Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron, is a dystopian narrative set in 2081 characterized by the death of sports and everything creative and innovative whereby the 211th, 212th and 213th Amendments to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General are putting a glass ceiling on one’s creativity, achievements, goals and thinking ability and capacity. The gifted in sports and those possessing intelligence above normal are oppressed by being forced to wear mental handicap radios and ridiculously heavy handicap bags that are padlocked around their necks. They are always under surveillance and strict rules that when disobeyed, one faces punishment as explained by the character of George Bergeron,

“Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out” (17).
I think George’s wife, Hazel, is an example of how one admires another or wishes to have what the other has without thinking that maybe they are struggling with that thing they are admiring pushed the idea for equality in this futuristic society.

The narrator mocks the concept of equality in every way. He imagines in a funny, sad and dark manner how and what the future would be like if, in this 21st century, we are busy fighting and rooting for equality without even thinking of the consequences that the future holds. The narrator goes ahead to be satirical about equality when he points out that Harrison is handsome but,

“to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random.” (Par.

17).

It’s satiric since it talks about equality, but this equality has a big price to pay whereby people with good looks have to cover up their beauty and people with intelligence way above average have to wear ridiculously heavy handicaps and mental handicaps in their ears. An afterthought to this narrative would be a comparison of the mental handicap radios and the irritating sounds they make in the ears, sash weights, and bags of birdshot to a person disturbing someone who is working on something creative. This brings us to the fact that creativity and advancements are put at a standstill because the great thinkers are denied the opportunities to envision incredible and novel ideas.
Although this narrative portrays an egalitarian society, the forms of equality are not analogous since wealth is not distributed equally by the same government upholding the concept of equality. The inequality and bias by the government are seen when Hazel Bergeron suggests that the newscaster/announcer deserves a raise (27). A totalitarian government is also seen in the lack of freedom to think and the violation of one’s privacy by the mental handicap worn in the ears which have government controlled transmitters that scatter one’s thoughts and peace.
The rate at which technology is advancing is high and in the narrator’s imagination of a futuristic 2081, the people on television screens will be stepping out of it and will appear in flesh before the viewers.

This story shows how powerful the media is and how careful it should be when conveying the news to the public. Many a time, the media distorts information and destroys the reputation of a person. Harrison Bergeron is a character that only wanted to break free from the physical burden, oppression and suppression weighed on him by the United States Handicapper General and the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution but he was seen as a fugitive of the law and anti-government strategist ready to overthrow the government by disrupting the equality law that has been upheld. The assassination of Harrison Bergeron is a depiction of how fast the government can eliminate anyone who goes contrary to its rule of law or anyone who simply fights against the cruelties that the government imposes on its

citizens.
Although it was a devastating downfall for the momentary towering figure, Harrison Bergeron, life went on and his mother, Hazel Bergeron, couldn’t remember why she was crying. In a way, the narrator mocks the fact that the society is dead emotionally and that people are easily and quickly distracted by social media and can’t seem to distinguish what’s authentic and what’s not. It’s almost like the current tragic events that take place nowadays, but onlookers and witnesses are always busy taking photographs instead of helping out the victims. The government is to blame since it has suppressed everyone’s emotions and thinking capacity that they are numb to truth and creativity. We see this whenever Hazel Bergeron fails to explain why she’s moved to tears and whenever George Bergeron is stopped from thinking by sharp, irritating and body shaking sounds in his ears. No one can fight for their rights because the handicaps they are wearing at all times as required by the United States Handicapper General hinder them from thinking intelligently or rather above the Handicapper General’s standard thinking level expectations.
The narrator through Harrison Bergeron shows us how difficult it is to overthrow the government for it will make you suffer or just end your life regardless of standing for the brutal truth and justice. This story portrays the fact that the citizens are always blind to the injustices performed by the government rather the leaders or just choose to forget the unfairness around them and the violation of their rights. The citizens have become puppets at the mercy of the government. The lives of great men in history who have tried to open the minds of the citizens regarding the injustices have been cut short and this aspect is shown in the narration whereby the narrator writes,
“It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.” (Par. 44).

The government’s enforcement of equality and suppression of its citizens’ thinking ability has made the citizens conclude that that’s much better than the earlier decades whereby competition was the way of life. This is clearly portrayed in the conversation between George Bergeron and his wife Hazel Bergeron whereby Hazel had suggested George remove some of the lead balls in his handicap bag to which George had replied,
“If I tried to get away with it, then other people 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?"(19).

In conclusion, Kurt Vonnegut successfully managed to bring out the impossibility of equality in every which way which is ironic to the opener of the story, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way.” (Par. 1).