Harrison Bergeron

In Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron," the title character is the most handicapped person in a society that seeks to equalize everyone by handicapping those who have greater abilities....

The underlying message of "Harrison Bergeron," which does not lie very far from the surface, is that this type of equality is not worth the price you have to pay for it. Given the handicaps with...

If everyone was of equal strength, looks, and intelligence, etc., there would be less feelings of inadequacy, envy, and jealousy. If everyone was equal in every way, everyone would have the same...

"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical look into the potential dangers of our society's desire for equality. Ultimately, Vonnegut is posing that, at a certain point, egalitarianism risks turning into a...

The irony in “Harrison Bergeron” is how the dystopian society in the story defines “equality”. To the government and its citizens, “equality” means to make everyone the same. We tend to see...

George and Hazel struggle to appreciate the dancing ballerinas that they are watching on the television and fail to comprehend their son's rebellious act. George, who is extremely intelligent, is...

Figurative language adds to the mood and meaning of a piece of literature and helps differentiate literary texts from informative or scientific works. In this short story, Vonnegut uses...

One needs to look now farther than the first paragraph to realize that Vonnegut's tale is laced with irony and satire. The strongest hint is when he mentions that there are over 100 ammendments in...

Situational irony occurs when the unexpected happens. Situational can relate to the characters' expectations or the readers'. In the case of Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," the situational irony...

A simile is a phrase which uses "like" or "as" to figuratively compare two similar ideas, things, people, images, etc. There are a great many smilies used in Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "Harrison...

Great question! The film 2081 closely follows the plot and dialogue of Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s short story “Harrison Bergeron,” but there are several differences. The opening lines of the film and story...

Kurt Vonnegut arguably wrote his story titled “Harrison Bergeron” for a number of reasons, including the following: Vonnegut may have wanted to appeal to readers’ interests in prophecies about...

When Harrison Bergeron escapes from jail, he shows up on the set of the television production currently being aired live. He is wearing all his handicaps, which makes him look like a walking...

Satire is employed in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" in order to expose the ridiculous idea that people can ever be made truly equal. Vonnegut's satire is developed through the use of humor,...

This is a dystopian future (2081) in which the government has established new laws (211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution) to enforce a doctrine of equality. The government has...

"Harrison Bergeron" is open to interpretation as to the aim of its satire. Some believe it to be a straightforward dystopian story, with the individual oppressed and eventually crushed by the...

The tone in "Harrison Bergeron" is casual, sarcastic, and even irreverent. Vonnegut tells us that everyone is "finally equal" in 2081. Yet, no one has figured out a way to control or affect the...

Vonnegut's celebrated short story "Harrison Bergeron" is set in the futuristic United States, which has transformed into a dystopia. The specific time setting of the story takes place in 2081 CE....

The primary conflict of Vonnegut's celebrated short story "Harrison Bergeron" is considered a Man vs. Society conflict. The story is set in the year 2081, and the United States Constitution has...

When George's wife suggests that he take some of the balls out of his cumbersome bag of birdshot hanging around his neck in order to give him some relief, George elaborates on the punishment for...

Kurt Vonnegut wrote "Harrison Bergeron" in 1961, which was in the midst of the Cold War and just after the end of the Joseph McCarthy-era of anti-Communist witch hunts by the U.S. Congress. While...

The tone of a story refers to the author's attitude towards the subject and is conveyed through the writer's word choice and point of view. The overall tone of Vonnegut's celebrated short story...

No, it wouldn't be possible. That's the point Vonnegut was trying to make when he set up all these elaborate handicaps to try to even the playing field, but still after many years and hundreds of...

The central conflict in "Harrison Bergeron" exists between Harrison and his society. His society has attempted to make everyone equal by making everyone exactly the same. In order to accomplish...

The story ends with Hazel and George watching television. They have just seen their son Harrison get shot for claiming to be the Emperor, stripping himself of his handicaps and dancing with a...

In Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," the Handicapper General is a woman whose name is Diana Moon Glampers. Her role is to enforce the Constitutional amendments that provide for the equalization of...

The last lines offer no chance for the redemption of George and Hazel Bergeron's society. After the Handicapper General shoots the Emperor and Empress, neither George nor his dull wife realizes...

Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 satire on popular science fiction depictions of futuristic dystopian societies, Harrison Bergeron, is written from the perspective of an anonymous, unseen narrator. All text...

The Handicapper General's name is mentioned on the first page, but she is rarely talked about until the end of the story when she walks into the auditorium and shoots Harrison and the ballerina...

Harrison's parents are not emotionally affected much at all by the death of their son because they cannot be. For Harrison's mother, Hazel, her "perfectly average" intelligence does not allow her...

In the dystopian, radically egalitarian society depicted in "Harrison Bergeron," those deemed by the government to have a natural advantage over others—such as physical strength or intelligence—are...

One of the themes to Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is the idea that all people should be forced into a mold that makes them equally "successful." That's why we see weights attached to ballet...

Harrison Bergeron is an extremely talented, athletic fourteen-year-old boy who was imprisoned for attempting to overthrow the government. In the short story, Harrison escapes from prison, takes...

First, let's make sure of the definition of dramatic irony - a situation in which a statement by a character in the story carries more than intended significance for the audience which has insight...

In the first paragraph, Vonnegut writes that the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, along with the "unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General,"...

In "Harrison Bergeron," each of the similes Vonnegut uses to describe George Bergeron's thoughts suggests the illicitness of having an original or unique idea. For example, as George watches...

At the beginning of the story, readers learn fourteen-year-old Harrison Bergeron was taken by the Handicapper General men and placed in jail. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took...

George did not remove the lead balls from the bag around his neck because, as he mentions in the story, he's gotten used to them. It's one of the tragedies of that society that people's imposed...

In "Harrison Bergeron," the government refuses to allow citizens to have original thoughts and prohibits their reactions to certain incidents in order to possess autocratic authority over everyone....

Kurt Vonnegut's futuristic short story "Harrison Bergeron" is replete with figurative language of many kinds. You asked for one, so I chose simile because they are vivid and effective in making...

They're only equal in the sense that they're all equally repressed by a cruel, manipulative regime that doesn't understand the value and importance of diversity. Human beings, of their very nature,...

The world of Harrison Bergeron is one in which egalitarianism has been imposed by force. It is a society that values equality among all members of society and uses a system of handicaps in order to...

The society of Kurt Vonnegut's short story is one of forced equality, an equality that diminishes talent, intelligence, and beauty. Individuality exists no longer. With the use of technical...

In Kurt Vonnegut's story "Harrison Bergeron," the title character is considered a threat to society because he cannot be contained by both the physical and symbolic handicaps this totalitarian...

Hazel Bergeron is described as being "perfectly average" in intelligence. This description implies that she cannot ponder anything because her thought processes are shallow. She cannot recall much,...

The moral of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is that forced equality--"It was the year of 2018 and everyone was finally equal"--is not truly equality; it is forced mediocrity. For, in order to...

In the society in "Harrison Bergeron", people are greatly affected by the role of the government. The society believes in and depends on complete equality amongst all of the people. In order to...

George and Hazel show an unnatural lack of concern regarding the televised murder of their son. Because of his handicap, George is prevented from experiencing any emotions that are considered...

The setting of the story is a dystopian United States set in the future year of 2081, where the Constitution has been amended more than 200 times. These amendments are meant to insure a leveling...

The ending of Harrison Bergeron could possibly be much different if he were to survive Diana Moon Glampers's attack and successfully usurp power to become Emperor of the United States. Harrison...