Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" is full of irony. Perhaps the most glaring irony is the idea of imposing complete equality on a population through state power. Anyone who has the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

The purpose of the handicaps is to make everyone equal. All of us are born with natural skills and abilities that other people don't have. Some people may be good at sports, others may have...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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,"...

The climax of a story comes when the conflict or tension reaches the highest pitch. In "Harrison Bergeron" this comes when Harrison appears on TV, calls himself an "Emperor," rips off the devices...

Another important theme is how the average citizen is willing to sacrifice freedom for comfort. In order to maintain perfect order in society, the future United States’ citizenry willingly submits...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Kurt Vonnegut’s story “Harrison Bergeron” imagines a future United States in which everyone is absolutely equal because people with any unusual talents or natural advantages (such as intelligence,...

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...

There are four reasons the government is searching for Harrison Bergeron. The most immediate reason the government is looking for Harrison is that he broke out of jail. The second reason is that...

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...

Ballerinas represent everything the dystopian United States that Vonnegut depicts is trying to suppress: beauty, talent, grace, and excellence. In this future, the idea of a ballerina has been made...

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...

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...

Ultimately, "Harrison Bergeron" is a criticism of egalitarianism (as well as society's tendency to advance social progress through government action). Vonnegut advances this criticism by creating a...

In Vonnegut's futuristic United States, the Constitution has been extensively amended to create a completely uniform society where every citizen is equal in all areas of life. In order to assure...

In "Harrison Bergeron," Vonnegut uses dark humor to show the contrast between the "ideal" of social equality and the real needs of individuals. To step back and provide a framework, humor relies on...

At the end of "Harrison Bergeron," Hazel has seen her son executed on live TV and George, although he sees Harrison evading the law and being declared a dangerous criminal, stops watching his son...

According to Freytag's pyramid, rising action begins after the inciting incident and ends at the story's climax. In the case of "Harrison Bergeron," the inciting incident occurs when a "news...

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...

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 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...