Preview

Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
800 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron
“To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction.” In this quote, spoken by Isaac Newton, he implies that every action that humans do or create there will always be an opposed response. In this story, a society created an “equality”, but in doing so, people couldn’t reach their full potential. “Harrison Bergeron”, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., revolves around the idea that equality can help, but also destroy a society. Vonnegut describes identical and uniform human beings using symbolism that represents a bigger concept to argue futuristically that equality destroys the growth of individuals and consequently limits society.
Vonnegut is attempting to illustrate that equality if taken to an extreme point, can no longer benefit society, but destroy it. Harrison Bergeron lives in a “truly equal” society that puts
…show more content…
Harrison Bergeron is an individual that is trapped in a limited and restricted society. Throughout the entire story, the dialogue is consistently used in short fragmented sentences. This is similar to the non-existent growth that societies experience when individuals are not encouraged to reach their full potential. On page number 99 it reads, “‘Huh? said George’, ‘That dance-it was nice,’ said Hazel.” represented in the story as an example of the choppy dialogue. These quotes spoken by Harrison’s parents; George and Hazel, show that when these characters exchange words, they are short and not elaborate. This is partially because they have sound pieces in their ears that make noises when they are going into too deep of thoughts. This is an example of a way that society is trying to make all of its individuals equal and not have anyone person smarter or more skilled. It is expressed through characters like Harrison Bergeron, that this is not the right thing to do and that something must be done about this restraining

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Equality response tp Harrison Bergeron” Theme of the story was equality. The theme of the story is equality and it’s the way people was treated fair and all the handicaps made everyone equal and the way harrison bergeron and Kurt Vonnegut approached it in the story. They all had handicaps in the story. Nobody was smarter than anyone else. They was all equal.…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hazel and George Bergeron are the parents of Harrison Bergeron. Harrison is a 14-year-old boy who is exactly seven feet tall. He intelligent and has abnormal strength and athleticism. Vonnegut has made Harrison a flat character, and states his traits very directly. Harrison is very stubborn. “’Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,” she said in a…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vonnegut deploys a very dark sense of satire throughout the story. He creates this world as a way to everyone that nobody will ever be fully equal, and to want such a thing would lead complete disaster. For a unified society to become completely equal, every single individual’s uniqueness…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you ever wonder whether people are truly equal? In the world of the short story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut, everyone is “equal” in terms of strength, wisdom, and beauty. No one is stronger, smarter, or prettier than each other. Everyone supposedly is virtually the same because of the new laws and handicaps implemented in 2081. However, not everyone is truly equal in this story.…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people have hopeful ideas for the future of equality in America, but nobody is thinking along the lines of the extremely egalitarian world that Kurt Vonnegut envisions in his short story, “Harrison Bergeron.” Throughout the story there are examples of people acting or being forced to act in ways that differ from the ways we expect people to act in real life. In “Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut applies setting, characterization, and plot to generate a feeling of incredulity at the unrealistic futuristic world he portrays in the story.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through her writing in Anthem, Ayn Rand expresses her believe in individualism and identity. As the story progresses, Equality becomes more aware of the fact that he is separate from his brothers and that he is entitled to his own thoughts and believes. Finally at the end of the story, Equality discovers the word “I” and instantly realizes the true extent of the individual. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut conveys the dangers involved with total equality. As the story goes on, the reader begins to realize that the people in this society are living extremely mediocre lives because of the elimination of competition and ambition. Overall, Ayn Rand and Kurt Vonnegut both created extraordinary pieces of literature that highlight the consequences of collectivism but promote the power of the…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The culture values mediocrity to the point that the people accept oppressive measures in the name of equality” (2011). Although none of the citizens really gains anything from the misguided attempts to enforce equality except for the unprofessional. “Vonnegut implies that civil rights should never be sacrificed, not even for the alleged common good” (2011). “Harrison Bergeron” also addresses the amendments used for equality. “The equality of outcome satirized in ‘Harrison Bergeron’ is darker and arguably more pernicious than socialism, or over-zealous egalitarianism, or even the free market” (Reed,…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The value a society places on a citizen’s rights and the amount of value that individual has compared to others has shown to be one of the factors to determine how progressive, or therefore primitive a society is considered to be. Equality before the law as both a citizen and a leader, known as the rule of law, is a very important concept to those who feel all people deserve equal rights. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Not only is an individual equal before the law, but in “every which way.” (Vonnegut 669). Anyone with superior looks, strength, or intelligence is given government-dictated handicaps that make him or her average. Hazel and George Bergeron, two citizens unfortunate enough to give birth to an abnormal baby. They just were…

    • 1951 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The central theme in which is portrayed in this short story is the ideology of corrupted equality. I find it funny how Vonnegut took something as broad as a societal standard and that his interpretation almost seems less totalitarianistic than it does precedingly accurate. In my personal opinion, this is just one potential outcome due to problems that play true to our everyday lives. Not per say in the conventional sense and style that Vonnegut meant it however. The perspective I am seeing this from is that equality can be obtained but at what cost? If everyone is treated the same, and if everybody is forced to be the same, that is when it starts to fall apart. You can tell a fish to climb a tree all you want but it doesn't mean it will do…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Many works of literature expose hypothetical questions that, in turn, raise awareness for a civil issue. The author’s treatment of these questions can give a deeper understanding of the work as a whole. Kurt Vonnegut’s classic short story, “Harrison Bergeron”, contains the perfect example of such questions. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a futuristic society that emphasizes the right of equality. Each member of society is shackled down with handicapping tools to become the same as everyone else, whether that be intelligence, athleticism, or overall appearance. In “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut analyzes the question of whether equality is worth losing one’s individuality…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    people’s fear as well as need to be equal in Vonnegut’s time. He develops this ideal through a…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Harrison Bergeron” is a satirical short story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, a story that is a probable and mocking glimpse into how dark society may become in the future. The characters in this story are all equal, therefore not one person stronger, smarter, or better looking than any other individual. This is achieved by the use of handicaps produced by the government, which include a mask if you are ascetically pleasing, heavy weights to slow down individuals who are too fast or strong, and also earphones with vociferous radio signals to make ingenious people lose their train of thought or certain memories. These handicaps make a significant impact to everyone in the dystopia, including the three main characters in “Harrison Bergeron” who are fourteen year-old Harrison Bergeron, his father George Bergeron, and his mother Hazel Bergeron. Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian and socially paralyzed world is brought out of the dark and into the light by his use of simple characters and their dispassionate reactions to rebellion and abnormality.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. it takes place in a society that makes everyone equivalent. In the short story, Vonnegut suggests that total equality is not an ideal worth striving for, which is saying if everyone functions exactly the same, then the extraordinary will be the ordinary. Harrison Bergeron tries to be the savior of the society and makes a stand showing how prejudiced this civilization is, but he ends up failing in the end.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The “equal society” presented in the short story is in reality a totalitarian hell, far from equality. Some outer direction has regarded its absolute right to determine the concept of “an ordinary person”, and citizens are abridged towards that concept with violent and ugly means. However everything is done in the name of equality which makes the reader question the whole concept of equality and what it means. It’s clear that not this anyway.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal," the story begins. "They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal in every which way"(1354). In this haunting story, Vonnegut probably wanted to warn our society of similar kind of equality, equality that can be fatal for human race. In this work the theme is only a minor feature and is not really developed. The idea probably intrigued Kurt Vonnegut and forced him to develop it into a short story. Those who are familiar with Kurt Vonnegut's writing will certainly recognize some other themes of this story. For example, the fear of de-humanization of human beings, being stuck in amber (Harrisons inability to overthrow the system) and so forth. In "Harrison Bergeron", Kurt Vonnegut presented a scary view of a future society, where everyone was equal. "Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else was. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else" (1354).…

    • 740 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays