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The Mask Behind Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

525 Words3 Pages

The Mask Behind Equality “Harrison Bergeron”, a short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, is about a 14 year old boy named Harrison Bergeron. He lives in the year 2081, where anything and everything is equal. The people who were very intelligent, had to bare handicaps so they did not take advantage of their minds.The handicaps were bags with lead balls worn around the neck, and an earpiece that would send out loud noises to stop all train of thought. Harrison did not like the equality laws, as he wants to be Emperor. One lesson the story suggests is that equality can be harmful. Harrison was very young and already labeled as extremely dangerous. He had a drive for power, and the laws at the time would not permit anyone to be more in power than others.

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