skill, in order to maintain equality. Therefore, equality has a bitter reality. The musicians are forced to be downgraded as well as the ballerinas. This is taking away from the hard work that would be put in normally. Every one being at the same level, same skill, would be aggravating for many people, including myself. Knowing that all the hard work put into something and then being told it is illegal to be better than the

Everyone has things that they feel isn’t right and should be different, and most people try to change what they think is wrong. Kurt Vonnegut and Carole Boston Weatherford use this universal human feeling in their short stories. In “Harrison Bergeron” he doesn’t like that people are limited because of handicaps and can’t reach their full potential. In “Freedom on the Menu The Greensboro Sit-ins” the characters wants to be able to have the same rights as the whites and starts “sit-ins” to protest. In both “ Harrison Bergeron” and “Freedom on the Menu The Greensboro Sit-ins,” we learn that in life they’re things that you don’t agree with and you have to stand up against, regardless of the outcome either good or bad.

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.

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