Literary Elements In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Harrison Bergeron In Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s story, “Harrison Bergeron,” literary elements symbolism, imagery, and tragedy reveal the author’s perspective on what society would be like if everyone was equal. Handicaps were a major part of the story “Harrison Bergeron.” The Handicaps symbolized how society is attempting to limit everyone to mediocrity. Of all of the handicaps, the body weight seemed to be the harshest. Stronger individuals were forced to wear metal to make them just as weak as others. Harrison Bergeron was extremely strong so the metals that he wore were very large. Vonnegut said, “Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking

Hazel, Harrison’s mother, forgot what she witnessed on television immediately after it happened. Her husband asked, “you been crying? He said to hazel… ‘I forget’ she said. ‘Something real sa d on television” (Vonnegut, 197). Hazel’s husband George experienced a similar reaction after Harrison’s murder. George’s handicaps effectively removed the thought of Harrison from his mind. “’Gee- I could tell that one was a doozy.’ Said Hazel. ‘You can say that again,’ said George” (Vonnegut, 197) “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr was a fantastic story that included many literary elements. The elements symbolism, imagery, and tragedy were elements that particularly stood out. The story displayed many of the elements by giving examples of the handicaps. “Harrison Bergeron” was a very good read, and is a great story that can help teach literary