At fourteen years old, being smart should be an advantage. This is untrue when you're being controlled by a government who forces unnecessary equality on each and every person in the nation besides themselves. The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is set in a dystopian nation where everyone is supposed to be equal. The author focuses on a family of three, parents; George and Hazel, and son; Harrison. The mother is a ditz, the father is intelligent, and the son is above average in basically every way possible, but the government places “handicaps” on them so they cannot think more, be stronger than, or be more aesthetically pleasing than one another. One lesson the story suggests is that knowledge can always overpower intelligence. …show more content…
The first time in the story where the difference between intelligence and knowledge is hinted at is shown with two quotes. The first one explains the situation the nation is in. On page one, it reads; “All this equality was due to... the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.” This quote starts off by indicating the hierarchy of Diana and her agents. It suggests that they hold a certain position that lets them control things in society. The second quote is also shown on the first page and reveals characteristics of Hazel and George while introducing future problems in the story. The author writes; “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all time. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” This quote not only confirms the contrast between positions of The Handicapper General and the other citizens, but also shows how she contradicts herself by being so high up in the government and therefore unequal to everyone else, despite her job being to make everyone equal. It's as if George (with his suppressed intelligence) is a puppet, and Diana Moon Glampers (with the knowledge of how his society works) is the puppet master. In summarization, the two previous quotes relate to the theme by showing how a person with a simple understanding with what is going on around them can have a higher ranking than someone who is much more qualified to be a vital part of society. One could suggest that this is simply false, that those who are meant to be looked up to are always intelligent. Though this seems like basic knowledge, you may want to take a closer look at how this relates to the current world. Donald Trump is a businessman. He knows how to convince and persuade people—he is knowledgeable on it. But Mr. Trump has continually mocked and insulted others during his campaign, resulting in him losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Is this what we consider “intelligent”? If to be knowledgeable means to be “well informed”, people like Diana and Donald are not important because they are intelligent, they are only important because they have a deep understanding of the situation around them.. Another way the idea of knowledge outdoing intelligence is shown is when it is announced that Harrison has escaped from captivity.
It says, on page three; ““Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,” she said in a grackle squawk, “has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous. A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen...” In this scene, the idea of intelligence being an important aspect of the story is first truly brought out. Harrison is called a “genius” and it was said that he was planning to overthrow the government. He knows how. Perhaps he could even succeed. However, now, no matter how smart Harrison is, the entire nation will be able to shut it down because they all know what the government will do if they are on Harrison’s side. They have the knowledge of his looks, which could overpower Harrison’s smarts. The two previous examples make me think that maybe if the Handicapper General had not had the knowledge of his location or his appearance, Harrison could have still been alive and continued in attempt to overthrow the government. Maybe you think that my interpretation is the opposite of what is going on; that Harrison’s escape shows that he—the genius—can overcome the all-knowing government. While this may seem like good reasoning, Harrison ends up being shot at the end of the story which disproves the opposing claim by showing how the government won against him for the last time. Harrison is extremely clever, yet he is a criminal. Diana knows how government will react to certain situations. Therefore, knowledge surpasses intelligence—especially in the work
field. The third and final time where my theme of possessing intelligence compared to possessing knowledge is shown is in this quote on page six, where Harrison Bergeron is killed by the Handicapper General; “And then, neutraling gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time. 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.” This moment is a very important piece of the story. It shows the moment that the reader had false hope that maybe this once, the intelligence of Harrison could overcome all the secretive government work. However, the Handicapper General shoots him down within seconds. All of the thinking and the planning he did was gone in a matter of seconds. Diana Moon Glampers knew where Harrison was, what he looked like, and what “needed” to be done to keep her country safe. This is something Harrison’s brain could never defeat because he was the underdog and the outsider compared to Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General. To summarize what I explained in the previous paragraphs, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” displays multiple situations showing that knowledge outdoes intelligence. This recurring theme is important to humanity because it demonstrates an unfortunate way our world works. For now, I believe it is true that every person who wants to be successful needs to understand this lesson, but should that be the way things work? If not, are you ready to take on the challenge of changing this?
Authors in the 1900s created short stories by writing short books that they could sell for quick cash. This is how the genre of short stories came about. As more and more stories were published, shorts became very popular because they were so short. Many people loved the idea that they could finish an entire story in one sitting. As the stories became more popular, Kurt Vonnegut, a short story writer, developed a list of 8 rules that make a perfect short story. He executes his rules in his short stories giving many examples of what the standard for short story writing should be.
1. Define 'satire' and provide one example of personal or social satire that yoou have encountered. You may use any source for your example:TV, media, news editorials, movies, comedy, etc.
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
……………Most of the numerous and very disparate urban utopias imagined since antiquity, claim more or less a social justice combining equality, fairness, and freedom. However the methods invented to reach this social justice often lead to more binding law, sometimes up to the absurd, that limited the abilities and capacities of the citizens. Thus, behind the mask of an ideal equality, is concealed in fact, a tremendous social injustice. In “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut’s shows us the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality by using the story of an excessive utopia to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists, is not only oppressive, but also static and inefficient. Vonnegut exemplifies the image of fairness
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
Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told starting as children that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. Complete equality has too many issues for it to be viable. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law. However, complete equality should not be pursued because taking away the differences between people is a clear mistake.
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...
Each person has different characteristics about them that give them their own identity and that should not be changed. In the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, the main character, Harrison Bergeron is known as a threat to society. He is very intelligent, handsome, and athletic. In 2081, every person in the United States is equal. The government has taken over and has required everyone to wear handicaps to make them less smart, less pretty, less strong, and many other things. At the beginning of the story they mention a husband and wife, George and Hazel Bergeron, and they have a son, Harrison, who gets taken away because of his perfections. Later in the story, Hazel and George are watching ballerinas on television, when the program is interrupted by breaking news. They inform the viewers that Harrison has broken out of jail. The program then turns back on and Harrison appears on stage with the ballerinas. He proceeds to take off every
The author states,” Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy.” People could easily take off their handicaps whenever they wanted to. This clearly shows us the reader that the text is telling how easy it is to take off handicaps. But if it is easy to take off handicaps then that means the handicaps in “Harrison Bergeron”, is useless to the people with abilities. They can take off the handicaps whenever they want to but they would have to do it secretly. George has to wear an earpiece which means he could take it out,but he would have to do it secretly when no one associated with the government was watching. Therefore, this makes handicaps useless and a waste of time to make or everyone in this story. As a result, the handicaps in this story is useless for everyone wearing it in the
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 characters are distracted by handicaps, and this affects their individuality and freedom. Vonnegut expresses his concerns about the issue of equality, and how it is taken to the extreme through his characters.
Short stories throughout time have come with many different purposes. Authors have used them to entertain readers, to give insight into their own mind, and to make commentaries on society in general in many cases. An author widely renowned for his use of short stories to achieve the latter goal is Kurt Vonnegut, especially known for his social satire “Harrison Bergeron”, which he used as a commentary on both authoritarian governments and people who believed in creating “true” equality through leveling.
Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian fiction, or a type of fiction in which the society’s attempt to create a perfect world goes very wrong, “Harrison Bergeron” was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1961. This story is about Harrison Bergeron, who is forced to diminish his abilities because they are more enhanced than everyone else’s. This short story is an allusion of a perfect society and it is maintained through totalitarian. The author expresses his theme of the dysfunctional government of utopia through his effective use of simile, irony, and symbolism. Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential American writers and novelists, and his writings have left a deep influence on the American Literature of the 20th century. Vonnegut is also famous for his humanist beliefs and was the honoree of the American Humanist Association. “Harrison Bergeron” is about a fictional time in the future where everyone is forced to wear handicapping devices to ensure that everyone is equal. So can true equality ever be achieved through strict governmental control?
Writing short stories is common for most writers but the writer must give a powerful message in as few pages as they can. While comparing and contrasting short stories “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut, and “A Saucer of Loneliness” written by Theodore Sturgeon, I found that both stories were science fiction and they both offer scenarios to fascinating what if situations. In this case, both stories answer what if questions to situations where the government controls, but they also relay hidden personal meaning.
When a person or group of people join a distinct opposition towards someone or something, it is discrimination. People are inadequately affected through hate and criticism because of the unique differences we each hold as human beings. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, he presents us with the mental vision of Tall Poppy Syndrome. These circumstances could negatively attribute to our government being detrimental to our future society by indoctrinating equality within the nation.
In “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. tells the story of an America in the year 2081 where everyone is equal in every way, mentally and physically. Kurt tells us about handicaps created by the government to keep people with great intelligence, beauty, or athletic ability from being themselves. To keep people equal they created small devices like ear buds that sent out a sharp noise to keep very intelligent people from being able to think, bags full of lead balls, and masks to make everyone equal. George and Hazel Bergeron, the main characters, are ordinary citizens whose fourteen-year-old son was taken to jail for being different from everyone else. Harrison Bergeron was very athletic, handsome, and a genius which in the