What is the role of the Handicapper General in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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 all American citizens and any laws or regulations created pursuant to those provisions. In the story, equality is meant not to level the playing field so that all have equal opportunity and treatment, but to handicap people so that there is a lowest common denominator amongst all the people, with talent, beauty, creativity, and intelligence repressed in those who might rise or excel.  So, for example, ballerinas are weighted down, literally unable to rise, and people of intelligence, such as George, are forced to wear radio transmitters that interfere with their thought processes.  Glampers has agents everywhere to assess what kinds of handicaps people need to keep them down and to enforce the use of these handicaps.  In the penultimate scene in the story, Glampers herself makes a personal appearance when George and Hazel's son, Harrison, an "underhandicapped" person who has escaped from jail, appears on the set of a show in which weighted-down ballerinas are dancing.  He seeks to overthrow this government of "equality," and after he selects a beautiful ballerina to dance with him, he and she are gunned down by the Handicapper General.  Vonnegut's story is meant, I think, to be a cautionary tale about not confusing equal opportunity and treatment with a blindly literal application of the concept of equality that hobbles individuals who have a great deal to contribute to society. 

What is the purpose of the handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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 decided that, in order to keep people happy while avoiding any feelings of superiority or inferiority, handicaps will be used to enforce this equality. If someone is a genius, he/she will be given mental handicaps to bring him/her down to a common, median level. If someone is attractive, he will be given cosmetic handicaps to make him less attractive. If someone is a superior athlete, she will be given physical handicaps to bring her down to everyone else's level. 

They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. 

Hazel has average intelligence so she has no handicaps. She is at that median average. George is above average so he has to endure a mental handicap that prevents him from thinking too deeply about anything. He must wear his handicap at all times. 

Their son, Harrison, is supremely gifted. Therefore, he has been given the most debilitating handicaps the Handicapper General can come up with. Harrison is so gifted that he eventually sheds his handicaps. However, he indulges in his self-glorifying moment and is shot by the Handicapper General. The television program is cut out, leaving George and Hazel alone and without the ability to recall what they had just seen. In this story, everyone is equal but it comes at the cost of mental and physical oppression. 

What is the purpose of the handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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 superior academic abilities. But in the dystopian nightmare world of "Harrison Bergeron," natural differences between people are considered completely unacceptable.

The Handicapper-General, Diana Moon Glampers, is determined to make sure that no one gains a special advantage over anyone else because of their natural abilities. This is where handicaps come in. Harrison—a tall, athletic young man—is forced to wear heavy weights that slow him down. Harrison's father George is a highly intelligent man. But no one must be allowed to be smarter than anyone else in this society, so he's handicapped by a radio device that emits loud noises into his ears at regular intervals, which prevent him from being able to think.

What is the purpose of the handicaps in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Supposedly, the purpose of the handicaps is to make all citizens in Harrison's world equal. The definition of equality leaves much to be desired in his dystopian world, though.

For example, no one is allowed to be better-looking, more talented, stronger, or smarter than anyone else. The government has just passed the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, which are ostensibly laws that ensure equality for all. Government agents under the jurisdiction of the United States Handicapper General are tasked with ensuring universal compliance, which means no dissent is allowed. Basically, we have a totalitarian form of government here, and all citizens are expected to comply under pain of death.

In the story, Harrison's father, George, must wear a handicap radio tuned to a government transmitter. When he has unusually intelligent thoughts, the radio sends out sharp and disorienting noises to scatter his thought processes. Later, we discover that Harrison must wear considerable handicaps in order to hide his physical beauty and intelligence.

Harrison must wear a huge pair of earphones, thick glasses, and three hundred pounds of scrap metal. Then, to ensure his good looks are well hidden, Harrison must wear a red, rubber ball over his nose, keep his eyebrows shaved, and cover any straight teeth with black caps. The main purpose of the handicaps is to ensure that no one has an advantage over another person. Although the handicaps are meant to ensure total equality, they serve instead as tools of universal oppression.

What is the purpose of the Handicapper General in the society of "Harrison Bergeron"?

The short story "Harrison Bergeron" takes place in a futuristic society where "everyone was finally equal". This was due in large part to the efforts of the Handicapper General. The Handicapper General plays the part of the antagonist in this story, along with the society itself. 

The Handicapper General is the one who makes sure that everyone in the society is equal by placing handicaps on those that are superior in any way. The Handicapper General is the one who reduces the entire society to the level of its least competent to ensure that no one is at a disadvantage.

In "Harrison Bergeron," what is the role of the Handicapper General?

In Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron,” the Handicapper General is akin to the real-life Surgeon General or Postmaster General, two high level government positions that began out of a military tradition. As the Surgeon General and Postmaster General are heads of government agencies, one can infer that the Handicapper General leads the agency that deals with handicapping Americans whose abilities or beauty are greater than average.

The reader learns little about the Handicapper General’s exact job description, but what is revealed is that Diana Moon Glampers, the current Handicapper General, takes an active role in suppressing anyone who attempts to subvert the government. Acting as judge, jury, and executioner, she kills Harrison and his ‘Empress’ with a shotgun. Her job likely gives her this authority, a clear sign that the America Vonnegut depicts has cast aside rule of law and due process in order to enforce equality among its citizens.

What type of ruler would Harrison Bergeron have been compared to the Handicapper General?

Harrison Bergeron would not be a much better leader than Diana Moon Glampers because he declares himself "Emperor."

Interestingly, when he tears down the door to the television station, Harrison's actions in dominating the situation and his declarations, "I am the Emperor!" and "I shall now select my Empress!" suggest how quickly power corrupts. While he wants to restore individuality and give those who are exceptional the recognition they deserve by removing all handicaps, his words imply that he will also establish a hierarchy in his new society in which the "superior" people will be at the top.

Also, the fact that Harrison goes to the television station in order to reach as many people as he can indicates that he understands the power of the medium of television as a controlling device, just as the Handicapper General does. Thus, his actions further suggest that he would be imperious and undemocratic, even if he does free people from the physical impediments they must wear.

What actions does the Handicapper General take against Harrison in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Harrison Bergeron was taken away from his parents by the Handicapper General's men when he was fourteen years old. It is explained in the story that this is because amendments to the Constitution have made it illegal for anyone to be anything other than equal to his fellow men—and Harrison is certainly not equal. Indeed, he is above average in various particulars, which means that he has to wear heavier handicaps than anyone else has ever had. He is "an athlete" and "a genius." He is also extremely handsome. Consequently, he wears a pair of earphones intended to handicap him mentally; he also wears glasses with very thick lenses. He is meant to carry 300 pounds of scrap metal to handicap him physically, and to prevent him from appearing handsome, he has to wear a red rubber ball on his nose (like a clown) and keep his eyebrows shaved off. Because his teeth are white and even, he must also cover these with random black tooth-caps to offset the even appearance.

What actions does the Handicapper General take against Harrison in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Harrison Bergeron lives in a dystopian world in which diversity is effectively outlawed. No one is allowed to be smarter, prettier, more talented, or more handsome than anyone else. Everyone must be formally handicapped by the government to drag them down to a general level of mediocrity. The law is rigidly enforced, and those deemed to have an unfair natural advantage are forced to wear handicaps to make them less smart, less pretty, less handsome, or talented.

Harrison is considered a triple threat to society as he's smart, good-looking, and athletic. As he is so intelligent, he is forced to wear large headphones emitting loud radio sounds that disrupt this thoughts; his good looks are obscured by a fake nose and black caps for this teeth; and his natural athleticism is compromised by three hundred pounds of metal weighing down his body.