...Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” is based on equality. The story was written in 1961 but was based in the year of 2081. Equality is forced through amendments in the constitution, which states no one can be smarter than anyone else, no one can be stronger than anyone else, and no one can be better looking than anyone else. The story begins in the living room of the Bergeron’s, Hazel and George. George possesses an intelligence higher than the average person, so he is forced to have a handicap in his ear that scatters his thoughts every twenty seconds. George is also very strong, so he is forced to wear a forty-seven-pound bag of bird shot that consist of lead balls. His wife, Hazel, has an average intelligence in their society; however, in our generation she would be considered mentally slow. Diana Moon Glampers, also known as the United States Handicapper General, has placed their son Harrison Bergeron in jail for refusing to follow the equality laws. Harrison is a very strong, intellectual man and doesn’t believe in total equality. He escapes from prison, breaks into a ballet concert and manages to get on live television. Harrison rips off his restraints...
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...The Never Ending War Between Equality and Equity “Equality is giving everyone a shoe, whereas equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits.” - Unknown We fight for equality thinking it will benefit us, but it will only bring chaos due to the differences in others. We often believe equality as being the ideal society compared to an equitable society. However, in the story “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates to us that enforcing equality in our lives won’t be beneficial. In Vonnegut’s narrative, he enhances his story by including symbolism and imagery to exhibit the contrast between the reality of equality and equity in a society. As an illustration of this idea, Vonnegut includes a large amount of imagery to display...
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...Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 short story Harrison Bergeron takes place in the dystopian future of 2081. The 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the United States Constitution make every American totally equal, with no differences in intelligence, attractiveness, strength, or speed. Americans live in a world where “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” These laws are enforced by a particularly Orwellian-sounding officer called the Handicapper General. Harrison Bergeron, the fourteen-year-old titular character, is taken away from his parents. Due to their average intelligence, his parents, George and Hazel, are not fully aware of the tragic events. (In 2081,...
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...Harrison Bergeron was a short fictional and fantasy story published in 1961 by the author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine. The story takes place in the year 2081 where everyone was finally equal. This equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and the 213th Amendments to the constitution. Also it was due to the continuous watch from the agents of the United States Handicapper General. Nobody was stronger, quicker, smarter, or better looking than anybody else. If they were above average, they would be given handicaps from the government to make sure they were equal to everybody else. Handicaps included weights to make the people weaker, a transmitter to cause people to lose their track of thought, and accessories to make people less attractive. Despite the fact of the government being so strict, there was one...
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...answers remain unanswered, but Kurt Vonnegut made his inference alive in “Harrison Bergeron.” The story is a reflection of the United States in 2081, and it’s new government where everyone is physically and mentally identical, except for Harrison Bergeron. The conflict in “Harrison Bergeron” was Harrison Bergeron expressing his individuality versus accepting the rules of equality that the government has imposed. Vonnegut portrayed the government as a “big brother” to the nation. The government controlled everything by making everyone “the same.” They used media to control citizens’ minds and to frighten them from doing things--pretty much how the government does things today. However, not everyone agreed to how the government controlled things, causing a disruption in the society. Vonnegut’s message is that equality is impossible to achieve, and that it’s not worth risking your life for. The government was portrayed as the “big brother” of the United States because they controlled all actions. They did so by equalizing everyone...
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...Equality, according to Dictionary.com, is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities; this is what societies think is the most vital part to having a great society. The societies in Anthem and "Harrison Bergeron" thought the same way as well, but later realized that it only led to their demise. Both Ayn Rand's novella, Anthem, and Kurt Vonnegut's story, "Harrison Bergeron," focus on the theme of equality, and it is apparent that the theme reveals that being different is wrong, that people are naturally different but are forced to be equal, and that equality is a barrier from individuality, which both suggests that everyone is naturally different; therefore, making the reader know that they should embrace rather than fear their differences among others....
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...are oppressed to conformity? Kurt Vonnegut explores this question in his short story and uses several ironic situations to illustrate how unequal this futuristic dystopian society actually is. This homogenous world is based on false premises that by molding variations in individuals can result in conformity; however, people are born with human predispositions and differences related to body size, intellect, and beauty. This inclination of diversity makes it genetically impossible to adapt to a sterile conforming society, which exemplifies the story’s main theme. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the author, Kurt Vonnegut, uses irony to illuminate the story’s theme of society versus the individual by exhibiting the limitation of people’s freedom, deciding what morality is, and the...
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...Ganelle Curry Professor Meredyth Puller English 102-12 February 27, 2013 Literary Research Paper This literary research paper is based on the book Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works by Kurt Vonnegut. Welcome to the Monkey House: A Collection of Short Works consists of 25 short stories most of which had previously appeared in magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Ladies Home Journal, Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, Collier’s Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, The New York Times, Esquire, Venture, and Cosmopolitan. The title story appeared in Playboy magazine the same year the collection was released. Eleven of the stories were reprinted from Vonnegut’s 1961 short story collection Canary in a Cat House (Vonnegut). This paper will focus on four futuristic science fiction stories from the collection. These stories, “Welcome to the Monkey House”, “Harrison Bergeron”, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, and “Unready to Wear” all share a dystopian science fiction theme. Science and technology are supposed to make the world a better place, but instead, Vonnegut concludes they only create a new set of problems (Farrell, “Science and Technology in the Works of Kurt Vonnegut”). Television is often a target of satire in much of his fiction from the 1950’s. He describes it as desensitizing and numbing while deceiving the masses (Werlock). Vonnegut uses satire and pessimism throughout these dystopian stories. Satire is a special form of literature...
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...“Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1922, and ten years later The Great Depression began. In this time, Vonnegut had to adapt to living in impoverished conditions because of his father’s lack of financial means. The Great Depression was a crucial period in his childhood development; Vonnegut’s literary pieces are a reflection of what he observed the world to be through his own life experiences. The majority of his works are science fiction used to “[help] lend form to the presentation of this world view without imposing a falsifying causality upon it (Reed),” as Peter Reed mentioned in an autobiography about Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut believed that science fiction offers a perception into an everyday society, rather than escaping it. The extraordinary events he experienced throughout his life served as motivation and influenced him to write stories about the world; as a result, Vonnegut showed an immense appreciation about life in his literary pieces. Kurt Vonnegut continued to pursue his goal of demonstrating to the world how wonderful life is through creations in the graphic arts. In 1950, Vonnegut published his first short story, “Report on the Barnhouse Effect” followed by “The Sirens of Titan” (1959), “Cat’s Cradle” (1963), “Slaughterhouse-Five” (1969), and “Breakfast of Champions” (1973). The society in which Kurt Vonnegut was a part of highly valued the ideal of equality; the short story “Harrison Bergeron” was written to foreshadow the...
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...Andrew Ragonese Eng 102 Independently Equal A civilization in existence with complete equality. That no one man or woman carries attributes to distinguish from one another, other than their name given. An existence based of the creation of one model and all others massed produced to replicate. Vonnegut relates America’s society and government in 2081 to today’s progressive controllability. There is so much manipulation today to over see and interact in attempt to create equality. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut mocks today and tomorrow’s society for it’s complete government empowerment, it’s gullibility towards modern media, and it’s incapability to exercise personal individuality. Vonnegut introduces the reader to George Bergeron, father of Harrison and husband to Hazel Bergeron, a family in the year 2081. Government has implemented characteristic handicaps in attempt to create equality in society. Impairments to alter ones thinking pattern interrupted with a government hearing aide placed in an intelligent individual’s ear on a continuous abrupt interruption with twenty second intervals, weights to be carried to restrain one’s physical strength, and masks to cover up one’s physical beauty creating a society where no one person stands above another. George Bergeron is described as a strong man who wears these restraints around his neck and is annoyingly un-able to complete his trans of thought due to the overwhelming noise broadcasted by the government...
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...stories are still being written in today’s societies that follow the elements of Aristotelian theory. One story written in relatively recent history is that of "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. which in many aspects, can be considered a Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle described a tragedy as a story that consisted of a tragic hero and a plot that would generate fear and pity in its audience. In this story, fourteen-year-old Harrison Bergeron valiantly attempts to break free from an equality-based society, but is quickly denied by the authoritative force of the government. The most important element in Aristotelian tragedy is the plot of a story. Aristotle states in Poetics that a story must consist of a beginning, middle, and end (Aristotle, 7). "Harrison Bergeron" fits this description very well because the beginning, middle, and end can be clearly identified while reading the story. The story opens by giving a description of what the society people live in is like. "THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way" (1). By reading this description of what life was like, one gets the idea that people lived in a totalitarian-based society. As the story progresses, the reader is introduced to Hazel and George Bergeron, who are watching a ballet program on their television when a special news bulletin...
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...All Men are Created Equally Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., author of "Harrison Bergeron" perhaps takes America's First Amendment that all men are created equally a little to seriously. His futuristic short story gives the reader a glimpse of what a truly equal society would be like. In Vonnegut's society various constraints are used to handicap and equalize the citizens; earphones that emit piercing noises to distract the thoughts of the gifted, heavy weights to weaken the strong, and hideous masks to hide ones natural beauty. Vonnegut's dystopian world exposes the dangers and disadvantages of a society with complete equality of all citizens portrayed by imagery, satire and a not so happy ending. In the beginning of the story the reader is given a glimpse of a truly equal society. Vonnegut emphasis his view of extreme equality and the role the government plays in enforcing it. The year was...
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...Harrison Bergeron Fairness and equality is what mankind strives for in a society, and it is what mankind is going to strive over the course of an eternity. For the longest time we’ve searched for a Utopian society, and in the short story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut in 1961, mankind needs to look no further. Total equality, everyone is equal in Harrison Bergeron, which creates a utopian society in theory. But does total equality create a utopian society? The setting of the story shows the dull and dystopian society George and Hazel are living in. “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way…” The quote indicates the setting, a setting where equality has been forced and isn’t naturally caused equality. The dystopian society is also perfectly depicted in the following quote: “And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear.” The quote shows that the society puts limitations on individuals to create equality, which is not utopian at all. The story takes place in George and Hazel’s living room, which isn’t described in anyway, which is weird if you think about the time the story takes place. In many other Sci-fi stories the environment and locations are wildly described, but not in Harrison Bergeron. The reason for this could be the fact that, George and Hazel’s living room could be anyone’s living room. It could be my living...
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...“Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem- Similarities and Differences Two societies where everyone is finally equal. Sounds like the perfect utopia, right? These two societies were created in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and in Ayn Rand’s Anthem. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a very strict and controlling society, while Anthem takes place in a collective society. Both stories take place in the future, after the society we know today has fallen. These societies are similar in that they both go to great lengths to make everyone equal. However, they are different because of how they are controlled. “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem are similar because they both strive for unrealistic equality. In the very first paragraph of “Harrison Bergeron,”...
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...What if…? If only…? If this goes on…" (Gaiman xi). Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 utilizes the latter of these three phrases. Bradbury pictures that if our society continues to substitute knowledge with instant, mindless gratification, the product would be similar to that of Guy Montag's world. Likewise, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is created around the phrase, "What if...?" Vonnegut's story was developed while thinking about how the world would be if people were handicapped based on their strengths and weaknesses. The genre of science fiction conveys an author's feelings towards our community, and typically towards our community's future. Both of these texts demonstrate a strong theme, while simultaneously allowing these themes to reveal truths about our society. Firstly, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury demonstrates a theme of how one must be aware and knowledgeable to...
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