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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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68 Harrison Bergeron Essay Topics & Examples

🏆 best harrison bergeron essay topics & examples, 🎓 simple & easy topics in harrison bergeron, 📌 most interesting topics in harrison bergeron, ❓ harrison bergeron essay questions.

• Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron In the context of the time when no one is eager to struggle with blatant violation of a right to be someone, not a philosophical zombie, the protagonist is an expression of freedom of choice.
• The “Harrison Bergeron” Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut 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.
• An Analysis “Harrison Bergeron” Despite the fact that the author tries to portray an equal society, it is discriminatory since it ensures equality through suppression of citizens’ rights, while the current American society espouses the equality of opportunity.”Harrison Bergeron” […]
• “Harrison Bergeron” a Short Story by Vonnegut Absolute equality is not an objective worth pursuing, as many people think, according to Vonnegut’s argument in “Harrison Bergeron,” but rather a misguided one that is destructive in both the process and the results.
• “Harrison Bergeron” a Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut He argues that egalitarianism calls for the suppression of the bright and hardworking in order for them to be equal with the rest; that it assigns much importance to peaceful living at the expense of […]
• Harrison Bergeron and Malcolm X as Revolutionaries Harrison was the man who was not afraid to stand up to the existing social order and makes some steps to achieve his major goal, which was to make all people free from burdens that […]
• Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Literature Analysis The author manages to make people think of the essence of equality and possible hazards associated with the society of equals.
• “Harrison Bergeron” and Real Life In a world where people are held back because of their talents, and their intelligence is marred by the social rules of all people being the same, Harrison refuses to succumb to the pressure and […]
• An Analysis of the Theme of Human Psychology in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Theme Analysis of Short Stories “The Lottery” and “Harrison Bergeron” by Jackson and Vonnegut
• The Concept of Dystopia in “Harrison Bergeron,” “The Giver,” and “Uglies”
• Equality’s Dark Side in “The Unknown Citizen” and “Harrison Bergeron”
• The Sheepish Nature of Humans and the Absolute Power of the Government in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• “Harrison Bergeron”: Compare the Epic War or Socialism vs. Capitalism
• The Power of Equality in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”
• An Analysis of the Importance of Individuality in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Fight for Equality in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Repressive Society in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Idea and Desire to Change in the Characters of Harrison and Elisa in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and John Steinbeck’s “Chrysanthemums”
• Mistreatment and Endangerment in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Surveillance in Foucault’s Panopticism and Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”
• The Differences and Similarities of the Book “Divergent” and “Harrison Bergeron”
• An Illustration of a Society in Which Everyone Is Mentally, Physically and Socially Equal in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• An Analysis of Equality of Individualism in “The Very Old Man Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Marquez and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Use of Satire in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• Using Irony to Emphasize Human Nature in Stephen King’s “Popsy” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”
• The Political Messages Behind “Harrison Bergeron”
• A Comparison of the Cases of Equilibrium and “Harrison Bergeron”
• “Harrison Bergeron” and the Weighted Burden of Marxist Utopia
• The Issue of Conformity in Sylvia Plath’s “Initiation,” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
• Utopia and Dystopia in “Harrison Bergeron” and “The Lottery”
• The Tragedy of Forced Equality in “Harrison Bergeron”
• The Portrayal of a Wold Run by a Powerful Government in Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”
• The Theme of Social Equality in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Dangers of Blindly Following Authority in “Harrison Bergeron,” “The Lottery,” and the Case of the West Memphis Three
• Uniformity and Deformity in “Harrison Bergeron”
• Social Independence and Prejudice in “Harrison Bergeron” and “V for Vendetta”
• Effects of Equality in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• What Is the Central Message of “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Is the “Harrison Bergeron” Story About?
• How Does the Government Enforce Handicaps in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• Why Is “Harrison Bergeron” Such a Threat to Society?
• What Is the Author’s Central Attitude Towards the Society He Describes in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Is the Irony in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• Is Everyone Truly Equal in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Happens to Harrison at the End of the Story in “Harrison Bergeron” and Why?
• What Is the Central Conflict in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• How Would “Harrison Bergeron” Define Equality?
• What Do the Ballerinas Represent in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• How Does “Harrison Bergeron” His Handicaps?
• Why Was Harrison Thrown in Jail Before the Story Began in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Is Satirized in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• Why Was “Harrison Bergeron” in Jail?
• What Does the Ending of “Harrison Bergeron” Mean?
• What Are Some Examples of Euphemism in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• How Is “Harrison Bergeron” a Dystopia?
• How Long Was “Harrison Bergeron” in Jail?
• What Happened to “Harrison Bergeron” and His Empress at the End of the Story?
• Who Killed Harrison Bergeron?
• Why Is Harrison Bergeron a Hero?
• Why Does the Ballerina in “Harrison Bergeron” Have to Wear a Mask?
• What Does Harrison Represent in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• Is Harrison Bergeron an Antihero?
• How Is Harrison Bergeron Brave?
• What Is Ironic About the Handicapper General in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• Why Was Hazel Crying in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Do George and Hazel Symbolize in “Harrison Bergeron”?
• What Is the Meaning of the Last Words of the Bergerons That Was a Doozy in “Harrison Bergeron”?
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Harrison Bergeron

47 pages • 1 hour read

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Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The society in “Harrison Bergeron” is under State Control through the use of elaborate “handicaps.”

• How do George’s handicaps (earpiece, weighted bag) affect his thoughts throughout the story? ( topic sentence )
• Explain how George’s handicaps affect his relationship with Hazel and Harrison OR how his handicaps affect his thoughts about State Control and/or Political Inaction .
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, take a stance on the effectiveness of State Control through handicaps in the world of “Harrison Bergeron.”

2. “Harrison Bergeron” is a political satire.

• Select one theme— State Control , Arbitrary Justice , or Political Inaction —and state how the satirical elements work to communicate this theme. ( topic sentence )

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Harrison Bergeron

Kurt vonnegut, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

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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Essays on Harrison Bergeron

When it comes to writing an essay on the famous short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, it's essential to choose a compelling topic. The story touches on themes of equality, freedom, and the dangers of government control, making it ripe for analysis and discussion. In this guide, we'll explore the importance of selecting the right topic and provide a comprehensive list of recommended essay topics to help you get started.

The topic of your essay plays a crucial role in determining the direction and focus of your writing. A well-chosen topic can make your essay more engaging and thought-provoking, while a poorly selected one may lead to a lackluster and uninteresting piece. When it comes to "Harrison Bergeron," the story's complex themes and thought-provoking narrative provide a wealth of material to explore, making the choice of topic even more critical.

When selecting a topic for your "Harrison Bergeron" essay, consider the themes, characters, and symbolism present in the story. Think about what aspects of the narrative resonate with you and what issues you find most compelling. Additionally, consider the audience for your essay and what topics may be most relevant and engaging for them. Once you have a clear understanding of the story and its themes, you can begin to brainstorm potential essay topics.

The Best Harrison Bergeron Essay Topics Themes

• The concept of equality in "Harrison Bergeron"
• The dangers of government control and oppression
• The pursuit of individual freedom in a regulated society
• The impact of technology on societal norms and values
• The consequences of suppressing natural abilities and talents
• The role of Harrison Bergeron as a symbol of rebellion
• The portrayal of George and Hazel Bergeron as the average citizens
• The significance of Diana Moon Glampers as the enforcer of equality
• The influence of the Handicapper General on society

Symbols and Imagery

• The use of handicaps as a symbol of societal control
• The significance of the television as a tool for propaganda and normalization
• The portrayal of music and dance as expressions of freedom and individuality
• The bird as a symbol of unrestrained beauty and grace

Comparative Analysis

• Comparing "Harrison Bergeron" to other dystopian literature
• Exploring the similarities and differences between the story and real-world examples of government control
• Examining the themes of equality and freedom in "Harrison Bergeron" and other works of literature

Critical Analysis

• Analyzing the effectiveness of Vonnegut's portrayal of a dystopian society
• Examining the use of satire and irony in the story
• Exploring the implications of the story's ending and its message to the reader

With these recommended essay topics, you have a wide range of options to explore when writing about "Harrison Bergeron." Whether you're interested in delving into the story's themes, analyzing its characters, or comparing it to other works of literature, there's a topic that's sure to pique your interest and spark engaging discussions.

Harrison Bergeron Themes Analysis

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Metaphors in Harrison Bergeron

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The Theme of Equality in 'Harrison Bergeron' by Kurt Vonnegut

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False Happiness and Equality in 'Harrison Bergeron'

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Kurt Vonnegut

Dystopia, science fiction, political fiction

Harrison Bergeron, George Bergeron, Hazel Bergeron, The Ballerina, Diana Moon Glampers

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Harrison Bergeron Introduction

Dystopian societies are no fun. The clothes are drab. The TV shows are all reruns. And that whole having-no-rights thing is a real pain in the neck.

Utopias are where it's at. So, how about a place where everyone is equal? A place where no one is better than everyone else, and everyone has the same opportunities for fun, happiness, and success? Our bags are packed, and we want to go to there . We'll send you a postcard.

Well, not so fast. In "Harrison Bergeron" Kurt Vonnegut wonders if equality is all it's cracked up to be. The basic idea is this: It's the year 2081 and everyone is equal. Great! But what happens when one person tries to rise above the rest? Let's just say, it's not pretty.

"Harrison Bergeron" was first published in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine  in 1961, with Civil Rights in full swing  and the radical '60s just beginning. Issues of equality and fairness were on a lot of people's minds, and this story struck a nerve. It's been hailed as both "a prime example of where the ills of socialism could lead"—but also, weirdly, "not a satire on leftist policies, but, more accurately, a satire on the irrational fears of socialism" ( source ).

In other words, it's either an attack on socialism, or a satire of attacks on socialism. So, which is it?

Socialism is a system of government in which the government controls a nation's means of production in order to create a society without huge inequalities. Some people love it. Plenty of people hate it. You've probably heard it tossed around in various election cycles—and not always accurately.

Want a real-world example? In the U.S. 2008 and 2012 election cycles, people were all agitated about the role of the government in health insurance. Many believed that the government had a crucial role to play in ensuring that everyone was on a level playing field when it came to fair and affordable access to health insurance and health care. Many others thought that the Affordable Care Act was a slippery step towards socialism, in which individuals' health care decisions would be made by large governmental organizations.

What would Vonnegut think? Well, we can't say for sure. However you slice it, this is complicated stuff when both sides of the political fence claim that "Harrison Bergeron" supports their side of the issue. You'll have to read it and decide for yourself.

Having trouble tracking down a sci-fi mag from the '60s? Don't worry. "Harrison Bergeron" is widely available in Vonnegut's short-story collection Welcome To the Monkey House . It's worth the investment, as we're sure you'll be craving even more Vonnegut after reading "Harrison." In fact, it's barely eight pages long. Why aren't you reading it right now? You'll be talking about it for much, much longer than the time it takes to read.

What is Harrison Bergeron About and Why Should I Care?

It's time to face a cold, hard fact: somewhere in the world there is somebody who is better than you. In fact, there's probably someone in your school better than you. Okay, maybe not in everything , but definitely in something you really care about: football, video games, calculus, fashion, scrapbooking.

Totally frustrating, right? You try your best, but someone is still better. If only they weren't so awesome—then you'd be number one!

We've all had these kinds of selfish thoughts. If Perfect McSuperface wasn't around, we could be football captain, head of the debate team, or leader of the decoupage squad. The only real solution we can offer is work harder and stop measuring yourself against other people.

But what if the law was to make everyone else worse? To bring everyone down to the same level? We'd all be on an equal playing field. Dancers would all be clumsy; singers would all be tone deaf; math whizzes would all be... well, not math whizzes. That's the kind of world "Harrison Bergeron" imagines, and it's not a pretty one.

On second thought, we're happy being understudy in the school play.

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