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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.
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”
* 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.
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.
The point of view is told in third person limited omniscient, in past tense.
The author writes this short story with a very dry sense of humor in a matter-of-fact straightforward way.
Parallel Events
Ying-Yang
Burqa (Chadri)
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
Relation to story
*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.
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