Multiple Themes In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. wrote the short story “Harrison Bergeron”. This story takes place in a society where everyone is equal in every aspect of life, although it is not an ideal situation. The title character, Harrison Bergeron, is the protagonist who ultimately tries to break the system. Vonnegut uses multiple themes throughout his story in order to add dimension to his writing. The themes used include symbolism, politics, and being marked for greatness. These themes are used to reflect the overall attitude of the government and citizens of the United States and the Soviet Union during the time of the Cold War, which is when this story was written.

Symbolism plays a huge role and can be see very often throughout the story. The symbols used in this story usually underlie another theme, such as politics, in order to strengthen it. Specifically, chapter 74 uses the word “moon” in order to describe how Harrison and the ballerina leaped into the air while dancing.

Foster states “Is That a Symbol?” in his book How to Read Literature like a Professor that essentially everything can be a symbol. The word “moon” can be a symbol for Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General. This works since Harrison’s goal is to defy the government and specifically, Diana Moon Glampers, by getting rid of the handicaps.

Politics is one of the most common themes within this story.

This is mainly because, as mentioned before, the point of the story is to reflect upon the government and citizens during the Cold War. Foster mentions in “It’s All Political” in his book How to Read Literature like a Professor that authors can use politics in their writing in order to achieve a point that shows concern about what is going on around them in a society. America has always had a struggle for equal rights, and many of which are different groups of people. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the author uses politics to get to the point of, Is there such thing as too much equality? The story tells that there is even equality amongst people with strength and those without it, those with high mental stimulation and those without it, amongst other things. This was the focus of the story because the author wanted to talk about how there is such thing as too much equality and that it can result in a totalitarian society like this

one.

When specifically talking about Harrison Bergeron, there is a corresponding theme that is only found when he is mentioned. In the chapter “Marked for Greatness” in How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C Foster, being marked for greatness is defined as a psychical imperfection that supports character development. This applies to Harrison Bergeron because he is mentioned to be stronger than the government. This leads into his character development because it shows that Harrison has a lot of psychical capabilities, but is restricted because of the handicaps assigned to him. This leads to his outrage and disobedient attitude towards the government, causing him to get into trouble and ultimately killed, which is what he wanted.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. used many themes that relate to How to Read Literature like a Professor throughout the story, but symbolism, politics, and being marked for greatness are just a few. The story is used to express a deeper meaning than what is purely on the surface, which makes it have an added dimension. The story is so beneficial so we are able to interpret how different themes come together and intertwine to create a powerful story like “Harrison Bergeron”.