Kurt Vonnegut makes use of the absurd details in the short story “Harrison Bergeron” to emphasize that equality can bring down society. In the beginning of the story, Vonnegut implies that people are restricted from performing to the best of their abilities when he states that George, a character in the story, “had a mental handicap radio in his ear” that would “send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brain”. This is bringing down society because people like George in the story who are smart are being restricted from taking advantage of their mental capabilities just to establish equality. Moreover, the ballerinas in this short story are also restricted from dancing to the best of their …show more content…
ability because “they were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot” and then to hide their beauty, their faces were “masked so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face would feel like something the cat drug in”.
Vonnegut is explaining that the ballerinas in his story have to conceal their true beauty because of the masks they are forced to wear and their talent in dancing because of the weight that is put on them to hold them back from dancing gracefully just so everyone is equal. In addition, there was also a time where there was an announcement was supposed to be made, but the announcer had a hard time saying the first words of the announcement, so one of the ballerinas had to take over. However, when the ballerina started to speak, she had a very beautiful because her voice was a “warm, luminous timeless melody”. But then, she had to restart the announcement making her voice absolutely “uncompetitive”. In other words, Vonnegut is implying that even a woman with a naturally beautiful voice is forced to hide it just because the government is extreme about …show more content…
equality. Therefore, this brings down society because everyone is required to hide how their voice naturally sounds to be like the average individual. The details become more absurd when Vonnegut adds that George and Hazel’s fourteen year old son, Harrison Bergeron is regarded as “dangerous” because he is a “genius” and an “athlete”. It’s very unusual for an individual to be seen as dangerous because of how the person is smart and athletic because these are common traits that all human beings have.
Even the most common characteristics causes trouble in society because in the government described in the story it’s regarded as dangerous and this is degrades everyone in society because even characteristics as simple as intelligence and athletics are restricted just so everyone is equal. Moreover, later on in the story, Harrison Bergeron and one of the ballerinas were dancing along to the music that was played by the musicians. While they were dancing, handicapper general, Diana Moon Glampers enters the scene with a “double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun” and fired twice at the ballerina and Harrison leaving them both “dead” before hitting the floor. In elaboration, Harrison and the Ballerina died for having fun and dancing because by doing that they are not equal to everyone because in this government, everyone is restricted from expressing themselves like being happy and dancing like Harrison and the ballerina did. Lastly, after Hazel witnesses the death of her son Harrison, she begins to cry. Even though she forgot what it was, what she witnessed on television was very heartbreaking to watch. But when she cries to George, explaining that she witnessed something sad on television, George tells her to
“Forget sad things”. The establishment for equality is very extreme at this point because people have to bottle up their feelings just so everyone will be equal to each other. According to the government, everyone has to be like robots. They can’t have feelings, perform to the best of their abilities just to establish equality. The extremely absurd details give readers a different perspective of equality because normally, when the word equality is seen, everyone thinks of equal rights and fairness, but in this short story, Vonnegut used very absurd details that to prove that equality can be seen negatively.
At the first glance, an image of the society portrayed in the “Harrison Bergeron” short will put the reader at a halt. This short story depicts a nation that has made the world a place of pure equality. “They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal 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). The government had completely taken over the nation and its people. There were handicaps for those who had advantages over anyone else. Power was non-existent in this land. Mainly because all of it belonged to the government. If there was ever a time to see the imbalance of power it would be now. This story is not only a fictitious short to entertain the reader. This Short is a warning to the world providing a view of the consequences of power. “Ironically, no one really benefits from these misguided attempts to enforce equality” (Themes and Construction: "Harrison Bergeron"). Even on the television programs, beautiful women with handicaps placed on their faces. “They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.” (Vonnegut). An elaborate handicap had been placed over the whole country and the public was fine with it! Power causes more than a hardship if not detected. It ruins lives. The people of this short will never know what it means to be
The short novel “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut presents a futuristic portrayal of a world where everyone is equal in every way possible. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut displays the clear flaws in society that lead to the creation of a horrific dystopia that lacks genuine human emotions, fails to develop as a civilized community and is strictly government At the beginning of the story we are introduced to George and Hazel who are an ordinary couple that consequently suffer from handicaps. They are recalling the time when their son, Harrison Bergeron, was taken from his home by the handicapper general. It was an unhappy thought “but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard” (Vonnegut 1) due to the mental radio that separated the two from regular functioning emotions. Although Hazel was not affected by the handicap itself, it became a societal norm to act almost robot-like.
Harrison Bergeron is a short story that creates many images and feelings while using symbols and themes to critique aspects of our lives. In the story, the future US government implements a mandatory handicap for any citizens who is over their standards of normal. The goal of the program is to make everyone equal in physical capabilities, mental aptitude and even outward appearance. The story is focused around a husband and wife whose son, Harrison, was taken by the government because he is very strong and smart, and therefore too above normal not to be locked up. But, Harrison’s will is too great. He ends up breaking out of prison, and into a TV studio where he appears on TV. There, he removes the government’s equipment off of himself, and a dancer, before beginning to dance beautifully until they are both killed by the authorities. The author uses this story to satire
Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” Kurt Vonnegut portrays Aristotle’s philosophy brilliantly in his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” The story depicts the American government in the future mandating physical handicaps in an attempt to make everyone equal. Vonnegut describes a world where no one is allowed to excel in the areas of intelligence, athletics, or beauty. Yet, the inequalities among the people shine even brighter. Vonnegut uses satire to explore the question of whether true equality can ever really exist.
The society that Vonnegut has created takes equality to a level most of us cannot comprehend. "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. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else." Equality is a great thing that the world should embrace; complete equality though is another issue. In a world of absolute equality, every human would be looked upon nothing more or less than the person beside him or her. Vonnegut highlights these issues of how equality can be taken to the extreme with the handicaps. The handicaps are brutal and seem almost primitive or medieval. Bags filled with lead balls that are attached around Georges neck, or the masks that the ballerinas are forced to wear. The goal is to try and manipulate the population in such way that humans will produce children that are all relativity average and the
Imagine a society where not a single person competes with another. It has been like this for years, yet nothing has changed since the start of this new world. No new technology, no new occupations, no new discoveries. Absolutely nothing is different. Without competition no one will push themselves to be better or to achieve any goals, and without new achievements society cannot survive, let alone thrive. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. discusses this topic. Set in a society where anyone above average in any way is handicapped, therefore everyone is completely and totally equal. One handicapped man, George’s, son is taken away by the government at the mere age of fourteen under suspicion of rebellious intentions. Another
Harrison Bergeron’s mother, Hazel Bergeron, is the definition of the Handicapper General’s “normal” and model for enforced equality. Everyone must be leveled and thereby oppressed to her standards. Hazel’s husband, George Bergeron, is no exception. “‘I’d think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds,’ said Hazel, a little envious. ‘All the things they think up.’” (Vonnegut 910). George suffers from his own comically ludicrous mental handicap. The fact that this incites jealousy in Hazel reaffirms the artificial equality Vonnegut ridicules. The author satirizes oppression in American society through his depictions of misery and restraint exhibited in his characters’ ordeals. “The different times that George is interrupted from thinking, and his inner monologue is cut, we have a sort of stopping his having dialogue with himself. So he can’t have a unique personality, which itself involves his worldviews” (Joodaki 71). Not being able to know oneself epitomizes
The most important theme that we can easily notice in the story is the lack of freedom, which is extremely significant to the American ideals, and Harrison demonstrates it as his escapes from jail, remove his handicaps, and influence others around him. In order to have a completely equal society in Harrison Bergeron’s world, people cannot choose what they want to take part in or what they are good at because if a person is above average in anything, even appearance, they are handicapped. These brain and body devices are implanted in an effort to make everyone equal. However, instead of raising everyone up to the better level, the government chooses instead to lower people to the lowest common level of human thought and action, which means that people with beautiful faces wear masks. Also, people with above average intelligence wear a device that gives a soul-shattering piercing noise directly into the ear to destroy any train of thought. Larger and stronger people have bags of buckshot padlocked a...
Aristotle said, “ The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” True equality is hard to come by when there are so many things that make people so different. The word equality has a very general meaning. That meaning however, can be interpreted in many different ways. To some, the interpretation can lean more towards a sense of freedom. This freedom has been something society has been fighting for throughout the entirety of history. To others, such as author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., it could mean the complete opposite. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut portrays equality as a sort of societal imprisonment.
Although the tone remains constant throughout the story, we are able to read through the cracks to get a glimpse at the bigger picture. The tone is calm, however at the same time Vonnegut is using it to show us how eerily depressive and submissive life would be if total equality was implemented into society. From the beginning of the story, tone is set as neither George or Hazel appear to be all that upset that their 14-year-old son, Harrison, has been taken from them and imprisoned. In fact, the tone remains very calm, “It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard” (Vonnegut 27). Another example of tone is set when describing George’s handicap. George is forced to wear a 47-pound bag of birdshot padlocked around his neck but is unable to remove it for fear of imprisonment and fines. Rather than being upset or angry about this, George is resolved to this way of life and states,” I don’t mind it, I don’t notice it any more. It’s just a part of me.” (Vonnegut 28). Throughout the story, the reader continues to feels a depressive, submissive tone especially during the ballet and specifically when the ballerina had to “apologize at once for her voice, which was very unfair for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody.” (Vonnegut 29). The tone was carried to the very end, suggesting that total equality is dangerous and leads to an empty dull controlled society. Even upon Harrison’s brutal and public execution that Hazel witnesses, Hazel though she cried, she cannot even remember why she cried other than that it was “Something real sad on television.” (Vonnegut 32). This is not the reaction one would expect from a mother who witnessed her son’s death. Although tone helped carry the theme that total equality is dangerous to a society, Vonnegut also used motifs to further illustrate this
In both Harrison Bergeron and today’s society, people struggle with equality. As shown in Harrison Bergeron the pushing of equality causes consequences. Equality is being pushed onto everyone by having handicaps to make them sure that no one person is better than another. Equality can also cause any type of hurt, both physical and mental. Physical hurt is what occurs with George. George is
Vonnegut’s structure of total equality would never work in any way, because it debilitates the human race and stops all creativity. Kurt Vonnegut writes this story to help us realize that equality is meant to make no man or woman better than another. The major theme in this story is that equality is for rights and not for attributes like beauty, strength, and intelligence. Individuality is considered a threat to the Handicap General. Government social control is used to collectivize and penalize anyone who is above average.
In a society where the talented are so handicapped that they cannot even function, the theme reflects the impracticality and dangers of egalitarianism. Harrison Bergeron symbolizes defiance and survival next tot eh TV symbolizing brainwash. The third person narrator creates an effective and fair method of detailing all the events in this futuristic society. Harrison Bergeron’s conflict creates an understanding of the result of total equality. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. emphasizes the need for competition and individuality in society, in order to live with freedom and prosperity.
In Vonnegut’s short story he shows Harrison Bergeron broke free from society. “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousands pounds. Harrison’s scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor” (2). Harrison breaks free from his chains that the government has on him. This shows that people strive to be free. By the author using the word “tore” shows that he broke free. Harrison frees one of the ballerinas. “Last of all he removed her mask. She was blindingly beautiful. ‘Now-’ said Harrison, taking her hand, ‘shall we show the people the meaning of the word dance?”’ he dances with her with graceful gestures. By saying “she was blindingly beautiful” show that the mask is just a cover up and that the government is making people feel
In “Harrison Bergeron”, the author shows us that the people wear handicaps to make them equal to everybody else. Set in the future, the story reveals that the protagonist, Harrison, breaks out of his handicaps and dances with the dotted ballerina. He exposes that he and other people should not have to wear those ugly and heavy handicaps to be equal. This part of the story relates to the critical lense because presently, we do not have to wear handicaps to be equal. In our society, nobody is equal because of a handicap. In this story, the author uses the literary element of man versus society conflict