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Metaphors In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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Metaphors In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron
New Criticism on Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” Literary devices are used throughout literature to help readers have a better understanding. Metaphors, for example, help readers to have a better visual of different aspects. In Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” metaphors are evident throughout the short story. The metaphors that are used throughout the short story, such as, “dancing to the ceiling,” “kissed the ceiling,” and “breaking the chains,” help readers to have a better understanding of the message in “Harrison Bergeron.” “Dancing to the ceiling,” “kissed the ceiling,” and “breaking the chains,” metaphorically reflects on the abandonment of the laws in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.” At the end of the short story, Harrison …show more content…
In “Harrison Bergeron,” individuals are expected to conform to society. People are downplayed and anticipated to meet the lowest standards of society. For example, no one is smarter, better looking, stronger, or quicker than anybody else (1554). If an individual is deemed not average, then they are given a handicap. The protagonist in Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is considered dangerous and a threat to the government. He bears heavier handicaps than everybody else in his society. He wears big earphones, glasses with thick wavy lenses, and scrap metal that hangs all over him. At the end of the short story, Harrison strips himself of all his handicaps. By stripping himself of his handicaps, Harrison is breaking the chains of his government and defying the laws. The metaphors that are used throughout “Harrison Bergeron,” such as, “dancing to the ceiling,” “kissed the ceiling,” and “breaking the chains,” help readers to have a better understanding of the short story. Throughout literature, literary devices are used. Literary devices, especially metaphors, are used throughout Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and are used to help understand the message behind the short

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