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What is a summary of the conflict in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Accepted Answer

The main conflict in “Harrison Bergeron” is between the citizens of the dystopian society and the government that has imposed handicaps on people to make them “equal.”  The government of this society feels that the only way to make people equal is to determine their strengths and oppress them so they are not better than anyone else.  For example, because Harrison is big and strong, he must carry bags full of sand around his neck to weigh him down.  Harrison’s father, George, is more intelligent than other citizens, and so the government equips him with devices in his ears that clang and ring loudly when he starts to think too much.  The noise interrupts his thinking and makes him forgetful.   The protagonist, Harrison, is the one citizen who stands up and attempts to fight against this oppression by interrupting a radio broadcast by the government and demanding his rights.  Unfortunately, he is unsuccessful in winning against the society that doesn’t understand the importance of human rights and individuality and is killed.

Answer

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 been amended to create a completely uniform society, where everyone is equal in all facets of life. The government believes that eliminating individuality and personal freedoms will create a stable environment, where officials in positions of power will not be challenged and society will not be disturbed by ambitious, talented individuals. In order to assure complete equality, the agents of the United States Handicapper General require talented, attractive, and intelligent civilians to wear handicaps that limit their above-average abilities. Talented citizens like Harrison Bergeron suffer under the oppressive, restrictive laws and are forced to wear heavy, cumbersome handicaps. Harrison’s handicaps are so cumbersome that he resembles a “walking junkyard.”
Harrison's character epitomizes individuality and personal freedom, which is exactly what the government has restricted and suppressed. Harrison ends up escaping from prison, taking over a television station, and dramatically tearing off his cumbersome handicaps. After Harrison announces that he is the Emperor, he gracefully floats into the air with a beautiful ballerina to the top of the ceiling, which expresses the value of individuality and freedom. Tragically, Harrison is shot and killed by the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. Overall, Vonnegut depicts a man versus society conflict, where society defeats the protagonist of the story.

Answer

The central conflict of "Harrison Bergeron" is man versus society. In this story, Vonnegut invents a society in which egalitarian ideals have been taken to such an extreme, that they have actually turned oppressive. "Harrison Bergeron" tells a story of willful defiance against the social order.
Its protagonist, Harrison Bergeron, is a young teenager of extraordinary ability, in a society that makes a policy of repressing all forms of human excellence. Anyone with above average intelligence, strength, beauty, etc. is handicapped, so as to force mediocrity upon them.
This story is told from the perspective of Harrison's parents, who are watching a television production of ballet (or rather, a mockery of ballet, given that all the dancers have been handicapped). Harrison breaks into the television studio, and, in willful rebellion against the State, breaks his handicaps, and breaks the handicaps of one of the ballerinas, as well as those of the musicians. Then, free of these handicaps, they proceed to dance.
This is a story about the celebration of self expression and individual excellence, in a world that has suppressed them. The State responds with violence. The dancers are killed.

Answer

The conflict in Harrison Bergeron is mainly between Harrison Bergeron and his government.
In the story, he is the lone rebel who has been accused of plotting to overthrow the government. At seven feet tall, Harrison is considered unusually robust. He is athletic, good-looking, and extremely intelligent. To his government, Harrison is a threat to social stability. So, he is required to wear considerably heavier "handicaps" than other citizens. The handicaps are meant to repress Harrison's intelligent thoughts, to hide his good looks, and to slow him down. Handicaps are the main way Harrison's government ensures equality among its citizens.
As a practice, Harrison wears a massive pair of earphones, extremely thick glasses, and three hundred pounds of scrap metal. Additionally, he is required to keep his eyebrows shaved, to wear a red, rubber ball over his nose, and to wear black caps over random white teeth. To reinforce his commitment to individual freedom, Harrison makes his final stand at the studio; there, he takes off his handicaps and dances with a ballerina (who has also taken off her handicaps). They dance without inhibition, something neither has been able to do in a long time.
The conflict between Harrison and his government ends when Diana Moon Glampers (the Handicapper General) uses a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun to kill Harrison and the ballerina.

Harrison Bergeron Questions and Answers
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

What is a summary of the conflict in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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