What is the conflict in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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.

How does "Harrison Bergeron" use verbal, situational, and dramatic irony?

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, exaggeration, and the three types of irony: verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony.

The opening sentence of "Harrison Bergeron" contains verbal irony: "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal." This statement is ironic because the author states that there is "equality," but he means something entirely different. The equality is a coerced equality, which, of course, is no equality at all. Laws have been passed that are enforced by agents of the government, handicaps have been placed on people, and only desensitizing television programs are broadcast. In one instance of the desensitization of people, Hazel Bergeron, who does not wear any handicaps because she is already "normal" (she has non-threatening looks and mediocre intelligence), watches heavily handicapped ballerinas on the television screen. She remarks, "That dance—it was nice." Her husband, George, who is very intelligent, "was toying with the vague notion that maybe talented dancers shouldn't be handicapped." As soon as he has this independent thought, it is cut off by an annoyingly loud noise in an ear radio he is forced to wear. This noise "shatter[s] his thought," and, as a result, he cannot continue his independent thinking. He must be equal in thought to Hazel.

There is also situational irony in which Vonnegut shows a discrepancy between the expected result and the real outcome of a situation. One situation that should produce outrage is presented in a calm manner. When the omniscient narrator states, "Some things about living still weren't quite right," such as the insignificant fact that "April still drove people crazy by not being springtime," the reader is led to believe that everything is under control and perfected except the weather. However, the reader later learns that in this "clammy month" of April, Harrison Bergeron has been arrested. Although this arrest has been tragic, Hazel and George Bergeron cannot think about it "very hard" because George is forced to wear a mental handicap that prevents him from thinking. Hazel is of the new "average intelligence," which means that she cannot think about anything for more than a few minutes. The parents' reactions to the arrest and incarceration of their son are ironic because people expect them to be devastated by the fact that their son has been taken to prison. They do not expect them to be so desensitized to this tragedy.

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader is aware of something that a character in the literary work does not know. An obvious example of dramatic irony is the fact that George Bergeron does not realize at the end of the narrative that his son has been killed. His wife, who is equal to the Handicapper General, cannot recall why she has been crying. Another example of dramatic irony is the awareness that the reader has about how terrible it is that this society has "forced equality," while mediocre characters such as Diana Moon Glampers and Hazel Bergeron are unaware of this fact.

What is Harrison Bergeron fighting against in the story?

Harrison Bergeron breaks out of jail where he is held on suspicion of wanting to overthrow the government in Kurt Vonnegut's story, "Harrison Bergeron."  His act is rebellion against this suppressive government and its forced equality authorized by the Amendments to the Constitution.

In his act of rebellion, however, Harrison overreacts as he declares himself emperor; as a superhuman, he says he will be "a greater ruler than any man who has ever lived." And, ironically, his attempt to overthrow the totalitarian government is totalitarian itself as he orders the musicians to remove their handicaps and play as he selects his Empress by grabbing the beautiful ballerina.  His rule is extremely short-lived like that of most dictators.  Thus, Vonnegut implies that power must always corrupt.  Tragically, too, Harrison's attempt to free others ends in death, leaving the futility of trying to move upward in society intact.

What is Harrison Bergeron fighting against in the story?

Harrison Bergeron is fighting against a society that is so obsessed with equality that it won't let people of talent or ability express their gifts.

The story satirizes society's attempts to make sure that people who might be less talented or able feel good about themselves. It shows a society that has gone completely awry in trying to make sure nobody can feel superior to anyone else. Leveling everyone to the lowest common denominator has replaced equality of opportunity.

To maintain a false "equality," nobody is allowed to excel. Harrison's father, for example, has above average intelligence. So that this will not give him an unfair advantage in life, he has to wear a device that interrupts his thoughts about every twenty seconds with loud and disorienting noises. In this way, his mind is kept diverted and scrambled.

As we see as Harrison's parents watch television, ballerinas are likewise laden with heavy weights that make it impossible for them to leap and pirouette effectively. Attractive people have to wear ugly masks so that their good looks don't give them an unfair advantage in life.

Harrison is fighting for the right to excel and not be held back by a societal quest for mediocrity and conformity. He does this by ripping off his own handicapping devices and those of a ballerina in front of TV cameras, then dancing as a form of protest and declaring himself the Emperor.

Can you provide an example of characterization in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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 with a double barrel shotgun.  The author's use of the name Diana Moon Glampers leads readers to infer through his use of Mythological Allusion that Glampers will kill something.  Diana was the goddess of the hunt/chase, she carried a bow and arrow, and her symbol was the moon.  

Can you provide an example of characterization in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. describes the main characters of "Harrison Bergeron" in his usual matter-of-fact and rather sarcastic way, from the perspective of the society that he creates.   For example, when we are introduced first to Hazel, Harrison's mother, the first bit of character description that we get of her is that she wasn't very smart, and that

"There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about."

Immediately we feel like she is a rather shallow person, and a total ditz.  Vonnegut is describing her through the eyes of the society that they live in though, not through our eyes.  According to the society that existed in this story, in 2081 where everyone was "finally equal," they did find Hazel average and dull.  Vonnegut characterizes them according the standards of his dystopian society.

Later, we see Hazel is willing to bend the rules a bit (she encourages George to take off some of his weights, just to rest) but that George is more of a stickler for the rules.  The most flamboyant and exaggerated characterizations come in describing Harrison. Here, Vonnegut gets a bit wordy and even poetic.  He describes Harrison as all "Halloween and hardware," and later, when Harrison bursts onto the stage, as "a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder."  Vonnegut uses similes and metaphors and other poetic techniques to describe just how overwhelmingly beautiful and strong Harrison is.  This would be true to his society's perspective also, since they were used to average.

I hope that helped a bit; good luck!

What happens to Harrison Bergeron and why?

In this dystopian future, the Handicapper General and her agents use mental and physical handicaps to make everyone in society equal. If someone has superior mental abilities, that person is given a handicap to distract his/her thinking. If someone has superior looks or physical abilities, handicaps are used to make them less attractive or unable to use those physical skills. 

Harrison is extremely gifted, mentally and physically. He stands seven feet tall. Harrison is so gifted that the Handicapper General has had a hard time coming up with handicaps to subdue him. 

Nobody had ever born heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. 

In addition to these, Harrison wears 300 pounds worth of metal. In an alleged attempt to take over the government, Harrison escapes from jail and goes to a television studio. On live television, he proclaims himself emperor. He tears his handicaps off as if they were made of paper. He asks for an empress and a ballerina rises. He removes her handicaps as well. They dance in celebration and then Harrison is killed by the Handicapper General. Harrison was attempting to make a statement about rebelling against this oppressive government, but his self-coronation as emperor seems more like self-glorification than a call to others to rebel with him. 

What are Harrison Bergeron's characteristics?

Harrison Bergeron is almost super-human: He is a genius, extremely good-looking, seven feet tall, able to see and hear exceptionally well, strong and athletic, but overbearing.

Because Harrison's attributes are so exceptional he is severely handicapped in order to make him "equal" to all others in his society; for instance, he is forced to wear "a tremendous pair of earphones" and glasses to distort his keen vision and give him "whanging headaches besides."

Having rebelled against the severe handicaps weighing three hundred pounds that he is forced to wear and the painful shocks to his head to arrest his intelligent thoughts and mar his superior vision, Harrison has been put into prison. But, he escapes, frees himself from his handicaps, and attempts a coup d'état by invading the television station and taking off the handicaps of others.

"I am the Emperor!" cried Harrison. "Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!"

Harrison continues his boasting; then, he declares that he will select his Empress, and he calls for the woman who dares to rise and claim her mate. A ballerina comes forward, and when her handicaps are removed, her beauty is dazzling. But, as they dance, the Handicapper General, Diana Moon, who bears a resemblance to Hazel and needs no handicaps, fires twice a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun at the couple, killing the Emperor and Empress.

What are two instances of verbal irony in 'Harrison Bergeron'?

Verbal irony is defined as a statement in which the opposite of what is said is meant. In Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” the narrator most often uses verbal irony in order to criticize the future society in which the story takes place.

For example, when discussing the handicaps, the narrator focuses on George Bergeron’s particular handicap:

Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.

The use of the phrase “unfair advantage” is an example of verbal irony because the narrator does not believe it would be unfair for George to be able to form coherent thoughts without being interrupted. This helps to establish the ironic tone of the story.

Another example of this ironic commentary when the best ballerina is forced to read the bulletin on television:

And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody.

This quote contains verbal irony because the narrator suggests the ballerina is being unfair as he describes her voice in glowing terms. This shows that the narrator—perhaps Vonnegut himself—believes it is ridiculous for someone to alter their natural speaking voice so no one is offended.

What are two instances of verbal irony in 'Harrison Bergeron'?

Hazel and George Bergeron are watching a dance performance on television. The ballerinas, of course, are handicapped with various combinations of weight bags and masks, so that their movements and appearance are not exceptionally graceful or unusually attractive. Hazel, who is not hindered by any handicapping devices since her abilities are considered "average" and therefore not in need of modification, appreciates the dance but can't explain why.

There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about...."That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did," said Hazel.

As another example, consider Harrison's appearance, burdened down with three hundred pounds of weights, wearing huge earphones and glasses with thick irregular lenses, a red rubber-ball clown nose, black pointed caps on his teeth, and shaved eyebrows.

"If you see this boy," said the ballerina, "do not - I repeat, do not - try to reason with him."

Would anyone in their right mind try to reason with a person having that appearance?

What are two instances of verbal irony in 'Harrison Bergeron'?

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 or understanding that the character doesn't possess.

In Harrison Bergeron, almost every sentence carries dramatic irony. The system of handicapping devices that has been instituted has made all citizens equal by negating any "advantages" some individuals might have had over the "normal" abilities of the population. Hazel Bergeron, as a completely "normal" person, can't truly understand or identify with the impact of her husband George's handicapping measures. In fact, she finds them interesting.

"I'd think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds," said Hazel, a little envious. "All the things they think up....I think I'd make a good Handicapper General....Who knows better then I do what normal is?"

The readers of the story quickly come to understand that the transmissions to George's mental handicap radio are definitely not interesting; they also become aware that Hazel does not have the ability to focus on any one sustained effort or thought in the way that would be required of the Handicapper General.

When the announcer breaks into the television program to announce Harrison's escape from jail, he has great difficulty communicating. Announcers, people whose profession in our culture requires strong and clear speech so as to be understood, in the setting of this story possess handicaps such as speech impediments. This is ironic in and of itself. Hazel's reaction to his attempts to read the news bulletin highlights the irony of his position, given his speaking difficulties.

"He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard."

What is the theme of "Harrison Bergeron"?

The primary theme in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is that human beings will always reject control and oppression of their individuality. The handicapper general, a woman by the name of Diana Moon Glampers, enforces this desire to reduce individuals to a generic person without individual thoughts in the name of "equality." However, the eponymous Harrison Bergeron rejects and strips himself of the "handicaps" placed on him by Glampers, but ends up dead.

In this story, Vonnegut is successfully able to weave two competing ideas: the human desire to be an individual and the political desire for control. Despite the fact that citizens seem to prefer control in order to be "equal" (George Bergeron tells his wife this when she suggests removing some of his handicaps: "If I tried to get away with it ... then other people'd get away with it—and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?"), there also seems to be the incorrigible human desire to express oneself. When Harrison arrives in the TV studio, he finds a dancer and musicians willing to remove their handicaps in order to create something beautiful. Even Hazel Bergeron, who has no handicaps because she is already at the lowest common denominator, cries when Harrison is shot because she understands that something "sad" has just occurred.

There are many sub-themes here, including the questions surrounding this idea of equality, but the primary theme is definitely the human desire to express one's individuality and talents regardless of oppression.

What traits does Harrison Bergeron have?

For every quality of physical or mental excellence Harrison Bergeron possesses, there is a corresponding handicap that he must wear to bring his abilities down to the level of the "average" person so that all members of the society can be equal. Thus, because he is wonderfully handsome, he has to wear a "rubber-ball nose" to make him look like a clown and black caps on his teeth. Because he is highly intelligent, he must wear not just a "little mental handicap radio in his ear," but a "tremendous pair of earphones." He also wears eyeglasses that would cause headaches and interfere with his vision to further hamper his intellect. Instead of a simple bag of birdshot around his neck like his father wears, he has scrap metal hanging all over him because he is so strong and powerful. He is seven feet tall, and there is nothing the handicappers can do to hide that. He is also non-compliant, which creates a problem for his dystopian keepers. He can dance gracefully while hovering in the air. Despite Harrison's god-like attributes, he is not impervious to bullets, succumbing easily to Diana Moon Glampers' "double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun." 

What is the main action in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Harrison Bergeron is a short story set in a dystopian future.  In this future, all people are equal. This does not just mean that they have equal rights. No one is prettier than anyone else (beautiful people have to wear masks to hide their beauty), no one is stronger than anyone else (the strong have to carry weights to weaken them), and no one is smarter than anyone else (intelligent people have an ear piece that sets off a disturbing sound to keep them from thinking straight). Most people accept this, but Harrison Bergeron does not.

Harrison was arrested before the story begins. He did not agree with this government's definition of "equal." He breaks out of jail and crashes a ballet performance (the ballerinas wear weights and masks too). His father watches this on TV, surprised to see his son out of jail.

Harrison invites one of the dancers to dance with him in defiance of the government.  The ballet dancer takes off her weights and her mask, and she dances with Harrison.  They are killed by government officials.  Harrison's father watches this happen on TV, but his ear piece sounds off, and he forgets what he just witnessed.

With all the underlying themes regarding freedom, civil rights, etc, what is the main unifying theme found in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Another theme of "Harrison Bergeron" that is extremely pertinent to contemporary American society is the acceptance and value given to mediocrity.  That Vonnegut considers this his prevailing idea is evident from his opening sentence, "The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal."  The culture of 2081 values this mediocrity to the point that people are willing to accept oppressive measures so that no one will be better than anyone else.

When Hazel watches the news announcer who is unable to read the news bulletin because of his severe speech impediment, an impediment that nevertheless has not prevented him from attaining his job, she remarks,

"That's all right--...he tried.  That's the big thing.  He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him."

Indeed, these words are a futuristic echoing of what is heard in present-day American society.  Usually, such efforts are accompanied by a trophy or a certificate of participation.  On maudlin television programs, audiences applaud the most pedestrian efforts of individuals participating in American Idol, The Voice, etc. because they came before the public and "tried."

On the other hand, competition is discouraged, and the modern emphasis is on the interpersonal interaction of players in a game, not on the winning. Society is lowered to meet the Handicapper General's standards in Harrison's world; in modern American society, no child is "left behind."  The populace is desensitized, numbed by television and sound-bytes that shift and control thought rather than provoke it, a progressive desensitization promoted by technology.

With all the underlying themes regarding freedom, civil rights, etc, what is the main unifying theme found in "Harrison Bergeron"?

The underlying and unifying theme in "Harrison Bergeron" is freedom, specifically the risks and threats to individual freedom.

George Bergeron isn't free - the "little mental handicap radio" and the "forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag...padlocked around George's neck" insured that he wasn't free to think or do anything that was above average.

Hazel Bergeron isn't free. She has no external handicapping devices, but she also has no imagination to find anything to do but watch television without any real understanding or comprehension of what she is seeing. The performers she sees on the television are not free - they all bear evidence of their potential abilities in the weights and masks and other devices they are required to wear by the law of the land.

Harrison isn't free until he rebels. Until he declares himself "Emperor," he is the most extensively restricted and penalized of all. When he esapes from his handicapping devices, the reader understands the extent to which the government has gone to deprive him of his abilities and his freedom.

Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness...straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds...Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness...Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall. He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder.

And in the end, Harrison's freedom causes his death. Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers, who herself can never be free of her duties enforcing the requirements of the land, shoots Harrison before his expression of freedom even allows him to descend from his elevated position near the ceiling.

The lack of civil rights, the domination of every aspect of life by the government, the suppression of individual liberties, the brainwashing by the media - it all relates back to the theme of freedom and the lack thereof.

How does Harrison Bergeron struggle?

All of the characters in "Harrison Bergeron" struggle to a certain degree. The people in society who have anything special to brag of (beauty, brains, strength, etc.) are forced by the government, which is monitoring them at all times, to handicap themselves for the sake of equality. Harrison, the son of George and Hazel Bergeron, has it the worst: he is 14 years old, 7 feet tall, and extremely intelligent. He is also handsome and talented and has the strength of 20 lumberjacks.

It appears that Harrison is the most advanced specimen of the human race, and so he is forced to wear the most handicaps out of anyone. He constantly has noises shooting into his ears to confuse his brain and make him "stupid," he is chained and shackled to prevent him from using his strength, and he is confined to his room for fear that he will overthrow the government. Harrison is, in fact, its greatest fear. It can be argued that he struggles the most out of anyone, because he is the most repressed person in all of society; he has never been allowed to be himself. 

In the story, he attempts to escape his shackles to have his moment of glory when he can revel in all that he is. Finally, he escapes and makes his way to the concert hall where the television is broadcasting some ballerinas for people to watch. One of the dancers is so beautiful and graceful that she is also heavily handicapped. Together, they put on the most glorious show the people have ever seen, and Harrison attempts to overthrow the government. Harrison finishes by crowning himself emperor in the process, because he knows that he is the greatest person to have ever lived. Alas, he is killed by the government and everything goes back to the way it was, with his own parents forgetting the spectacle that they have just witnessed, the murder of their only son. 

What distinguishes Harrison Bergeron?

The society in this short story functions under the mercy of an oppressive government. The year is 2081 and thanks to the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments, a drastic enforcement of equality has been put into place. This enforcement is led by the Handicapper General. In efforts to make people more equal, it is the Handicapper General's job to give handicaps to people who exhibit physical and/or mental abilities that are above that of the average person. The end goal is to restrict any such talented people so that everyone has essentially the same physical and mental abilities. 

Harrison Bergeron is special because he has extraordinary abilities. No one is as gifted as he is. He is only fourteen years old but he stands seven feet tall. He is so physically and mentally gifted that he continues to outgrow any handicaps the "H-G men" come up with. Fearing his abilities, the government arrests Harrison. Harrison then escapes and breaks free of his restraints. The tragic irony is that instead of criticizing the corrupt abuse of power that has handicapped him in the first place, he asserts his own power and declares himself emperor. 

What happened to Harrison in "Harrison Bergeron"?

"Harrison Bergeron" is a 1961 science fiction short story written by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Set in 2081, the story centers on Harrison Bergeron—an extremely handsome, strong, and intelligent fourteen-year-old boy who lives in a society in which everyone must be equal and look perfectly average; in other words, no one must be superior to anyone else.

Thus, those individuals who are deemed beautiful, intelligent, or physically fit must wear certain handicaps—the beautiful must wear masks to hide their attractive features, the intelligent must wear radios in their ears that prevent them from thinking too hard, and the athletic must wear heavy weights on them that will constantly wear them down. Because of his above-average features, strong build, and impressive intellect, Harrison is forced to wear a rubber ball on his nose, a loud radio in his ear, thick glasses, and extremely heavy weights, and he has to shave his eyebrows and cover some of his teeth with black caps. When the story begins, he has been jailed "on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government."

Harrison is the son of George Bergeron, who is very intelligent, and Hazel Bergeron, who is of average intelligence and doesn't need to wear any handicaps. While they're watching a ballet performance on TV, one of the masked ballerinas announces that Harrison Bergeron has escaped from jail and is considered to be a danger to society.

Just as she says this, Harrison crashes the performance and decides to remove all of his handicaps. He proclaims himself to be the Emperor, and one of the ballerinas volunteers to join him and become the Empress. Harrison removes her handicaps and then does the same for the musicians, ordering them to play their best. He grabs the ballerina, and both of them dance gracefully and elegantly to the music, giving a hauntingly beautiful performance.

Their dance is interrupted, however, as Diana Moon Glampers—the Handicapper General—storms into the ballet studio, pulls out a shotgun, and kills both Harrison and the ballerina. She then orders the musicians to put their handicaps back on at once, and the program is cut short.

What is your interpretation of the story "Harrison Bergeron"?

"Harrison Bergeron" depicts a dystopian future in which "equality" is misunderstood and enforced in an oppressive way.

In American history, the idea of equality that great American thinkers and philosophers have supported is that every American should have the same opportunities to succeed: "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." If the government decides to limit any of those "unalienable rights" (as it says in the "Declaration of Independence"), then the people's freedoms have been taken away. The correct way to ensure equality without interfering with freedom is to encourage success and put infrastructure in place to help and motivate those who are born into situations which limit their opportunities.

In this story, the government has not done this. Their idea is to enforce equality by handicapping talented people and preventing those with less talent from bettering themselves. It is also a society obsessed and placated by mindless television shows. Note, that when Harrison tries to take over, he goes to a television station rather than a government building or executive committee. In this story, the government's strategy is "equality by limitation." In the ideal American society, it would/should be "equality by opportunity."