Harrison Bergeron Theme Of Equality

“Harrison Bergeron” is an extreme critique of equality that aims to warn against oppressive government control and the danger of total equality. To achieve equality, people handicap the extraordinary instead of augmenting and improving those who are naturally handicapped. Vonnegut is trying to suggest that an enforced equality that suppresses individualism and a diverse range of perspectives can often hinder progress and, even worse, operate as a pretense for oppressive government control. In this world, no one is allowed to be different. However, it is ironic because our differences allow us to work together and help and support each other. Though only momentarily, Harrison’s rebellion represents the way that individualism can never truly

be suppressed.
Vonnegut opens with, “…everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law.

They were equal every which way” (Vonnegut). There are no advantages; no one can improve their situation for the sake of preventing anyone’s situation to get worse. The word “finally” in this passage suggests that our current society is on track to this end. He tried to call attention to the difference between the vision of equality and the current ideal of equal opportunity. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal,” but it does not imply that all men should live equal. It simply cements the ideal that no person is born more or less important than another. In “Harrison Bergeron,” everyone is born equal, and then forced to remain so in every way; resulting in poor quality of life. There is no entertainment because excellence and creativity are squashed for the sake of ‘fairness.’ For example, the news anchor stutters through his greeting, “…like all announcers, [he] had a serious speech impediment” (Vonnegut). The news anchor was ironically picked because of his stutter even though clear speech is a critical part of anchoring the news.

This detail isn’t just comic relief, it brings up a point that forced equality prevents the kind of specialization, talents, and differences that allow a society as a whole to be more efficient. This particular news anchor is not an anomaly, he is “like all announcers,” suggesting that even though his handicap is natural and not imposed by the government, he is still forced to compensate for any other advantages he may have. Vonnegut is calling attention to how society is kept in mediocrity by magnifying disadvantages and minimizing advantages. This contrasts greatly with the current American system where exceptionality is idolized. The goal of Vonnegut’s dystopia is for everyone to be as normal as possible, which is expertly done through use of handicaps.
Handicaps are issued by the government and provide all citizens with the same level of difficulty in life; the stronger the person, the more extreme the handicap.

This is a perfect example of “tall poppy syndrome.” This is the concept that the tallest poppies, the most talented and capable people, are torn down and rejected to make the shorter ones look better. This, however, is not in the common interest in the group. The entire crop of poppies would be able to be taller if they weren't cut whenever they reached a certain height. Like poppies, people naturally grow and improve. It is impossible to advance society as a whole if a policy of mediocrity is enforced. Vonnegut writes the character of Harrison Bergeron as the ideal human, the tallest poppy, the largest threat to his own perverse

society.
“…He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men
could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he
wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses.
The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him
whanging headaches besides…. Harrison looked like a walking junkyard” (Vonnegut).
Harrison Bergeron represents everything good and desirable for an individual. He is strong, brilliant, attractive, and ambitious; but Vonnegut’s dystopian society wrongfully transformed him into a vulgar figure. Harrison has the potential to change society for the better because he forces people to use their talents and break free of the culture of mediocrity. He orders the musicians to throw down their handicaps and play music to their full potential; resulting in significantly better music. This is also seen when he dances with the ballerina,“Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well” (Vonnegut). Vonnegut shows how the oppressive government literally ‘holds people down’ and exemplifies the degree of freedom Harrison feels without handicaps by relating the gravity to law. This quote also uses flight as a device to paint individualism as a precursor to freedom. Vonnegut is trying to make the point that individualism and free expression are extraordinarily powerful, more so even than gravity; one of the most powerful forces in existence. This hyperbole does an effective job of stressing the argument that individualism cannot be suppressed. Harrison’s death shows that violent is suppression is necessary to keep the dystopian regime in power. This implies that people like Harrison who refuse to reject the extraordinary exist and eventually may overtake the oppressive government.
Another way that Vonnegut contrasts “Harrison Bergeron’s” society with that of reality is through the retelling of the present. While George and Hazel are talking about removing their handicaps, George reminds Hazel that such action would put them right back into the, “…dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else…” and Hazel agrees that, “[she’d] hate it” (Vonnegut). It is interesting how Vonnegut’s characters claim that the “dark ages” were due to competition. In the current time period, the dark ages were considered to be between the 5th and 15th centuries; when the European economy was totally stagnant, nobody invented anything, and people were impoverished. Everything was controlled by an oppressive, ignorant government headed by kings born from generations of inbreeding. The Renaissance and the Enlightenment ended this thousand-year period, bringing art, learning, and free thought to the world. People began to compete and strive to improve the quality of life and important advances were made like the discovery of the americas, creation of democratic states, and job specialization. Much of this progress was driven by competition, and Vonnegut’s dystopia appears to be a step backward for humanity. Hazel’s agreement that she’d hate to live in such a time gives is illogical and silly, just like a completely equal society.
The domestic historical context of the book is also interesting because it was published in the heat of the civil rights movement, where a major theme was equal rights for all. This is especially thought provoking because it suggests that even a seemingly noble cause can be corrupted into means for absolute, oppressive control. Perhaps Vonnegut meant to commend the participants of the civil rights movement for their efforts not to subjugate those who formerly oppressed them, but to raise themselves to the same level of power without losing the qualities that make them unique.
I agree with Vonnegut’s vision. It is important to note that equality and equal opportunity are different concepts, and serve different purposes. I also agree that any kind of oppressive control over a group of people is unnatural and dangerous. These two points are expertly exaggerated in “Harrison Bergeron” to make a point about how extraordinarily bad life could possibly be if personal liberties are sacrificed without being too extreme that it dulls Vonnegut’s argument.