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James. T

Richard. H

Maitham. A

Dave. D

Joel. B

Danielle. Y

Tedi. H

Information on the Author

Vonnegut was born November 11, 1922 and died April 11, 2007. While at Cornell, Vonnegut enlisted in the U.S army (WW2) and the army transferred him to study mechanical engineering. On Mother’s Day 1944 Vonnegut’s mother committed suicide. Vonnegut experienced being a soldier as well as a prisoner of war this influence his later work. He witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany in February 1945 which destroyed most of the city. Married his childhood sweetheart Jane Marie Cox and lived in Barnstable, Massachusetts. He got divorced a remarried a photographer Jill Krementz. Vonnegut raised sever children three from his first marriage and his sister Alice’s three children which he adopted after she got cancer and a seventh Lily, adopted with Jill. The political system in Vonnegut’s story is distinctly American with the principles of egalitarianism. Vonnegut suggests that egalitarianism can be dangerous if interpreted to literally. The story is also interpreted as a critique of communism. The futuristic American society of “Harrison Bergeron” operates on communist principles, supporting the idea that wealth and power should be distributed equally.

Theme

In the year 2081, citizens are force to obtain the law of absolute equity by a dictatorship, lose their freedom and individual rights. Individual advantages are completely removed: pretty ballerinas are forced wear horrid masks; George’s intelligence is reduced to match Hazel (average person). All competition is gone and individual advantages are gone. Everyone is complete equals but the government. The theme of the story shows the quote “If I can’t have it then neither should you”

Plot

* The story Harrison Bergeson is set in future. Everyone is fully equal because of the new amendments to the future government.

* People who are intellectually gifted are forced to be equal by different kinds of devices which make their mental capability lower or equal to the person around them.

* Hazel and George were watching ballerinas on the television then suddenly the show was interrupted with a news broadcast of George and Hazel’s son, Harrison Bergeson, escaped from jail. He then takes off the chains and buckles all over his body and yells “I am the emperor”.

* The conflict is man vs. the Society.

* How the people were affected by the government in the year 2081 by a law of equality.

* Harrison took all the buckles and mask off from the ballerinas’ body. They declared themselves the “Emperor” and the “Empress”. Harrison commanded two musicians to- play them a music which would show the people the real meaning of the word dance. Then, they kissed passionately.

* Hazel witnessed the death of her son and George didn’t. George grabbed a beer and when he got back he asked Hazel what happened but Hazel couldn’t say because she already forgot about it. She just said that there was something sad happened on the television.

Characters

Harrison Bergeron

Harrison Bergeron is seven feet male soon to George and Hazel Bergeron. He is gifted in size, looks, and is athletic. He is a perfect human and is forced to wear handicaps to lower him to be even to everyone else. Harrison is daring and dies for his actions.

George Bergeron

George Bergeron is the father of Harrison, husband to Hazel. George follows what the government’s rules and obeys them even though they bring discomfort to him and his family. George has higher than normal intelligence and is force to wear handicaps which as radios in his ears and 50 pound weights around his neck.

Hazel Bergeron

Hazel Bergeron is the wife to George and mother to Harrison. Hazel is caring mother and is willing to break laws to make George feel better: taking off his handicaps. She has good intentions but has average person intelligence. Because of Hazel’s average intelligence she sees her son die on the television and her brain (stupidity does not allow her to keep the specific details on TV and only knows it’s something sad).

Diana Moon Glampers

Diana Moon Glampers is the handicap general which represent the rule of the government and kills Harrison and his empress without warning.

The Ballerina

The ballerina who choose to break the law of equity and be Harrison’s empress. She is later killed with Harrison by the handicap general.

Point of View

The point of view is told in third person limited omniscient, in past tense.

Tone

The author writes this short story with a very dry sense of humor in a matter-of-fact straightforward way.

Symbolism

  • Chains – Holding people back (handicaps)
  • The handicapper general – Corrupt officials (the handicapper general)
  • Harrison – Represents the defiance against equality (declares himself emperor and removes handicaps)
  • George – represents the soul follower of the new government ( refusing to remove his handicaps)
  • Hazel - average person that does not comprehend complete equality (asks George to take his weights out)
  • Media/Advertising – the way the government enforces its laws. (Television)
  • Ballerina – supposed to be graceful and beautiful figures of their arts but they are restrained, handicapped and forced to wear masks which takes their intelligence of being ballerinas away

Parallel Events

Ying-Yang

  • shows that everthing needs balance to live in peace and harmony
  • there needs to be a balance between the equality of people and their indivdual freedoms

Burqa (Chadri)

  • worn to keep all women plain and equal, so they don't attract attention
  • restricts their freedom
  • violates the fundamental right of free expression of opnion
  • treats women unfairly compared to men

This is a good representation of symbolism because in the story everyone is “equal”. As you can see the mannequin, he has no unique features; on the contrary it is quite plain. This is what the story depicts; it shows a new world where using handicaps people are formed into uncharacteristic beings; unable to show their true and intellectual sides through the form of handicaps and through the oppression of the dictorial government regime. (everyone is wearing masks, intelligent people have radios and etc.)

Irony

The government thinks that the

society has complete equality, but...

1989 - Tian An Men Square Massacre

  • people who wanted more liberalization from communism protested and had demonstrations
  • people were shot

Relation to story

  • Harrison protested against the all-powerful communist government
  • was shot by the Handicapper General
  • the "equality" in the story takes away Equality of Individual Treatment
  • leaving only Equality of All Peoples
  • this unbalances the balance of society
  • society needs a balance between these two
  • there is no true equality if the other is present
  • these two principles of eqaulity contradict each other

Climax

Conflict

Falling Action

*The Handicapper General came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun and fired it pointing towards the Emperor and Empress. They died before they even hit the floor.

Resolution

Exposition

Rising Action

References

  • "Vonnegut, Kurt." Kurt Vonnegut 28/10/2011. 1. Wikipedia. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>.

Presentation By:

Harrison Bergeron

Written by Kurt Vonnegut

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