Discussion Topic

Handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron": Motivations, Purpose, and Consequences

Summary:

In Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," society enforces equality through physical and mental handicaps mandated by the government. These devices suppress individuals' natural talents and abilities to maintain uniformity. George Bergeron, for instance, wears a mental radio to disrupt his thoughts and carries weights to limit his strength. Harsh punishments, including fines and imprisonment, deter the removal of these handicaps, ensuring compliance. The story critiques this enforced equality, highlighting its oppressive and dehumanizing nature.

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What are the handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

In "Harrison Bergeron," everyone must wear handicaps to ensure equality for all. The text tells us that the year is 2081, and the Constitution has been amended to protect the happiness of the masses.

Accordingly, those who possess above-average intelligence, strength, and beauty must wear handicapping devices to mask their physical and mental gifts. And according to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments, such individuals must wear their handicaps at all times.

In the story, Harrison's father, George, must wear an earphone tuned to a government transmitter. When he thinks intelligent thoughts, the transmitter sends out jarring sounds to accost his ears and distract his attention. Intelligent thoughts are absolutely forbidden in this dystopian version of the United States.

George must also wear forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag. The bag is padlocked to his neck, and the consequences for taking out any of the lead balls are high. A missing lead ball will result in a fine of two thousand dollars and two years in prison.

Meanwhile, owing to his considerable physical and mental gifts, his son Harrison must wear a thick rubber ball over his nose, massive earphones, and thick eyeglasses that make him half-blind and give him headaches. He must also wear black tooth caps over some of his teeth and carry 300 pounds of scrap metal on his person.

Meanwhile, the ballerina must wear a hideous mask to cover her breathtaking beauty. All in all, the handicaps contribute nothing to true equality and instead serve as instruments of torture.

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Why are people reluctant to join Harrison and remove their handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

In Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron," the authoritarian government ensures complete uniformity by requiring talented, athletic, and intelligent people to wear cumbersome handicaps that restrict their movements and limit their above-average abilities.

Agents of the United States Handicapper General are responsible for handicapping talented individuals, and the agency is portrayed as violent, cruel, and aggressive. There are harsh penalties attached to removing, lightening, or adjusting the handicaps, and citizens are hesitant to alter their handicaps in any way. When Hazel suggests that George remove a few lead balls from the handicap bag around his neck, George says, "Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out." George's response illustrates the harsh penalties for removing the handicaps.

Later in the story, Harrison Bergeron escapes prison and breaks into a television studio, where he declares himself Emperor before stripping off his handicaps. The ballerinas and musicians are reluctant to follow his lead because they are aware of the consequences attached to removing their handicaps. They live in a state of fear and have been conditioned to obey the authoritarian government. They understand that they will be arrested, fined, or even killed. When Diana Moon Glampers enters the studio, she does not hesitate to shoot Harrison and his Empress in midair. Her ruthless actions highlight the violent, cruel nature of the authoritarian government and explain why the ballerinas and musicians are reluctant to join Harrison by removing their handicaps.

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In "Harrison Bergeron," why are punishments for removing handicaps harsh?

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 removing handicaps by saying,

Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out (Vonnegut, 2).

George's extraordinarily talented son also dies when he removes his handicaps and attempts to undermine the government. These two examples of the harsh punishments for removing one's handicaps are a result of the "unceasing vigilance" of the Handicap General, Diana Moon Glampers. She is portrayed as an extremely callous, persistent woman who is dedicated to ensuring that every individual in society is completely equal. The penalties are severe for removing one's handicaps, which are in place to maintain a stable society where everyone conforms and cannot undermine the government. If people continuously broke the law, then American society would become unstable and the more talented individuals would be capable of usurping power.

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In "Harrison Bergeron," why are punishments for removing handicaps harsh?

In this futuristic society, the goal the government is trying to attain is equality of the people.  This is not being done by improving people's circumstances.  Rather, people are being handicapped to reach the lowest levels of physical attributes.  Beauty is hidden.  Intelligence is thwarted. Strong or athletic people are laden with weights.

Should one try to go without their handicap, even in the privacy of their own home, the fear is that others would try to get away without their handicaps, too.  This would lead to a society where some people might try to go public without their handicaps.  That would lead back to a society where some people are smarter, or better looking, or stronger and agiler than others.  That would in turn lead to competition.  Better to be average looking, thinking, and fit in this equal world.

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In "Harrison Bergeron," why are punishments for removing handicaps harsh?

The major goal of this society is, evidently, to render everyone equal: no one is smarter than anyone else or better looking or stronger or faster or more graceful. People who would be smarter or more attractive than the average person, for example, are made to wear handicaps that prevent them from "taking unfair advantage" of their differences. George Bergeron is more intelligent than the typical person, and so he has to wear a tiny radio in his ear that will produce loud sounds in his ear every few seconds that disrupt his train of thought so that he cannot make use of his brains.

George also wears a heavy bag filled with forty-seven pounds of lead balls around his neck to slow him down. When Hazel, his wife, encourages him to lie down and rest his handicap bag on the pillow, giving him a break from its weight for a bit, he responds that he would get "'Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball [he] took out.'" This is a really harsh punishment, and so we can see how important these handicaps are to the values of the community.

Later, when Harrison takes over the television station, removing all of his handicaps and choosing a dancer to be his "empress," he removes her handicaps as well. When Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, enters the television studio, she shoots Harrison and his "empress" dead with her gun, and she threatens to shoot the musicians if they do not put their handicaps back on in ten seconds. Thus, punishments can range from fines and jail time to death.

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What is the purpose of George's handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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 ensure it. The most intelligent members of society must be mentally handicapped to offset their intelligence, the most beautiful must wear masks, and the strongest must carry physical weights.

Thus, we learn that Harrison's father is forced to wear weights around his neck and a radio attached to his ear which sends sharp bursts of sound to disrupt his thought processes. The purpose of these handicaps is to bring him down to the level of mediocrity. The radio earpiece counteracts his high intelligence. Meanwhile, it can be assumed he has above average physical strength and that he is made to carry the weight around his neck in order to counteract his strength.

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What is the purpose of George's handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

George Bergeron's handicaps are meant to reduce him to the level of an average person so that he will be equal to all others in his society.

The society of 2081 has managed to make "everybody...finally equal." Hazel, the wife of George Bergeron, is perfectly average, so she wears no handicaps. However, her husband George is highly intelligent and physically strong; therefore, he is required to wear various handicaps.

  • Mental-handicap radio - George must wear this radio in his ear. At intervals of twenty seconds, a transmitter sends a sharp noise that prevents him from having an unfair mental advantage. Some of the noises that are sent through George's mind are so strong that he is physically stunned. Whenever he has a thought, a sharp noise occurs or sirens sound so that he will not finish a thought or remember what it is.
  • Handicap bag - George wears a canvas bag that contains forty-seven pounds of birdshot. This bag is padlocked around his neck. If he tampers with this handicap, George can be sentenced to two years in prison and a thousand dollar fine for every lead ball he removes.

When George's bag becomes too heavy for him, his wife Hazel tells him to lie on the couch for a while:

"Go on and rest the bag for a little while....I don't care if you're not equal to me for a while."

But George is so indoctrinated that he tells his wife that if he lightens his load, then other people might do the same, and before too long, they would all be in the dark ages again in which inequality existed.

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What is the meaning of "handicap" in "Harrison Bergeron"?

"Handicaps" are used in "Harrison Bergeron" to keep one person from having any advantage over another person. The Handicapper General is a person in this society who determines in which ways a person might excel over the general population, and this person is required to carry around physical "handicaps" in an attempt to make everyone "equal."

For example, people who are intelligent and freethinking are required to wear a device that emits loud and painful noises each time their thoughts exhibit free thinking. These noises are so intense that they immediately cause the person to abandon any free thinking. Both Harrison and his father wear this type of handicap.

Other characters are more beautiful than the general population, so they are required to wear hideous masks to cover up their beauty. People who exhibit great strength are required to carry around extra weights so that they cannot move as quickly or nimbly as other people. Consider the way this exhausts George, which is evident when Hazel comments,

"All of a sudden you look so tired," said Hazel. "Why don't you stretch out on the sofa, so's you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch." She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, which was padlocked around George's neck.

Harrison himself is even stronger and is forced to carry around three hundred pounds of scrap metal.

The contrasts in "advantage" are evident by how many handicaps people are required to carry. While Hazel isn't required to carry any handicaps and is therefore not naturally exceptional in any way, Harrison is forced to endure many handicaps in an attempt to "equalize" his physical and mental gifts.

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What handicap is imposed on above-average individuals in "Harrison Bergeron"?

In "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., everyone has finally been made equal in every way. Nobody is smarter than anybody else; nobody is more athletic or beautiful or anything. In this society, those who are naturally better at anything have to wear some sort of handicap to even the playing field among the citizens. A Handicapper General is in charge, and her agents go about their days making sure no one is in violation of the policy.

People who are more intelligent than average are required to wear a mental handicap radio in their ear.  Harrison's father, George, has one of these devices. This earpiece connects to a transmitter from which the government sends out a loud noise every twenty seconds. This is done so that people like George cannot think about anything for very long.

"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."

Harrison is so highly intelligent that he is forced to wear large earphones and strong, blurry glasses that give him terrible headaches and make him almost blind.

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What is the purpose of handicapping in the context of "Harrison Bergeron"?

Generally, handicapping in sports is used to ensure that those who are of lesser ability can compete with someone who is better. For example, in golf, par for a good player might be three strokes, but for someone of lesser quality, par might be four strokes. Remember, the golfer with the lowest strokes under par wins.

Here's a hypothetical situation:

Two golfers tee off at a 400-foot hole. Golfer A has four shots to make par, while Golfer B has six shots. Golfer A makes par by hitting her ball in the hole after four shots. Golfer B goes one-under after hitting his ball in the hole after five shots. Therefore, Golfer B wins the hole by being one under par.

In "Harrison Bergeron," the purpose of the handicaps is to ensure that everyone was "equal every which way." This includes sports, which, as part of their stated purpose, is to prove the superiority of one team or player over another.

While there are no sports in the story, there is ballet. Some of these dancers are clearly more gifted as their handicaps are heavier than the handicaps belonging to other dancers. This ensures that every ballerina is equally bad and equally good.

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What are two examples of handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron" and their purpose?

The society in "Harrison Bergeron" is one that celebrates mediocrity and punishes individuality and superiority in any form. A person who is superior to others in some way is fitted with "handicaps" to make him or her average or even less than average when compared to others.

Harrison, for example, is exceedingly handsome and strong. His handicaps, therefore, address these superior individual traits. He is forced to shave his eyebrows and wear a clown nose, ugly glasses, and black caps to cover his teeth. He also wears a harness that holds 300 pounds of scrap metal to offset his strength.

The ballerina in the story is exceedingly beautiful, so she is forced to wear a "hideous" mask to cover her beauty. Because she is also strong and graceful, she also wears "handicap bags" full of weights. Her bags are "as big as those worn by two-hundred-pound men," which implies how very strong and graceful she really is.

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What are some modern-day "handicaps" based on "Harrison Bergeron"?

In Kurt Vonnegut's short story Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut makes certain allowances in order to make everyone equal. Some of the examples from his text are

weights to stunt speed and strength; masks, red rubber clown noses, or thick glasses to hide good looks and to make seeing difficult; and radio transmitters implanted in the ears of intelligent people, which emit sharp noises two or three times a minute to prevent sustained thought.

While Vonnegut offered simplistic "devices" to normalize humanity, one could examine the modern day to find similar "devices" which make people more equal (based upon their handicaps).

1. Prosthetic limbs- The use of prosthetic limbs provide those with physical handicaps (missing limbs) the ability to resume "normal" lives. People missing legs can use a prosthetic to walk and run (something which they could not do without it).

2. Make-up- Women use make-up to do one thing: make herself more attractive to others. Her handicap, according to her own understanding, is that she is more attractive with make-up than without. The use of make-up, therefore, brings the level of attractiveness of the woman up to that of her peers.

3. Hearing devices- People use hearing devices in order to raise their ability to hear other people (their handicap being hearing loss). These devices allow the wearer to hear the same way as those who do not require the device.

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What are the various handicaps applied to people in "Harrison Bergeron" and why?

It looks like I did not address your question. My apologies. I want to address the types of handicaps in Harrison Bergeron.

In Harrison Bergeron, everyone who is too beautiful, too talented and intelligent or too strong, must wear what are called handicaps. For those too beautiful, masks are to hide their beauty. Those who are too strong must wear weights and those who are too intelligent must wear radio earphones with shrill noises broadcast by the government in order to distract from thinking too much.

Harrison himself must wear masks to hide all three attributes: he is strong, intelligent and good-looking; therefore, he is weighed down with 300 pounds of metal, huge earphones and eyeglasses, a red rubber nose and black caps over his teeth. His eyebrows are also shaved off.

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What are the various handicaps applied to people in "Harrison Bergeron" and why?

The following is a list of different types of handicaps. I will also list examples for each type and talk about the whys of each handicap. Bear in mind that this is not an exhaustive list.

1) Mental illnesses

These include eating disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, addictions, post traumatic stress disorders, personality disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Causes include hereditary conditions, substance abuse, prenatal injury and infections.

Mental Illness

Causes of Mental Illness

2) Physical disability

There are two major categories: musculoskeletal (loss or deformity of limbs, osteogensis imperfecta, muscular dystrophy) and neuromusculo disability (cerebral palsy, spina bifida, head injury, stroke, poliomyelitis, spinal cord injury). These types of disabilities may stem from injury, viral infection, or hereditary conditions.

Physical Disabilities

3) Speech and language disorders/learning disabilities

Speech/language disorders include stuttering, apraxia, voice disorders, aphasia, etc. Causes include colds, allergies, bronchitis, and damage to parts of the brain. Learning disabilities include dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, auditory processing disorder, etc.

Speech Disorders

Learning Disabilities

4) Chronic illness

Different types of chronic disease include various cancers, asthma, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, arthritis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, etc. Causes may include viral/bacterial, breakdown of normal cell death (apoptosis), environmental factors, hereditary conditions, etc.

Chronic Illness

Causes of cancer

5) Hearing loss and deafness

Three basic types of hearing loss are conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss. Hearing loss is caused by damage to parts of the auditory system.

Hearing Loss

6) Memory loss

Types of memory loss include alcohol dementia (caused by abuse of alcohol), Alzheimer's, vascular dementia (caused by damage to blood vessels leading to the brain from a stroke, for example), post traumatic memory loss (experienced by soldiers who have fought in wars) and Korsakoff's syndrome (resulting from a lack of thiamine, Vitamin B1).

Memory loss

7) Vision impairment

This includes low to moderate visual impairment, macular degeneration, blindness and legal blindness. Causes include aging, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.

Visual Impairment

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