Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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The theme that Kurt Vonnegut provides in the short story Harrison Bergeron is the decline of quality of life as well as the loss of independence. In the story this is seen in the concept of handicaps, which are distributed by the Handicapper General, in attempt to make everybody equal. There are various types of handicaps that are supposed to rectify certain advantages people may have. For example, George is very intelligent and therefore he has a mental handicap that makes loud noises on a regular basis in order disrupt his thought process. One similarity that all people have in this society is that they all passively accept these handicaps that are forced upon them without putting up a fight. That is true despite one man, Harrison Bergeron, …show more content…

Harrison is George and Hazel’s son, who was in prison “on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government” (3). Harrison knew how corrupt the government was and wanted to revolt against it in order to allow people to live their own lives. The program that George and Hazel were watching was interrupted in order to announce that Harrison had escaped from prison and was on the loose. As this was going on, Harrison appeared in the middle of the dance studio, angry, and ready to fight. He then yells “Even as I stand here...crippled, hobbled, sickened - I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!” (4). This shows that Harrison knew that society was deliberately holding him back from his true self and potential. He then proceeds to rip all of the handicaps off of him, as well as one of the ballerinas. As the two of them were dancing in the air and “neutralizing gravity with love and pure will” (5), the Handicapper General barges into the room with a shotgun. She shot Harrison and the ballerina and they were “dead before they hit the floor”. This shows the capability that Vonnegut believes is hidden away when the government interferes with its citizens. He uses Harrison as an example to tell his readers that people should not be afraid to stand up to the government and fight for freedom if it is not …show more content…

In the movie, Dash is a “gifted child held back by the educational philosophy that ‘everybody is special’” (Tierney 1). This eliminates competition between kids in school, as it tries to keep everybody on an equal scale. Dash talks about this idea in the movie when he says “everybody will be super, which means no one will be” (2). The idea of taking away competition in schools is not really stopping inequality, but it will only teach the kids that they do not need to work hard to be rewarded. This is shown when it is said that “children are constantly feted for accomplishments that used to be routine” (2). This means that kids are often rewarded for doing things that they should be doing regardless. This will not help the school system because “males are wired for competition, and if you take it away there’s little to interest them” (3). This means that they will not do as well in school, as they will have less motivation to do so. Although the idea of equality that we see in Harrison Bergeron is much more severe than what is seen in today’s school systems, there are similarities between them. Just like the characters in the story are held back and prevented from reaching their full potential by handicaps, students today are as well, as the lack of competition can give them less desire to try their

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