Social Issues In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

There are many ways an author can convey the message of any story. Elements such as the Plot, Conflict, Character/Characterization, Setting, Symbolism, Narration, and Imagery are used in these ways. For example, in the In the story "Harrison Bergeron", the author Kurt Vonnegut uses the characterization, and the conflict to communicate the message to the reader that Uniformity and strict laws lead to a loss of personal freedom and individuality.

The people of the United States fight and strive for an absolute “equal” society, but is it what’s really wanted? “Harrison Bergeron,” a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut, uses satire to describe the deficiency in our idea of a truly “equal” society. Throughout the story, Vonnegut describes the torture and discomfort the government administers among the people, and though they were “equal,” they were not balanced. Vonnegut uses characterization and word choice to warn his readers of the potential drawbacks of a truly “equal” society. He warns normalcy would become the base of thought, and people would become incapable of emotion.

Every great heroin will face a plethora of conflict in their journey. For Equality, it is not any less. Equality faces internal and external conflict in his path to heroism, faces conflict with others, but also himself. As his desire for a new life grows, more problems arise.

"The year was 2081 and everybody was finally equal." Everyone may have been equal, but some people may disagree with the ways the government made them equal. Harrison was an example. However, was he really a hero for rebelling? In 'Harrison Bergeron" , Harrison was a danger to society because he makes everyone obey his orders, tried to rebel, and escaped from jail. Harrison Bergeron was not a hero, but a danger to society.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”-Ray Bradbury. Censorship is the act of limiting information, ideas, or the freedom of thought, from life. Censorship can be used because of offensive, sensitive, harmful, or objectionable speech/ideas. In life, censorship is used a lot, more than people think. It also affects lives too. People barely notice it, or care for it, but censorship is there. Censorship has been used for a long time, it has a lot of history. Censorship is found in books, media, or any other form of expression. Censorship is powerful. Everyone should be aware of censorship. Censorship is a theme conveyed in the works of many, such as, I am Very Real by Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison

Upon shredding his handicaps and removing the girl’s handicaps, he was killed by the Handicapper General. She could have just put stronger handicaps on Harrison and the ballerina after capturing them, but she decided to kill them instead. It may the faster and more permanent solution, but it’s what happened after that that clears up the claim. On a T.V. in the Bergeron family house, while Harrison’s mother and father were watching the channel on which Harrison was killed, the television tube burnt out about 10 seconds after Harrison was killed and Mrs. Bergeron/Hazel, automatically forgot what she saw and was unable to inform her husband, George, of what happened. So this could show that the government is also able to influence the minds of the citizens and make them believe and remember what the government wants them to believe and remember.

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.

In the story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut explores the idea of total equality. His use of irony which is present for the duration of the entire story reveals the concept that equality may not be as good as it seems. The unpredictable ending, surprising situations, and shocking character reactions all serve as illustrations to help convey Vonnegut’s theme.

‘Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future.’ -Lauren Oliver.

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

For hundreds of years, humanity has struggled to define equality, as well implement the concept properly into society. Slaves; prisoners of war; and even in today’s society, we still see people of color treated as lesser than their Caucasian counterparts. Interestingly enough, color is never introduced as a problem in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron”. While most people nowadays would agree that the word “equality” refers to equal opportunity, Vonnegut forces this word to the extremes, and warps its meaning into something much more controlling, to the point where it harms society more than inequality ever did. But why would the author do this? What is the point of creating a

“Harrison Bergeron” is a short fiction written by Kurt Vonnegut, the story is set in the year 2081, and it talks about a futuristic society where all people are equal. No one is smarter, beautiful or stronger than the other, and if someone happens to be better than the others they find themselves compelled by The United States Handicapper General to wear what they call “handicaps” in order to bring down their abilities to the most basic levels as the others. Throughout the story, Vonnegut expresses a strong and vigorous political and social criticism of some historical events in the US during 1960s such as the Cold War and Communism, television and American Culture and Civil Rights Movement.

Harrison Bergeron, a story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, shows a society where everyone is the same, no one is- or allowed to be, better than anyone else.

Most authors, when writing futuristic stories, tend to have technological advances like flying cars or robots to add that flare. However, in the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut there is nothing of the sort. In the year 2081, the US government has tried to reach full equality by using handicaps on the gifted. The society’s rules leave more people with pain and anger rather than a sense of total equality with each other. Which leads some readers to wonder what a society where the ungifted were lifted up instead of the gifted put down would be like in comparison with Vonneguts. The pain, emotions, and overall equality could be different enough that it could seem almost normal to our current society. Reaching an equality by genetically

can be like that, so Vonnegut made George Bergeron. He lives a very sad life, but who wouldn’t