' All Men Are Created Equal In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

“All men are created equal”, as our Declaration of Independence states, but the story “Harrison Bergeron” begs to differ. Written by Kurt Vonnegut, a writer known for making political jabs at government policies, this story questions the morality of having all men and women be treated as equal. Set in futuristic America, this story tells the tale of a nation where all men must be held as equal- and quite literally. The attractive are forced to deform themselves, the smart a forced to have buzzing sounds in their ears to hinder their thinking, and the strong are ladened with heavy weights. Harrison Bergeron follows the actions of a couple as they watch tv- seeing first ballerinas (who are not very graceful nor beautiful so that no one can be jealous) then a warning about a danger man-- Harrison Bergeron -- escaping from prison, and finally a showdown between Harrison and the “HG”: the Handicapper General. In a “Wall-E” and “The Giver” format, this story shows

The extremely detailed description of Harrison punctuates this point; the author vividly describes his earphones, glasses, and description. The weights supposed to keep Harrison down is so haphazard that he can only be described as a “walking junkyard.” Further on in the story, when Harrison is in the news studio, he tears “the strap of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper” and snaps the bar that secures his head harness “like celery”. These visual descriptions are impressive as the give the reader a representation of what happens and perhaps makes it easier for the audience to imagine the scene that takes place. These illustrations are taken further when Harrison and his “empress” are described as “kissing” the ceiling as the leap in dance. This too brings a beautiful visual representation to the audience. The story finishes with Harrison unfortunately being killed while George and Hazel resume their mundane