Harrison Bergeron (Good Paper)

Name: Sarah G. Baker

Course #: ENGL 2201-032

Paper #: Seven

Word Count: 870

Date: 11/26/06

In the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut the theme of the story was based on his satirical view of the human's desire to achieve equality. Equality is something that has been fought for by all different ethnic groups since the beginning of time and is still being fought for today. Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is based on the issue of equality and the struggle for humans to possess it. According to Vonnegut in order for equality to be possessed by all people then three main things would have to take place 1) make everyone have the same intelligence, 2) make everyone have the same strengths and weaknesses, and 3) make everyone look alike.

In "Harrison Bergeron" the ability to posses characteristics that were individually unique were taken away and replaced by a society which strived for all things to be similar (equal). This was achieved by taking away all makeup for women, everyone must be on the same physical level, handicaps for all people, and other accessories put on the body to make all people have the same physical strengths. This is exemplified when Hazel and George were watching the ballerinas and the conversation went blank because of loud noises in both George's and the ballerina's ears. In the story it states that "Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant that she couldn't think about anything in except in short burst. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. . . Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people . . . from taking advantage of their brains." In order for everyone to be equal there could be nobody of higher intelligence because that would give them an advantage over the people of lower mental capacity.

The methods in place to achieve equality in "Harrison Bergeron" made sure that everyone must have the same strengths and weaknesses and look the same physically as their peers. There were numerous times in the story that the reader was reminded that, "all this quality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the constitution." The character that the reader sees most affected by this amendment, because he was considered strong, was Harrison. He was taken from his parents at 14, and was given many handicaps to bring him to the average level of the society. "Nobody had ever borne heavier handicaps" than Harrison. The government was aware of his strengths and that he would be considered more handsome than the rest of the people who lived in his society so they placed numerous handicaps upon him to minimize these strengths and to interfere with his good looks.

The "idea" of equality for all has good intentions yet bad results. Sure there are many cases where equality has been necessary and the results of actions taken have been positive. Women being allowed to