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Symbolism In Harrison Bergeron

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The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut describes a futuristic world where anyone who is even remotely considered to have a slight advantage over others is immediately suppressed. This is done so everyone can be equal and those who are more intelligent, athletic, etc. don’t gain an advantage over others. This can all be seen through the characters such as George, Hazel, Harrison, and Diana Moon Glampers, the point of view of the story is set in, and through the symbolism which all add up to create a theme of equality through government oppression. When examining the theme of the story, the characters play a pivotal role in enforcing the theme since all the characters are static characters and their role as protagonist shows how the …show more content…

In this scene the way the two are described and how their actions give great symbolism showing that they broke out of the equality for all law and become above everyone else. This type of symbolism can be seen when Harrison labels him and the ballerina as emperor and empress. According to the text, it states "I am the Emperor!" cried Harrison...I shall now select my Empress!" he said... She was blindingly beautiful...Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well...It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it. And then, neutralizing gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time” (citation). This quote represents the symbolic meaning of inequality. When they explain how the woman was stunning, the labels of Emperor and Empress or the fact they leaped into the air defying the law of land and physics it's abundantly clear that these two are no equals to everyone else. These two have risen above everyone else as a symbol that forced equality only ends potential growth. However, this symbolism won’t last long since a new form of symbolism is found when Diana Moon Clampers enters. According to the text it states “It was then that Diana Moon Clampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor. Diana Moon Clampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on” (citation). What this symbolism does is it counteracts the previous symbolism which defied a crucial part of the theme, equality. Diana Moon acts as the counterbalance to this and fulfills the other

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