An Equal Society with a Strong Government In 2081‚ all of society is forced to be equal. In Kurt Vonnegut‚ Jr.’s short story‚ Harrison Bergeron‚ everyone is assigned “handicaps” that make them equal to everyone else. These handicaps included wearing weights around the neck‚ wearing a mask to cover beauty‚ and having a device in the ear so thinking could not be overdone. “Nobody was smarter than anyone else; nobody was better looking than anyone else; nobody was stronger or quicker than anyone
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Harrison Bergeron "If I tried to get away with it‚ then other people’d get away with itand soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again " This statement by George Bergeron sums up Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story "Harrison Bergeron" in one line. "Harrison Bergeron" is the story of a futuristic United States in the year 2081‚ where all individuals are made equal regardless of what their natural born characteristics were. They are made equal both mentally and physically‚ all to the same measure
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abiding” father George Bergeron and his “rebel” son Harrison Bergeron. As George and Hazel watch television one night the program is interrupted by an announcement stating that "Harrison Bergeron‚ age fourteen‚ has just escaped from jail‚ where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete‚ is under-handicapped‚ and should be regarded as extremely dangerous."(Vonnegut‚ 915) At first the reader is lead to believe that Harrison is a miscreant and should
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Elena Johnston American Studies Mr. Chau 09/02/13 Harrison Bergeron 1. The simplicity of the world created by Vonnegut may appeal to some‚ but I could never live in such a society where ones thought process is limited to average and the government plays such an overbearing role in the community. People who are born with “above average” intelligence are immediately controlled by handicapper devices to limit their brilliance. Some are given a device that partially alter their sight of
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According to Vonnegut‚ so did the U.S. government‚ in the year 2081. In the outrageous short story of "Harrison Bergeron"‚ many historic achievements and ideas‚ like the Manifesto‚ can closely parallel with that of the future outlook described by Vonnegut. Vonnegut shows the ridiculousness of the outcome of this‚ at the time‚ popular ideology with satire and exaggerations. Harrison Bergeron opens with a paragraph that immediately gives a background setting to the story as a whole. The time of 2081
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story by “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut‚ the world is all equal. The government has tried to make everything including seasons equal. Some people of a higher intelligence have to wear handicaps‚ devices that make the people unable to process more complex thoughts‚ along with anyone above the average attractiveness. George has to wear handicaps because he is above the average intelligence while Hazel does not due to her only having average intelligence. Kurt Vonnegut kills Harrison Bergeron to show
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HarrGeorge Ferguson Mrs. Eck English Harrison Bergeron After reading the title I wasn’t interested in reading the article whatsoever because it appeared to be just another one of those articles designed to bore me to death. After reading the first sentence the author slightly caught my attention. With the first few words in all caps the author said “THE YEAR WAS 2081‚ and everybody was finally equal.” As I was reading it I had a puzzled look on
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Point of View: Third Protagonist: Harrison Antagonist: Diana Society Describe the setting A very calm‚ mellow setting. In an environment without competition. Takes place in 2081‚ where everybody is finally equal. Type of Conflict: Man Vs. Man Man Vs. Society Describe the main conflict: That the world and handicapped and that certain people don’t like that. Describe the Climax of the Story: When Harrison escapes from jail. How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story
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Vonnegut envisions in his short story‚ “Harrison Bergeron.” Throughout the story there are examples of people acting or being forced to act in ways that differ from the ways we expect people to act in real life. In “Harrison Bergeron‚ Vonnegut applies setting‚ characterization‚ and plot to generate a feeling of incredulity at the unrealistic futuristic world he portrays in the story. First‚ Vonnegut uses setting to express the special idea of “Harrison Bergeron”. In the story‚ the people are described
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4/17/2015 The Ridiculous Harrison Bergeron The short story “Harrison Bergeron‚” by Kurt Vonnegut‚ is a story about a dystopian‚ futuristic society in which every citizen is made “equal” to everyone else. In the story‚ the author seems to be telling a tale of the horrors of socialism and putting everyone on the same level‚ but the author is giving a humorous portrayal of socialist society to show that fears of socialism are ridiculous. In order to examine the themes in “Harrison Bergeron”‚ and to discern
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