Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut Analysis

“Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut’s Dystopian story “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in the year 2081 in the United States. Everyone is forced to wear handicaps to slow down their physical and mental capabilities to be “equal” to everyone else. Harrison Bergeron is an exceptionally strong man that emerges in the middle of the story. He must wear multiple handicaps that deny him his ability to use his strength against the government. One theme that emerges from the story is that true equality is impossible to achieve, no matter how much pain a superior bring to others.

Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron is a short story published in 1961 that I would describe as having the theme of futuristic-science-fiction. The short is set in the year 2081 where in the United States new amendments to the constitution has equalized all humans. Although, the author does not mention how this dystopia came to be and if the rest of the world has equalized all human beings, it is clear to me that in this dystopia, equality is an illusion, equality is not real. As I read this short, it became more and more evident to me that this society was strange, and when I finished the short, I was convinced that this society was conformed to act and think in the way that they do, which unfortunately, for a country in year 2081, that claims

The Dystopian short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. tells of a world where everybody is made to be excruciatingly average. In an attempt to push equality to its furthest limits the United States government released a series of laws that forced anybody who was above average in any area, whether that be intelligence, beauty, strength, or any skill to be handicapped to turn them into another average person. This causes performers to have to wear masks and to bear weights so that they aren't better than anybody else, reporters have speech impediments, and due to the mass-hysteria against competition, anyone who tries to go against this system is harshly punished. This lack of human diversity causes a stagnation of progress, as well

Republicans were against many policies5, they believe in ‘Laissez-faire’ and thought the Government has too much control over wages, working conditions and production targets, like Soviet Russia. The New Deal was perceived as a communist approach, because of agencies like the NIRA (National Industry Recovery Act) and The Social Security Act. Roosevelt was even compared to Stalin, a dictator. The Supreme Court6 was a panel of nine judges, who were old, conservative and republican. Their job was to decide if any measure of the New Deal did not agree with the American Constitution so it could be denied.

Imagine living in a world where people are unable to think for themselves and can only carry out actions that will better everyone else. That world is a collectivist society in which Ayn Rand forces her characters to live in her book. Anthem can be defined as a dystopian book because of the setting characterization, and the amount of government control. Anthem is set in the future. Equality writes in his journal saying, “They whisper many strange things of the towers which rose to the sky in those unmentionable time,” (Rand 19).

The leaders of the colonies heard of their reputation as a nation and chose to change it; George Washington was elected president. One of the final straws leading to the collapse of the Articles was Shay’s Rebellion, which showed the public how going on with this form of government would only encourage rebellion. Under the Articles of

The American Revolutionary War came about after decades of grievances on the part of the American colonies, grievances which were put in place by the British Parliamentary system. The lack of American representation in parliament paired with the multitudes of acts designed to take advantage of the colonies were cause enough for the colonies to revolt and to overthrow their government. There are few who would disagree with the American’s justification for the revolution, would Locke be one of them? No he would not, the American colonies were fully justified under Lockean reasons for revolution, considering how long they endured the grievances and the legislature that was passed against them.

The Patriots sparked the American Revolution, which was uncalled for according the British, and by initiating this revolution, they cut all ties with the British along with all of the benefits they received. The Patriots also blamed their rebelling on British “tyranny” but according to the actual effects and intentions of the Sugar and Stamp Acts, the British were not tyrants. Finally, the Patriots unjustly and repeatedly broke laws and acted violently. This proves the Patriots were unjust to spark the revolution thus making the American Revolution

In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. relies on the use of irony to indicate where our country will stand once we have gained total equality amongst each other. The theme in “Harrison Bergeron” is that the government cannot enforce equality within the people. The author creates a fictional visualization of the future in the year 2081, where the government controls the people and tortures them in order to maintain “equal opportunity” in their world to prove why it is impossible to achieve absolute equality in the world. Vonnegut dives into a whole other level of uniformity in Harrison Bergeron by focusing on eliminating advantages in appearance, intelligence, strength, and other unique abilities rather than focusing on

Kennedy did not give support for air assistance for the invasion which made him look vulnerable. This caused damage to America’s reputation around the world. JFK was constantly worried about nuclear war between the soviet union and United States. The Cuban missile crisis was said to be his fault. He was to blamed for the situation because he taunted the Soviet Union and they reacted by placing missiles in Cuba.

The government justified these actions by claiming that these countries were falling under a communist influence. In reality, the goal of these actions was to protect American businesses in these countries. This rationalization was used to prove to the public that the actions were necessary. In all of these instances, the overthrow of strong leaders by the United States caused many problems that are still being dealt with

Also, the author looks at a portion of the compelling people who helped to resolve the war that had developed into stable long peace. Case in point, Gaddis concentrates on the 1962 Cuban miscalculations of Nikita Khrushchev that President Kennedy got confused and nearly went to war. Gaddis says, "Khrushchev slipped missiles into Cuba, predominantly as a push to spread revolution all through Latin America." In another dialog, Gaddis concentrates on the mid 1980s when Reagan 's rearmament extended and emphasized talk to the 'Evil Empire ' made Moscow trust that America had propelled plans for a preemptive atomic strike along these lines the need to get ready in like manner. Likewise, the author concentrates on Dwight Eisenhower 's endeavors to maintain a strategic distance from an atomic clash.

(House of Un-American Committee) Therefore, the expansion of communism was seen as an unacceptable threat to American power and interest. In 1949, the House of Un-American Activity Committee became a permanent congressional committee. (Oodman) Furthermore, the invention of the atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in 1949 only further fueled America’s fear of communist imperialism.

Federal judges, especially Judge Irving Kaufman, were generally harsh when ruling against Communists, viewing their crimes as “aggression against free men everywhere” and “worse than murder.” The mixed attitudes towards the threat of communism stretched all the way up to the highest court in the land. In the case of Dennis et al. v. United States, the head of the court at the time, Chief Justice Fred Vinson maintained that in the case of the dangers of communism, it would be extremely foolish for anyone not to “convict unless they found that petitioners intended to overthrow the Government ‘as speedily as circumstances would permit.’”

After that they would be a huge threat to the United States. An aim of the Reagan Administration was to drive the communist out of Central America. Reagan opposed the leftist government known as the Sandinistas, and supported a rebel conservative organization known as the Contras in Nicaragua. America wanted to interfere with Central America, but this was not the first time. “In the early 1900s U.S. Marines were sent to Nicaragua to control rebel uprisings and again in late 1920s to "preserve order”.