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Hero In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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People hear the word "hero" and think of supernatural humans with "out of this world" powers, who overthrow other evil supernatural beings to save the day. The classic icon of a hero is Superman because he is noble, humble, and basically perfect. To become a hero though, one doesn't have to have all these unique qualities. Harrison Bergeron is no superman, and at first he seems like an enraged tyrant looking for power. However in the short story, "Harrison Bergeron", by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., when Harrison is on stage risking his life to share his voice, he is a hero due to his brave, iconic acts to expose the government's corruption. To start, Harrison's motivations to revolt against the government sparked a basic characteristic of heroism, self determination. At the start of the book, it explains that …show more content…

After killing Harrison and the unnamed ballerina, the Handicap General threatens the musicians. Standing over the dead bodies, "Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on" (5). The Handicap General threatens the musicians undermining them after playing at their true potential, and they most likely enjoy it for once. This could create some tension between the musicians there and the government. Furthermore, the authorities assisting the Handicap General do not wear handicaps or else would not be able to enforce the laws. Therefore, this insights them, causing an epiphany that they are enforcing the wrong ideas. Additionally, other viewers may have similar ideas like Harrison, that taking away individuality takes away humanity from society. All these people get impacted and shown the corruption, realizing that their government is not made of gold, but is

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