harrison bergeron short essay

A Summary and Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Harrison Bergeron’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Harrison Bergeron’ is a 1961 short story by the American writer Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007). The story can be categorised as ‘dystopian satire’ or a ‘satirical dystopian story’, but we’ll say more about these labels in a moment. The action of the story takes place in the future America of 2081, where everyone has been made truly equal, physically, mentally, and aesthetically.

Plot summary

The story is set in the United States in 2081. True equality has finally been achieved: nobody is allowed to be stronger, more beautiful, or more intelligent than anyone else, so people who are deemed to have an unfair advantage are forced by law to use ‘handicaps’ which limit their powers or talents. A Handicapper General, named Diana Moon Glampers, is in charge of ensuring everyone obeys the law and wears their assigned handicaps at all times.

The story focuses on a couple, George and Hazel Bergeron, whose fourteen-year-old son Harrison is taken away so that he can be ‘handicapped’ because he is abnormally strong and intelligent. George is of above-average intelligence so is forced to wear earpieces which transmit distracting noises every twenty seconds, so that he cannot concentrate or, or think about things, for too long and thus use his intellect to his advantage.

George also carries forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, hung around his neck, to reduce his natural athleticism. When his wife suggests opening a hole in the bottom of the bag and removing some of the lead balls, because she can see how worn-out he is, he reminds her that such a crime carries a prison sentence and a fine.

George and Hazel watch ballerinas dancing on television, but George is unimpressed by them, since they aren’t very good: no more than average, at least, because they are not allowed to be supremely gifted at ballet. The naturally attractive dancers, like other beautiful people in society, are forced to wear masks which make them look less attractive.

The ballet show is interrupted by a live news broadcast, which reveals that their son, Harrison Bergeron, has escaped from jail, where he had been held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. Harrison enters the studios where the ballerinas are dancing, and tears off the handicaps he has been made to wear, which include a red rubber ball for a nose (like a clown) to make him look less handsome, and a large pair of headphones rather than the small radio his father is made to wear.

Harrison then announces that he will become emperor of the world, and asks for a woman to claim her prize as his empress. One of the beautiful ballerinas steps forward, and he removes her mask and frees her of her handicaps. He does the same to the other dancers and the musicians, and orders them to play good music.

Harrison and the dancer then ascend to the ceiling, floating above the ground, and exchange a long kiss. At that moment, Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, arrives and shoots them both dead, before ordering the dancers and musicians to put their handicaps back on.

George, who was in the kitchen getting himself a beer, misses the killing of his own son live on television, while Hazel, owing to her low intelligence, almost immediately forgets what she has seen.

This story is satirical, but what precisely is Vonnegut satirising in ‘Harrison Bergeron’? Is he taking aim at the idea of state-mandated equity, which forces everyone to be mediocre, in order to show the absurdity of such a notion? Or is he, in fact, satirising those who would oppose attempts to level the playing field for everyone?

This latter interpretation is not as unlikely as it may first appear. The first thing to establish is that Kurt Vonnegut was aware of the dangers of government overreach, and the future society depicted in ‘Harrison Bergeron’ is clearly one in which the state has too much power over the individual. They can force people to carry bags of bullets around their necks to disadvantage them physically, and even prevent them from thinking too much. People are fed a diet of mediocre television to keep them docile and compliant.

This aspect of ‘Harrison Bergeron’ reads almost like a more extreme version of Ray Bradbury’s dystopias of the 1950s: not just Fahrenheit 451 , in which books are banned because the government wants to keep everyone stupid and passive, but Bradbury’s short story ‘ The Pedestrian ’, in which the police threaten to arrest a lone man walking the streets of an evening because he isn’t sitting in front of the television, consuming a diet of cultural dross, like everyone else.

But the other key theme in Vonnegut’s story, besides government overreach and the state’s attempts to keep everyone intellectually lazy, is the one for which it is perhaps best known: egalitarianism, or the struggle for equality between all people. And on this issue, ‘Harrison Bergeron’ strikes a more ambivalent note.

On the one hand, the idea of state-mandated weights, radios, and masks to render supremely strong, clever, or beautiful people as weak, stupid, and ugly as the rest of the population strikes us as preposterously evil. Rather than pushing for a race to the bottom, a responsible and progressive government would seek to encourage weak citizens to pick up weights and build up their muscles, educate less intelligent members of society, and devise surgical techniques (such as plastic surgery) to make ugly people more attractive.

In one respect, then, Vonnegut’s story reads as a bedfellow of those satires which view communism or socialism as a way of making everyone equally miserable and poor, rather than trying to make everyone equally successful and financially comfortable.

Such an analysis is certainly defensible when we turn to the story and witness the ways in which, for instance, George Bergeron is effectively punished for his natural intellect by being bombarded with state-sanctioned noises on a regular basis: a peculiar kind of torture. The idea that one’s fourteen-year-old son could be taken away simply for being unusually strong and intelligent is abominable.

And yet Vonnegut doesn’t actually tell us why Harrison is taken away initially. We are just told that he has been taken away: nothing more. The news broadcast announces that he has been imprisoned for trying to overthrow the government.

Given George and Hazel’s short memories, and the fact that the story is focalised through them, we don’t learn, despite the story having a supposedly ‘omniscient’ third-person narrator, whether Harrison was simply taken away for being different or arrested because he had already presented a threat to the state by plotting a coup.

After all, George and Hazel have been allowed, following the application of their handicaps, to live ‘freely’ (at least relatively so) in their own home. Why was Harrison taken away? Because he was not just a little bit more intelligent than the average person, but vastly more ingenious than everyone else, so that all existing handicaps were useless on him? Or because he is already plotting something? The story refuses to tell us this.

Similarly, although the shooting of Harrison and his new girlfriend at the end of the story is shocking, Harrison’s lust for power – seeking to use his natural height, strength, and intellect to become ruler of the whole world – also strikes us as a nightmare prospect, so that the shock of his death is likely to be tempered with some degree of relief.

‘Harrison Bergeron’, in the last analysis, is a story which invites us to consider the lengths we are prepared to go to as a society in order to achieve equality. Clearly there are some things, like dancing or athletics or even thinking, which some people are more naturally gifted at than others. Do we want to punish them for their natural talent, or appreciate the things their gifts allow them to do? Just because we will never be an Olympic athlete, do we think it unfair that others get the chance to win a gold medal?

Most reasonable people would answer ‘no’ to this question. People are different, with different talents and skills. An ugly person might be extremely clever. A clever person might be a physical weakling. A body-builder might be thicker than a whale omelette. And Vonnegut’s point in ‘Harrison Bergeron’ appears to be twofold: first, that failing to accept that people are different from us is bad, and second, that government overreach is also bad.

And it is worth remembering that in 1961, when the story was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , America was still struggling towards the legislation which would recognise that all citizens were in fact equal before the law. The Civil Rights movement would, throughout the 1960s, see African-Americans asserting their equality as racial segregation was gradually written out of state laws.

What this means is that ‘Harrison Bergeron’ is both a satire on the absurd attempts to make everyone the same and to disregard the important differences between us, and a story which rejects the human impulse to use one’s innate sense of superiority (whether real or merely assumed) in order to gain power over other people.

In this regard, Diane Moon Glampers is the villain of the story for seeking to impose equity on everyone using totalitarian force, but Harrison Bergeron himself is also a warning about what may happen if individuals are allowed to use their innate privileges for evil or depraved ends.

At the same time as it is a warning against enforced equity (i.e., everyone will be as mediocre as everyone else), the story also carries the seeds of an opposing message, namely that those who seek to enforce difference and to use their innate differences from others to attain power and privilege are also to be rejected and opposed.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron

Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 25, 2021

Kurt Vonnegut is celebrated more for his longer fiction than for his short stories. Nonetheless, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” originally published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science in October 1961, and currently available in the author’s collection, Welcome to the Monkey House , is a very popular short story and is often cited as an example of dystopian science fiction with an emphasis on egalitarianism. One segment of the 1972 teleplay Between Time and Timbuktu was based on the story, and it was later adapted into a TV movie, Harrison Bergeron (1995), with Sean Astin in the title role.

Set in 2081, the story depicts society’s vain search for absolute equality. Specifically, this new world does not attempt to raise standards for the disabled or handicapped but rather chooses to implement a more onerous solution: to impede those who have superior intellect, beauty, or strength. This solution deprives individuals of their talents by employing masks, loud noises, and weights in an attempt to level the playing field for the less talented. Actually the government is attempting to place all members of society at the level of the lowest common denominator, a process that is overseen by the United States Handicapper General, the shotgun-toting Diana Moon Glampers, whose primary goal is to rid society of anyone who might threaten mediocrity and inadequacy. A similar (though less developed) version of this character and idea appeared in Vonnegut’s earlier novel, The Sirens of Titan.

In this brave new world, the exceptional are consistently repressed, arrested, thrown into mental institutions, and ultimately killed for failing to be average. The central and title character, Harrison Bergeron, is, of course, a threat to this community since he is physically fit, handsome, intellectual, and, what is worse, rebellious. As a result, he is forced to bear enormous handicaps. These include distracting noises, 300- pounds of excess weight, eyeglasses to give him headaches, and cosmetic changes to make him ugly. Despite these handicaps, however, he is able to invade a TV station and declare himself the new emperor. He then strips himself of his handicaps and begins to dance with a ballerina whose amazing beauty and skills have also been distorted by the authoritarian government in an attempt to restrict her advancement and recognition as a superior individual. As the couple dance in defiance of the “rules,” the two defy gravity as they “kiss” the ceiling and assert their artistic independence as well as their refusal to be controlled by an outside authority. The story ends abruptly with two shotgun blasts, suggesting to the reader that there is no forgiveness for those who defy society’s demand for conformity to the ordinary. Added poignancy is created by the framing story, in which Bergeron’s parents are watching TV and observe their son’s demise but cannot concentrate enough to remember the incident or assess its importance. Vonnegut’s point seems to be that without the nonconformists, the dreamers, and the different, society is doomed. The good intention of equality is marred by the way society decides to maintain it. To be fair to one group, it must necessarily be unfair to another. Yet if the brilliant and talented are hindered, society will be unable to improve, and the status quo will be all it can hope for.

Kurt Vonnegut/The New York Times

Vonnegut’s more pessimistic view of life may be termed absurdist. In this future society, growth and experimentation are no longer fostered, and science and technologies are devised to hurt rather than to help humankind. The complacency of Harrison’s parents who witness his murder and yet cannot remember why they are so sad indicates they both have submitted to a world where rebellion is not tolerated and where sameness is fostered and encouraged.

While many critics have considered Vonnegut’s story as an attack on the attempt to level all individuals, what Vonnegut is really assailing is the public’s understanding of what that leveling entails. Critics like Roy Townsend and Stanley Shatt seem to have missed the underlying irony of “Bergeron,” as well as its unreliable narrator, preferring to stress the obvious and ignore the fact that the story line offers an assessment of the foolishness that is “common sense.” Common sense is shown to be ridiculous in its assumptions about equality and in its belief that a sense of morality and ethics is intuitive. Moreover, since Vonnegut’s politics were Leftist in nature, it is unlikely that he would attack the concepts of communism and socialism.

In fact, it is Harrison himself who embodies the past oppression of a dominant culture, and readers should remember his desire is to be emperor, to reassert his superiority and the power it entitles him to wield. Instead Vonnegut seems to satirize society’s limited view of egalitarianism as only intelligence, looks, and athleticism. He never addresses income distribution (the separation between rich and poor) or class prejudice (the difference between the powerful and the powerless) even though both are signifcant issues for America. The mediocrity Vonnegut decries is not a result of the future but a continuation of past practices, an antiintellectualism that is depicted in Harrison’s parents, Hazel and George, whose ideas seem to be shaped by what they see on TV and little else. Controlled by a corrupt value system that says to ignore sad things and be satisfied with normality, it is their world that is condemned more than the world of Diana Moon Glampers. They have facilitated her rise to power with all the coldness and sterility that one might associate with the lunar goddess. Freedom is not the greatest good for the smallest number; nor does it hold that a classruled society will promulgate economic success. Though the story’s message appears quite simple, its moral is rather complex, forcing individual readers to think twice before they reduce its meaning to a sentence or two. Vonnegut was clearly not just trying to side with the radical Right’s objections to big government, and “Harrison Bergeron” is definite evidence of how his convoluted texts beg for more contemplation than they have been previously given

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The “Harrison Bergeron” Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut Essay

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The story Harrison Bergeron , written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., takes place in 2081 in the United States. The story is written in the third person, with the reader getting a glimpse into George Bergeron’s mind. The core subject of equality is established from the outset. Since the novel is satirical, the descriptions of equality deviate from what people often imagine when someone claims they seek justice. Being average meant no one was stronger, more attractive, innovative, or faster than everyone else. In his story, the author discusses the concept of the Tall Poppy Syndrome. The societal phenomenon occurs when people are insulted, demeaned, hated, and condemned by society for their accomplishments or skills. Vonnegut critiques the government in Harrison Bergeron by using indirect characterization, cynicism, and suffering. This is made clear throughout the narrative and will be further evaluated in this analysis.

The narrative implies that complete equality between people is not something to strive for because it is risky and likely to have unintended consequences. The short story showed the creation of an egalitarian society, where everyone is made equal strictly “through cruel, authoritarian means” (Abdul Latiff et al., 2020, p. 27). The equality, mindset, and physicality of a totalitarian regime are the main topics being stated in the very beginning by the phrase, “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else” (Vonnegut, 1991, p. 1). In this story, the government constructed brutal, mind-controlling technologies that were used against the populace to achieve social, mental, and physical equality.

Hazel, the wife of George Bergeron, is considered ordinary in every respect, including voice, strength, intelligence, and attractiveness. The government wants George to stop thinking about his disabilities, his weight since he is strong, and his ear transmitter because he is astute. Because the government has brainwashed George into believing that if handicaps did not exist, society would revert to the previous eras, and everyone would again be competitive, George believes that handicaps are reasonable, thinking that he is a product of his disabilities, also being unable to focus for a long time. Thus, he is unable even to contemplate what is good or wrong. His disability has, as a result, shaped who he is. Hazel, on the other hand, is the opposite since she has “perfectly average intelligence, which meant she could not think about anything except in short bursts” (Vonnegut, 1991, p. 1). Since they only want average or below-ordinary people, Harrison’s character is seen as a societal threat because he is highly above average, brilliant, and athletic. He has a unique appearance and is charming. He has an arrogant personality and longs for freedom.

Social ties are significant because they show an impermeable link to society that benefits both the community and the individual. Although the citizen may be compelled to give away some of his rights, he receives other valuable benefits from society in exchange. Social connections are thus a type of social contract that ensures the upkeep of the community, the current state of affairs, and the citizen. The removal of Harrison Bergeron’s handicaps serves as a metaphor for someone escaping the constraints of society’s social relationships. People behaving this way are typically classified as criminals, sociopaths, or psychopaths. For his refusal to uphold the forced social ties placed upon him, Harrison Bergeron in the story Harrison Bergeron is branded as a criminal.

Harrison’s dance with the ballerina is to symbolize how the world might be if people were able to express themselves and display their beauty, brilliance, and other physical qualities. “Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while-listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it…And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang! Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon” (Vonnegut, 1991, p. 4). These few passages highlight this moment’s tremendous and precious when it isn’t suppressed. Harrison’s dance with the ballerina exemplifies unadulterated, ideal freedom. The text is exaggerated and upbeat, describing feats that an average person cannot accomplish. The Handicapper General enters the studio and shoots Harrison and the dancer, which only lasts for a short period until the speed picks up and the tone shifts. The goal of this dance is to demonstrate to everyone how beautiful differences can be. By depicting a charming, beautiful sight rather than the typically harsh tones, the paragraph affects how the story is told. By structuring the scene in a particular way, the author demonstrates to the reader how, despite appearances, no one is truly equal and that a society with perfect equality is not possible. People who experience physical or mental disabilities feel imprisoned and shut away. They are liberated and able to fly once they have been removed.

George and Hazel feel something is wrong after their son is killed and the crime is broadcast on television, but they cannot make sense of it. They are unable to express strong emotions. Because of the state’s social training and the limitations placed on people like George, they lack emotional literacy. In this way, the condition can keep individuals under control. A dystopian nightmare society also exists in Fahrenheit 451 . The situation encourages vapid feelings, manipulating individuals by pressing bland lives and ideas. Like Harrison Bergeron, little emotional literacy exists, and most individuals lead meaningless detached lives.

The novel’s first words are, “THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way” (Vonnegut, 1991, p. 1). Even though it may seem like the ideal society or paradise, after reading the entire account, it is clear to the realization that such equality has come at the sacrifice of liberty and individuality. The author clearly sees and depicts the equality system as “something ridiculous” (Oktarini, 2020, p.51).

Harrison Bergeron , a short fictional story by Vonnegut, emphasizes the value of striking a balance between equality, freedom, and individualism. The narrative explains how equality should not be confused with uniformity and warns about the consequences of stifling originality. The advancement of knowledge and technology is one of the themes frequently present here. Although the narrative does not explicitly criticize technology, it highlights the insanity of permitting technology to advance beyond conscious control. A futuristic device is an example of the technique of mental handicapping that George Bergeron must accept – a small cognitive handicap transmitter in his ear. Harrison, his child, must also wear bulky earbuds and unique glasses that impair his eyesight and give him pain. The government’s required physical handicaps are reasonably simple, consisting of canvas sacks filled with lead balls to impair physical abilities and masks to reduce beauty, in contrast to the sophisticated technology employed to harm George and Harrison intellectually. In conclusion, the narrative depicts a dystopia in which the government uses technology to manage its populace.

Works Cited

Abdul Latiff, Muhammad Farid, and Hannah Feisal. “The Poverty of Equality: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Harrison Bergeron”. ResearchGate, vol. 4, 2020, pp. 27-35. Web.

Oktarini, Rahayu. “An Analysis of Irony in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.” . Journal of English education , vol. 3, no. 1, 2020, pp. 47-55. Web.

Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. Harrison Bergeron. Alphascript Publishing, 1961.

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Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories

By kurt vonnegut, kurt vonnegut's short stories summary and analysis of "harrison bergeron".

It is the year 2081, and all people have been made 'equal' through the use of physical and mental handicaps. The United States Constitution mandates this equality in the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments, and the law is enforced by Diana Moon Glampers , the Handicapper General.

George Bergeron and Hazel Bergeron are watching ballerinas on television, all of whom are weighted down with sash-weights and bags of birdshot so that their dancing is not too beautiful. Since George is naturally quite intelligent, he must wear a mental handicap radio in his ear; it torments him with a variety of sharp noises every twenty seconds or so, so that he is never able to think too hard.

When it occurs to him that the ballerinas should not be handicapped, his idea is immediately interrupted by the mental handicap radio in his ear. Two of the eight ballerinas on the television are also apparently mentally handicapped, since they wince in pain at the same time that he experiences a painful noise.

Hazel, who does not need to use a mental or a physical handicap since she is perfectly average, suggests that George relieve himself for a moment from the 47 pound canvas bag of birdshot he must wear around his neck. She encourages him to remove a few of the lead balls when he gets home from work every day, insisting that she would not feel threatened by his superiority. He refuses, arguing that others might follow suit and society would hence become as competitive as it once was.

The television program is interrupted by an announcement, but the announcer struggles to read it because of his serious speech impediment. Finally, one of the ballerinas reads it for him: Harrison Bergeron , George and Hazel's fourteen-year-old son, has just escaped from jail. The ballerina reads that since Harrison is "a genius and an athlete" and is currently "under-handicapped," he "should be regarded as extremely dangerous" (10). This particular ballerina is wearing a hideous mask and heavier handicap bags than any of the other dancers.

Suddenly, Harrison himself enters the television studio, causing an earthquake with his movements. He wears heavier handicap bags than anyone else ever has, and he must carry three hundred pounds of scrap metal at all times. He also wears a rubber ball for a nose, caps for his teeth, and must shave his eyebrows to handicap his handsome face. Nevertheless, he remains immensely powerful.

He announces that he is the Emperor, and that everyone must obey him. He tears off his handicaps and announces that the first woman to volunteer herself will become his Empress . One of the ballerinas stands up and joins him.

Harrison removes the handicaps from the musicians in the studio, and commands them to play their best so that he and his Empress can dance. They dance intensely and beautifully, leaping so high that they kiss the ceiling.

Suddenly, Diana Moon Glampers appears in the studio and shoots Harrison and the Empress dead with a shotgun. She then warns the musicians to re-handicap themselves before she kills them, too.

George Bergeron has missed these events on the television, because he has been in the kitchen getting a beer. When he returns, their television has burned out, and Hazel has been crying. However, she does not remember why, since the events do not make any sense to her mind. George suggests that she "forget sad things," and she answers, "I always do" (14).

"Harrison Bergeron" is one of Vonnegut's best-known short stories not only for its interesting concept, but also because it contains a microcosm of what Vonnegut does as a writer. It contains sci-fi elements, and presents a rather horrifying situation through humor and an ironically detached narrator.

The short, simple sentences Vonnegut uses in "Harrison Bergeron" have been traced to his early work as a journalist. The tone of the omniscient narrator is often ironic, drawing attention to the absurdity of the future Vonnegut paints here. For instance, when the ballerina reads the announcement on television, "she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. 'Excuse me-' she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely uncompetitive" (10). By seemingly taking for granted that the ballerina's natural voice is "unfair," and by seeming to prefer the "uncompetitive" voice, the narrator implies that the reader should question this situation. In other words, Vonnegut leaves it to us to question the world, since his acceptance of it is so absurd.

One of the themes prevalent here is the advancement of science and technology. While the story does not attack technology in the broad sense, it does suggest the absurdity of allowing technology to progress too far without human oversight.

Consider the absurdity of the handicapping devices. The method of mental handicapping to which George Bergeron must submit, a "little mental handicap radio in his ear," is an example of a futuristic gadget (7). Likewise, his son Harrison must wear huge earphones and special spectacles to handicap his vision and give him headaches. In contrast to the advanced gadgetry used to mentally handicap George and Harrison, the government's mandated physical handicaps are quite simple: canvas bags of lead balls to handicap physical ability and masks to offset attractiveness.

What Vonnegut does seem to criticize is the interference of an overly large government into the lives and potentials of individuals. These handicaps are mandated by a government that wants to 'equalize' everyone. The impulse might be laudable in the abstract, but is tragic in the way it hampers an individual's natural abilities. Anyone of above-average intelligence and/or physical ability must be handicapped at the risk of jail time or even death, as Harrison Bergeron's situation demonstrates. (The dystopian society of "Harrison Bergeron" is reminiscent of that of Vonnegut's 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan , in which a space wanderer returns to Earth to find all people made equal through the use of "handicaps.")

What this government interference stands in contrast to is the power of the individual, even to the point of absurdity. The dancers cannot use their natural grace, even though it is their job to be ballerinas. George Bergeron cannot use his intelligent mind to reason or think of creative ideas. Parents are not allowed to recognize the tragedy of their child's assassination and mourn him. And Harrison Bergeron must be jailed (and eventually killed) for rebelling against the restraints of his individuality and talent. All this is for the purpose of protecting the self-esteem of less talented, less intelligent people so that the will not be threatened or hurt by those who exceed them.

Vonnegut is not necessarily suggesting that a world of unfettered individuality would be a utopia. In fact, the story does not posit a utopia at all, but rather subtly warns against taking good intentions too far. The idea of equalizing everyone would certainly have called socialism to mind at the time Vonnegut wrote the story in 1961, and the use of a totalitarian government to brutally enforce that equality evokes nations like the USSR or China. The only thing Vonnegut attacks is the idea that human singularity can ever be quashed. Notably, though Harrision is killed, it does not seem that Diana Moon Glampers is handicapped; she is easily able to manage the situation without the interference of any physical or mental hindrance. In other words, someone will always flaunt his or her superior personality; any attempt to craft a utopia to the contrary will end in either absurdity or brutality.

"Harrison Bergeron" places particular emphasis on the arts and creativity: Harrison chooses a ballerina for his Empress, and they express their superiority on television by dancing through the air. The musicians at the studio have been handicapped and instructed not to play their best, but rather to play "normal" music: "cheap, silly, false" (12). When the musicians heed Harrison's command and play to the best of their ability, without handicaps, the music is beautiful enough to inspire Harrison and the ballerina to break all laws of physics: "they reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun," leaping thirty feet to kiss the ceiling of the studio (13).

What makes Harrison heroic is that he is willing to flaunt his singularity, even at the risk of death. This courage stands in stark contrast to George, who not only suffers his handicap, but argues for it. His wife, despite her average qualities, sees the injustice and wants to alleviate George's suffering, but George refuses to do so, instead repeating the government's policy. He is too scared to transgress, and as a result allows the injustice to continue. What Vonnegut suggests is that nothing can change unless individuals force it, but that individuals too often lack the courage to enforce that chance.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is the main conflict in all the king horses story by kirt vonnegut

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Harrison Bergerson

Evening the playing field and oppressing natural ability allows the government complete control.

Study Guide for Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories

Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories study guide contains a biography of author Kurt Vonnegut, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of Vonnegut's most famous stories.

• About Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories
• Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories Summary
• Character List

Essays for Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories

Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of various short stories by Kurt Vonnegut.

• A Close Comparison of "D.P." and "Harrison Bergeron"
• Contextual Study of Science Fiction Texts, and Intertextual Ideas that Transcend Time: "The Pedestrian," "Harrison Bergeron," and Equilibrium
• The Dangers of Equality: A Close Reading of "Harrison Bergeron"
• Live Free or Die: Adapting "Harrison Bergeron" to the Film '2081'
• The Tension Between the Powerful and the Powerless: Political Manipulation in "All the King's Horses" and 'Wag the Dog'

Lesson Plan for Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Kurt Vonnegut's Short Stories Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Kurt Vonnegut’s Short Stories

• Introduction

English Studies

This website is dedicated to English Literature, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory, English Language and its teaching and learning.

Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut: Analysis

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian short story set in a future society where the government has mandated absolute equality among all citizens, regardless of natural abilities or talents.

Introduction: “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Table of Contents

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian short story set in a future society where the government has mandated absolute equality among all citizens, regardless of natural abilities or talents. To achieve this equality, individuals who possess any exceptional qualities are forced to wear handicaps that impair their abilities. The story follows the titular character, Harrison Bergeron, who rebels against this oppressive system and pays a heavy price for his actions. “Harrison Bergeron” is widely regarded as one of Vonnegut’s most famous and powerful works, exploring themes of individuality, freedom, and the dangers of excessive egalitarianism.

Main Events in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Setting and concepts.

• The Year 2081: A World of Forced Equality The story takes place in a dystopian future where the government enforces absolute equality among citizens.
• Handicaps: Imposed Limitations Physical and mental handicaps are used to prevent anyone from being smarter, stronger, or more beautiful than anyone else.
• The Handicapper General: The authority figure responsible for enforcing equality and maintaining order.

Introducing the Bergerons

• George and Hazel: George is burdened with mental handicaps, while Hazel possesses average intelligence. They represent the numbed acceptance of this enforced equality.
• Harrison Bergeron: A Dangerous Exception Their 14-year-old son, Harrison, is exceptionally gifted and a threat to the system of forced equality. He’s been imprisoned for his defiance.

The Disruption

• News of Rebellion: A news bulletin disrupts the Bergerons’ evening, revealing Harrison’s escape from jail and his potential to overthrow the government.
• Harrison’s Extreme Handicaps: Authorities describe Harrison’s extraordinary strength, intelligence, and looks, along with the extreme handicaps put on him to suppress those qualities.

Harrison’s Rise and Fall

• Harrison’s Declaration: Harrison crashes into the television studio, declaring himself Emperor and defying the laws of equality.
• A Moment of Transcendence: He chooses a beautiful ballerina as his Empress, and together they defy gravity as they dance, symbolizing the potential for brilliance and beauty if freedom existed.
• Tragic End: The Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, arrives and kills both Harrison and his Empress.

Return to Numbness

• Control Restored: The musicians are swiftly re-handicapped, and order is brutally restored.
• The Bergerons Forget: George and Hazel witness the violence but quickly forget the tragic moments due to their mental limitations.
• Acceptance of Oppression: The story ends with them back in their state of forced ignorance, a chilling commentary on the suppression of individuality.

Literary Devices in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Characterization in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Harrison bergeron.

• Gifted and Defiant: Harrison is defined by his extraordinary strength (“seven feet tall”), intelligence, and beauty, all of which are a threat to the enforced equality. His defiance against his extreme handicaps (“tore the straps… like wet tissue paper”) symbolizes the potential for human excellence and rebellion against oppression.
• Idealistic and Romantic: His selection of an Empress and their gravity-defying dance show a yearning for beauty, connection, and a world beyond limitations. He’s a romantic idealist, a symbol more than a fully fleshed-out character.
• Tragic Hero: Harrison’s rebellion and subsequent death make him a tragic hero. His destruction reinforces the dystopian state’s brutal control and the impossibility of individual triumph within the system.

George Bergeron

• Numbed and Compliant: George’s mental handicaps (“a little mental handicap radio in his ear”) make him a symbol of society’s conditioning. He accepts the enforced equality despite the pain caused by the transmitter and his son’s plight.
• Glimmers of Awareness: George sometimes questions the system (“maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped”) and feels the pain inflicted by his handicaps, suggesting some buried desire for individuality and an awareness of the system’s cruelty.
• Instrument of Control: His quick return to passivity after witnessing Harrison’s rebellion underscores the story’s chilling message about how the system perpetuates its own control.

Hazel Bergeron

• Truly Average: Hazel is a representation of the absolute ‘average’ the society desires. Her short attention span and simple thoughts showcase the mental emptiness that enforced equality has created.
• Unaware of Tragedy: Her inability to understand or grieve Harrison’s death reinforces the extent of control and conditioning exerted by the state – she represents the success of suppressing empathy and deep thought with distractions.

Diana Moon Glampers (The Handicapper General)

• Enforcer of Oppression: She’s the primary antagonist, responsible for maintaining the system of handicaps. Her ruthless killing of Harrison and his Empress shows the brutal power the state uses.
• Physical Contrast: Her resemblance to Hazel may be intentional, suggesting cruelty and average thought processes can exist in positions of authority and power.
• Cogs in the System: These characters represent those complicit within oppressive systems. They’re talented but controlled, embodying the suppression of true expression and the dangers of fear-based compliance.

Important Notes:

• Satire and Types: This is a satire; these characters aren’t meant to be deeply nuanced individuals but representations of concepts about social control and equality.
• Focus on Ideas: The characters serve to drive home the story’s message about the dangers of suppressing individuality and the lengths oppressive systems will go to maintain control.

Major Themes in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Writing Style in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut’s writing style in “Harrison Bergeron” is characterized by its simplicity and directness. He uses short, declarative sentences and minimal description to convey the story’s message. Vonnegut’s prose is stark and unadorned, with little emphasis on poetic language or complex metaphors. Instead, he relies on the clarity of his language to convey the story’s themes and ideas. The story’s structure is also notable, with its abrupt shifts in perspective and its use of television broadcasts to convey information to the reader. Overall, Vonnegut’s writing style in “Harrison Bergeron” is straightforward and efficient, allowing the story’s powerful message to shine through without any unnecessary embellishments.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Marxist lens  .

• Class Struggle: The story can be seen as a critique of social and economic hierarchy. The imposed equality acts as a false consciousness, obscuring the power wielded by the ruling class (represented by the Handicapper General) over those artificially held back.
• Oppressive Systems: Harrison’s rebellion could be interpreted as a symbol of working-class revolt against systems of control that benefit the ruling class by suppressing the potential of the masses.
• Revolution vs. Control: The ending’s brutal reinstatement of ‘equality’ highlights the struggle between the desire for freedom and the power of those seeking to maintain control.

Feminist Lens

• Patriarchal Control: The Handicapper General, a woman in authority, enforces a system that could be interpreted as mirroring patriarchal power structures in which women uphold systems that oppress both genders.
• Suppression of Beauty: The ballerina forced into an uncompetitive voice and hidden behind a mask draws attention to how systems of control can suppress beauty and expression, particularly in women.
• Male Ideal: Harrison’s physical strength and declaration as Emperor could highlight a stereotypical, masculine model of rebellion.

Psychological Lens

• Conditioning and Dehumanization : The mental and physical handicaps can be interpreted as extreme examples of social conditioning, demonstrating how individuals are dehumanized to ensure compliance within totalitarian systems.
• Desensitization: George and Hazel’s quick acceptance of violence and their inability to feel deep emotion could exemplify a broader psychological numbing and the loss of empathy in a controlled society.

Postmodern Lens

• Rejection of Metanarratives: The story challenges the grand narrative of progress and the notion that absolute equality is a desirable or attainable social goal.
• Ambiguity and Subjectivity: The ending leaves room for interpretation – did Harrison’s rebellion have any impact? This ambiguity aligns with postmodernist skepticism towards fixed meanings and truths.

Important Note:

• Multiple Interpretations: Literary theories offer different lenses for understanding texts. These analyses aren’t definitive; one story can be validly interpreted in various ways, enhancing its depth and relevance.

Questions and Thesis Statements about “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

• The Dangers of Equality: Explore how the warped implementation of equality leads to a destructive, dehumanizing society.
• Individuality vs. Conformity: Analyze the tension between individual expression and the desire for societal order.
• The Power of Rebellion: Examine the symbolism of Harrison’s rebellion and its implications, even within a repressive system.
• Dystopian Literature: Discuss how “Harrison Bergeron” is a classic example of a dystopian short story and its techniques (satire, exaggeration, etc.).
• Satire and Social Commentary: Delve into how Vonnegut uses satire to critique social trends and ideas about equality.
• Is complete equality desirable? Is it even possible?
• Does Harrison’s rebellion offer any glimmer of hope, or is it ultimately futile?
• How does the story criticize both unchecked individualism AND enforced equality?
• How does the story use literary devices (like irony, imagery, and symbolism) to convey its themes?
• In what ways can this story spark discussions about modern society’s treatment of differences in potential and ability?

Thesis Statements

• “Harrison Bergeron” warns against the pursuit of absolute equality, demonstrating how it destroys individuality, beauty, and the possibility for human excellence.
• In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut satirizes the dangers of social engineering and unchecked government control, exposing how power structures exploit the idea of equality to maintain order.
• Although Harrison’s rebellion is swiftly crushed, “Harrison Bergeron” highlights the enduring human desire for self-expression and freedom, even within oppressive systems.
• “Harrison Bergeron” employs literary devices like satire, hyperbole, and symbolism to effectively critique ideologies that undermine individual potential.
• Through the portrayal of dystopian consequences, “Harrison Bergeron” invites readers to reevaluate societal norms around conformity and celebrate the importance of individual differences.

Short Questions and Answers “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Literary Works Similar to “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Dystopian fiction:.

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: A classic dystopian novel where society is controlled through genetic engineering, pleasure, and conditioning, suppressing individuality for the sake of stability.
• 1984 by George Orwell: A chilling portrayal of a totalitarian state where thought control, surveillance, and propaganda are used to maintain power and eliminate dissent.
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: A society where books are banned and firefighters are tasked with burning them, exploring themes of censorship and the suppression of knowledge.
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: A dystopian world where fertile women are enslaved for reproductive purposes, highlighting themes of patriarchal control and the loss of individual freedom.

Satirical Short Stories:

• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: A disturbing story where a seemingly quaint village tradition hides a dark secret, critiquing blind conformity and the dangers of unchecked tradition.
• A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: A satirical essay proposing a shocking solution to poverty, ironically highlighting societal indifference and the failure to address real issues.

Science Fiction Exploring Social Issues:

• The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin: A short story about a utopian city built on the suffering of a single child, raising questions about morality and the price of collective happiness.
• Gattaca (film): A film exploring a future where genetic engineering determines social status, raising themes of predestination versus individual potential.

Suggested Readings about “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

Scholarly articles.

• Golomb, Jacob. “The Equality Trap: The Ideological Message of ‘Harrison Bergeron.'” Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature , vol. 56, no. 1, 2002, pp. 77–85. JSTOR, [invalid URL removed]
• Hume, Kathryn. “Fantasy and Mimesis: Responses to Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Harrison Bergeron.'” Studies in Short Fiction , vol. 30, no. 4, 1993, pp. 531-541. JSTOR [invalid URL removed]
• Morsberger, Robert. “Harrison Bergeron”: Cognitive Liberty Under Attack.” Kurt Vonnegut: Images and Representations , edited by Marc Leeds and Peter J. Reed, Greenwood Press, 2000, pp. 143-152.

Essays and Websites

• “Short Story Analysis of ‘Harrison Bergeron’ by Kurt Vonnegut.” Interesting Literature . 6 May 2021, [invalid URL removed]
• Reed, Peter J. “Harrison Bergeron.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition , edited by Charles E. May, Salem Press, 2004. This may only be available in hard copy at libraries.
• SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Harrison Bergeron.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d. https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/harrison-bergeron/ .

Related posts:

• “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams
• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce: Analysis
• “Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe: Analysis
• “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor: Analysis

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Harrison Bergeron

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Summary and Study Guide

Summary: “harrison bergeron”.

Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian science fiction story “Harrison Bergeron” was first published in 1961 in The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It has since been adapted for film and television in PBS’s Between Timid and Timbuktu series, Showtime’s Harrison Bergeron , a 2008 short film also titled Harrison Bergeron , and a 2009 short film titled 2081. The story was republished in Vonnegut’s collection Welcome to the Monkey House in 1968. This guide references the e-book version of Welcome to the Monkey House: The Special Edition .

The story is set in the year 2081. It introduces a future where, the narrator says, “Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else” (18). The narrator adds, “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the constitution, and the to the unceasing vigilance of the agents of the United States Handicapper General” (18). The Handicapper General creates the story’s first conflict when “the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away” (18).

The next scene shows George and Hazel watching television. For an unknown reason, tears are on Hazel’s cheeks. After a conversation about the ballet dancers on the screen who aren’t dancing any better than anybody else would, Hazel notices George wince when sounds go off in his radio earpiece . He says it “sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a pen hammer” (20). She comments: “I’d think it would be interesting, hearing all the different sounds” (20). Hazel resembles Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers . She suggests new sounds George’s earpiece could emit, then says, “I think I’d make a good Handicapper General” (20).

After the sound of a twenty-one-gun salute rings in George’s ear, Hazel suggests he “rest [his] handicap bag on the pillows” (21). She adds, “If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take a few of them lead balls. Just a few” (21). George rejects the idea, not only because of the consequences of “two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine” (21) but also because of the principle. He argues: “‘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” (21).

An announcer interrupts the television broadcast, but nobody can understand what he says because, “like all announcers, he had a serious speech impediment” (22). A ballerina takes the microphone, apologizes for her beautiful voice , then says, “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen, [...] has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely violent” (22). An image of Harrison appears on the screen.

Suddenly, Harrison comes into the television studio and steps onstage. He proclaims himself emperor, calling himself “a greater ruler than any man who ever lived!” (24). The narrator says that he then “tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds. [...] He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of Thunder” (24).

He tells the audience that he will select an empress from whoever rises to claim “her mate and her throne” (24). A ballet dancer rises, and Harrison pulls off her handicaps. The two begin to dance beautifully, then they jump in the air and kiss. Soon, the Handicapper General enters the studio with a shotgun and shoots Harrison and the dancer. She then aims at the musicians, telling them to put their handicaps back on.

The story ends back with George and Hazel forgetting the televised killing of their son. George has not thought about the broadcast because he left the room for a beer and “paused while a handicap signal shook him up” (26). He sees Hazel crying, asks her why, and she says, “I forget [...] Something real sad on television.” After committing to “forget sad things,” George winces at “the sound of a riveting gun in his head” (26).

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Harrison Bergeron — The Dangers of Equality: a Close Reading of “Harrison Bergeron”

The Dangers of Equality: a Close Reading of "Harrison Bergeron"

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Harrison Bergeron

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Equality vs. Individualism

In the futuristic world of “Harrison Bergeron,” the government applies physical and mental handicaps to individuals with above-average strength and intelligence in order to guarantee that all people in society are equal. While equality is often regarded as a positive condition of democratic society, Vonnegut’s dystopian portrayal of an absolutely equal society reveals how equality must be balanced with freedom and individualism in order for society to thrive.

Although in the story all people are…

Media and Ideology

In “Harrison Bergeron,” the totalitarian state regulates the minds and bodies of its citizens to ensure statewide equality. In addition to distributing handicap devices to lower the physical and/or mental strength of above-average citizens, the government maintains equality among citizens through ideologically-charged media that encourages citizens to consent to the invasive practices of the US Handicapper General . By showing propaganda as an equally powerful and invasive force as grotesque physical devices, Vonnegut suggests that…

Dissent vs. Authority

For the brief moments when Harrison proclaims himself Emperor, destroys his state-issued handicaps , and dances beautifully on state TV, the government’s power is lost. Although the moment is short-lived (a government agent shoots Harrison dead while he’s dancing), his dissent nonetheless shows that individuals might still have power under totalitarianism. Harrison’s exceptional existence proves that equality isn’t absolute (or else he wouldn’t have been able to achieve such an extraordinary feat), and therefore that…

The Power of the Arts

Though state media insists that Harrison has plans to overthrow the government, his act of rebellion is not a traditional coup: he dances beautifully on national TV with a ballerina whom he has liberated from her handicaps , to music from an orchestra he has also un-handicapped. In other words, Harrison’s dissent is an artistic performance unencumbered by forced equality, which suggests that artists can disrupt state authority through the power of performance.

Before Harrison…

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