Figurative Language In Harrison Bergeron

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Throughout human history, many have believed the key to a utopian society is egalitarianism. In Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut comments upon the ridiculous and inconceivable aspects of total equality through highly controlled diction and development.
Written in 1961, a meager three years after the Second Red Scare, Harrison Bergeron was Vonnegut’s way of denouncing communism’s ideals and totalitarian regimes (History Staff, 2010). Though the story first appears to be a comical allegory featuring a dystopian society, further inspection uncovers Vonnegut’s message as revealed through language. In the beginning of the story, Vonnegut’s words lack development and figurative language, yet he manages to fully establish a theme for readers. Vonnegut …show more content…

For example, Vonnegut attempts to provide context to George’s and Hazel’s domain in the opening paragraph when explaining that “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution...” When Vonnegut penned Harrison Bergeron, only 22 Amendments to the US Constitution existed (“Constitution,” 1998). In a short 120 fictional years, Vonnegut imposes at least another 190 Amendments on his characters. The sheer quantity of Amendments, 190, is completely ridiculous, something Vonnegut fully intends. This hyperbole establishes the story’s satirical tone which is meant to reflect the preposterousness of total equality. A reader knows Vonnegut does not believe in universal equality because he says “Nobody was smarter than anyone else… Nobody was better looking than anybody else... Nobody was stronger or quicker than anyone else,” ‘Some things about living still weren’t quite right.” Basically, some things can never be changed, with or without equality. Vonnegut specifically mentions how April always fall short of Spring, an allusion to opposing facets of

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