2081 Harrison Bergeron Analysis

Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut’s Jr.’s short science-fiction story “Harrison Bergeron” proves exactly why the government should never be allowed total control over a nation’s freedoms or actions. When the government plays a bigger role than they should, they cause controversy amongst citizens. In “Harrison Bergeron”, they corrupted an entire nation to believe that they needed to live a specific lifestyle. “Harrison Bergeron” goes into greater detail with a specific family. In 2081, Amendments 211, 212, and 213 were added to the United States Constitution. The Amendments ensured that every citizen was equal. This meant that no person was more intelligent, better-looking, or more athletic than the other. In order to make sure the Amendments were being upheld, the Handicapper General and his team of agents were
in full force.
In April of 2081, Harrison Bergeron is taken away from his parents (George and Hazel) by the Handicapper General. Because of the equality laws, his parents did not have the intelligence to recall the tragedy. Those with above average intelligence wore a radio in which the government could broadcast a noise to interrupt the thoughts of those who had been thinking for extended periods of time. One night, George and Hazel are watching ballerinas dance on television. Hazel is crying but can’t exactly remember why. ‘“That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel. “Huh?” said George. “That dance, it was nice,” said Hazel’ (Vonnegut, 1). Suddenly, Harrison’s picture is shown on the television, claiming that he has escaped from prison. The government felt as if they were in danger because of Harrison. He was very intelligent, an athlete, and is under-handicapped (Vonnegut, 3). ‘”Instead of a little ear radio
for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick, wavy lenses besides. The spectacles were intended not only to make him half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him”’ (Vonnegut, 3). George suddenly recognizes that Harrison is the one being shown across the television, but a sound of automobile wreck forces him to lose his train of thought. When the noise is over, he can’t remember who he just saw. The government felt threatened by Harrison because of his above average qualities. However, Harrison claimed to be an Emperor and would select an Empress that night.
‘“I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!”’ (Vonnegut, 5). As Harrison was dancing with his Empress, Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, entered the room and shot both Harrison and his Empress. Both were dead before they hit the floor. She had shot them because they had disobeyed the laws of the land and equality. Diana threatened to shoot the musicians as well if they didn’t put their handicaps back on. After this incident, George and Hazel’s television went out. George had left to grab a beer from the kitchen and came back to the living room. ‘“You been crying?” he said to Hazel, watching her wipe her tears. “Yup,” she said. “What about?” he said. “I forgot,” she said. “Something real sad on television.”’ (Vonnegut, 7). In response to the story, I completely disagree with the Handicapper Generals and the rest of the government officials. I do not believe that those with higher power can force an individual, let alone an entire nation, to become completely equal in inhumane ways. The most interesting detail of the reading was by far the extremity of how far the government went to ensure that all citizens were no better than others. If someone were to be more athletic, they were to wear a bag of birdshot around your neck. If someone were to be above average looking, they were to wear a mask. If someone were to be more intelligent, they had to wear a radio which blared a terrible noise if a thought was carried for more than twenty seconds. Hanging bags of birdshot around the more athletic kind was particularly interesting. I was confused as to how a government could be so strict to ensure that no person is better than the other. Was Harrison the only one they were afraid of, or were they afraid of everyone who was a potential threat to the government? To me, being equal isn 't making sure that someone isn 't more athletic, more intelligent, or better looking than others. I think equality is about being exactly what someone was destined to be. A person is truly equal if they are allowed to express it and the government at the time was completely against it. Instead, they were so focused on bettering the laws instead of bettering their citizens. That is beyond demeaning. I truly believe that being equal starts with an individual themselves. The way a person expresses themselves through what they enjoy doing, dressing, their qualities, etc. makes them equal, and therefore, I completely disagree with the Handicapper Generals.

Works Cited
National Review Online. National Review Online, 30 Aug. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nationalreview.com/nroriginals/?q=MDllNmVmNGU1NDVjY2IzODBlMjYzNDljZTMzNzFlZjc=#more>.
SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/harrison-bergeron/summary.html>.
Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron>.