The Social Norm In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Today, the debate that perplexes society is whether collectivism provides answer for simplicity amongst a civilization. True collectivists believe in altruism, and these altruists believe the only way to bring a society together is by destroying individualism. Democracies believe that individualists remain the only way to keep society 's bonds intact. The stories “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and Anthem by Ayn Rand draws the line between the so-called perfect utopia versus an imperfect dystopia. One can see there are many similarities between “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem.

‘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.

Everyone has felt smarter or maybe not so smart, due to others intelligence once in their lifetime. In a world full of different people this can happen often. However, what if there were a world where everyone was equal? No person was smarter than the other, and everyone had the same level of intelligence. In the movie, Harrison Bergeron, he is a very gifted boy who is against a “government” that makes the entire society equal by handicapping the more gifted, down to the level of the less fortunate or incapable.(Bruce “Harrison”) In Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, he explores this equality idea in a in 2081 setting where every man, woman, and child are on the same level of intelligence. Although in Kurt Vonnegut’s story the government is appearing to want equality, in all reality they really just want power and control.

Author and feminist Rita Mae Brown once said, “I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.” In the dystopian science-fiction short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, it shows conformity taking over the world. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence...George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains...He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son....but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that...It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood on the rims of his red eyes. Two of of the eight ballerinas had collapsed….holding their temples” (Vonnegut 1-2). George had something that made him an individual. Instead of making everyone as smart as him, he has to have a handicap on him that makes him lose track of what he was thinking about. He has to suffer because of conformity and to make others feel as smart as him. Without his freedom to speak for himself without interruption, the Handicap General and her co-workers have the power to tell everyone what

    The society Vonnegut creates is ironic because it is based off the United States-- a place which values freedom-- but in the pursuit of equality, citizens lose their freedom to be themselves. Through the creation of the handicap system above average citizens are required to wear physical and mental handicaps in order to maintain a fair playing field for all. An example of these handicaps is George’s ear piece, a radio that transmits an interval of loud noises that prevents him from “taking unfair advantages of his brain”. The government believes this is a solution to abolish all discriminations brought upon citizens for lack of a certain attribute.

In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, everyone is finally equal in every which way. No one person is stronger, more beautiful, smarter, taller, or is just overall better than someone else.This is all thanks to the current government, who did this using weights, ugly masks, and ear pieces that let loose noises to interrupt a person’s thoughts. One man, named Harrison Bergeron, was recently arrested only to break out a few weeks later. Harrison rushed towards a studio that was, unknowingly to him, recording a ballerina performance. He ran in, interrupting the performance, and ripped off his handicaps and began proclaiming himself as emperor. One of the ballerinas stood up and Harrison removed her handicaps. They

“Harrison Bergeron” is a unique story, in the sense that it takes place in 2081 in a dystopian society where everyone is equal. No one could be smarter, better-looking, or more athletic than anyone else. They are made equal with mental handicap radios for those who are intelligent, hideous masks for those who are beautiful, and heavy weights for those who are strong.

“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

The government’s idea is to enforce equality by handicapping talented people and preventing those with less talent from bettering themselves.In this story, the government's strategy is "equality by limitation." In American society, it should be "equality by opportunity." When the government attempts to have “equality by limitations”, the use “handicaps” to prevent people with higher levels of knowledge from using their brain

Throughout history, many powerful men have strived for equality- to eliminate the people and qualities they view as imperfect. The government agency Harrison fights against in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, works for the same goal, but in a different way. Harrison Bergeron rebels against a government who handicaps the unique, the intelligent, the beautiful, and the strong. However, despite their efforts, they can not conjure up handicaps which control him. Consequently, he escapes from imprisonment and revolts. The fictional character, Harrison Bergeron, exemplifies the idea that conformity can not eradicate individuality- it can only hinder it. He has to attune to society and in the end, the handicaps hinder him but do not take aways his individuality. In fact, they enhance every aspect of him.

Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron is a short story published in 1961 that I would describe as having the theme of futuristic-science-fiction. The short is set in the year 2081 where in the United States new amendments to the constitution has equalized all humans. Although, the author does not mention how this dystopia came to be and if the rest of the world has equalized all human beings, it is clear to me that in this dystopia, equality is an illusion, equality is not real. As I read this short, it became more and more evident to me that this society was strange, and when I finished the short, I was convinced that this society was conformed to act and think in the way that they do, which unfortunately, for a country in year 2081, that claims

No matter how many handicaps you put on someone they aren’t going to change. It’s kind of like trying to cover up beauty with a mask or make-up. Handicaps have no value in making anyone equal. Although equality is needed, no one in “Harrison Bergeron” is solely based on appearance and how smart you are. Equality is treating everyone one with the same amount of respect so therefore, no one in this short story is

“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.

In Harrison Bergeron, everyone is well aware of the fact that their intelligence, physical abilities, and beauty are being regulated by the government. No efforts of discretion are made by the government. Government-issued handicaps such as sashweights, bags of birdshot, and masks are bulky, unsophisticated, and impossible to overlook. Citizens also understand that those who receive mental handicap radios are smarter others, that the radios intentionally halt people’s thought processes, that behind the ugly masks there hide people of great beauty. This signifies that people weighed down by handicaps recognize that should they wish to establish themselves at the top of society’s hierarchy all they had to do was remove their handicaps, like Harrison. This would result in their intellectual and physical superiority to others—in other words they would gain the potential to rule the world. Nevertheless, despite their full realization of what is happening in their society, no one objects to the system of oppression. In fact, it is the heavily handicapped George, not Hazel, who points out the importance of the handicapping system. He says “If I tried to get away with it, then other people’d get away with it-and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that, would you?” (Vonnegut, 1961, p.2) This

In today’s society the general attitude towards an individual is conform or be an outcast. It is seen in schools where people who do not fit into specific cliques become outcasts, the weird people. It is seen in the work place as well. People have conformed to standards set by society simply because society has said to do so. Society asks people to change themselves to fit in. However, people do not have to conform to the standards set by society.