"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
"Harrison Bergeron" is a dystopian short story by Kurt Vonnegut set in the year 2081, where the pursuit of absolute equality among U.S. citizens has led to extreme measures. To ensure that no individual feels superior due to intelligence, beauty, or strength, the government enforces a system of handicaps. Individuals deemed gifted are forced to wear masks, listen to disruptive sounds, or carry heavy weights to diminish their advantages. The story follows Harrison Bergeron, a fourteen-year-old boy who possesses exceptional height, beauty, and intelligence, making him a target of the oppressive regime led by the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers.
Harrison escapes from an asylum, intent on showcasing human potential by removing the handicaps of himself and a beautiful ballerina on live television. This moment symbolizes a brief glimpse of freedom and individuality. However, their rebellion is swiftly crushed as they are shot down, highlighting the brutal measures taken against those who threaten societal norms. The narrative critiques the consequences of enforced mediocrity and raises questions about the true nature of equality and individuality, provoking thought on the balance between societal standards and personal freedoms.
On this Page
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
First published: 1968
Type of plot: Dystopian
Time of work: 2081
Locale: The United States
The Story
In "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, by the year 2081, the search for true equality of all U.S. citizens has led to the creation of scores of amendments to the Constitution. In every case, the effort has not been to raise the standards of those handicapped by their differences or inadequacies. Instead, those who are gifted with superior intellect, physical beauty, or strength are penalized.
Those who are beautiful must wear hideous masks, intelligent people must wear headsets that jangle their brains and nerves with a series of loud, annoying sounds, and those with physical agility or strength must carry sacks of birdshot to weigh them down. Thus, in the race of life, all Americans are handicapped so that no one must ever feel ugly, stupid, or “like something the cat dragged in.”
Diana Moon Glampers is the Handicapper General, whose job is to track down violators of the law and rid society of those who menace the average, the inadequate, the mediocre. If a man wants to rest from the drudgery of carting around fifty pounds of birdshot by removing some pellets, he can be killed. Those, such as Harrison Bergeron, who learn to overcome their handicaps are forced to shoulder ever larger burdens, or noisier apparatus, or face incarceration or execution.
Society has become so repressive that no one dares question the increasing numbers of new laws that call for more handicaps and punishments. All those who oppose the Handicapper General are arrested, thrown into mental institutions, or shot because they threaten the fabric of society. The effects of these governmental policies are appalling. Society is stagnant because those smart enough to develop new technology, medicine, and literature have been permanently handicapped, exiled, or killed.
Television announcers have speech impediments, dancers cannot dance, musicians are tone deaf, and families lose all purpose, continuity, compassion, and love. A good example of this is Harrison Bergeron’s story. Harrison escapes from an asylum that was meant to protect society from him. Fourteen years old and already seven feet tall, he is the handsomest young man possible, and possesses an intellect that would stagger even Albert Einstein. George and Hazel, his parents, are aware of his exploits from reports on television. Harrison threatens the regime, for he would remove all artificial handicaps and enable people to achieve beyond the limits set by their inadequacies.
Instead of attempting to rally support to overthrow the government and create a better society, Harrison merely breaks into a television studio, disrupting the musical show by removing everyone’s masks and handicaps. Choosing the most beautiful of the dancers, he dances higher and higher as the musicians play brilliantly. As the couple leap, they appear to fly in the air as they kiss the ceiling—this is freedom! The sound of two shotgun blasts signals that Harrison and the ballerina have been shot down by the Handicapper General.
Harrison’s parents witness the entire affair on their television, but when George goes to the kitchen for something and Hazel gets sidetracked, neither can remember why they are crying—something sad on television, no doubt.
Principal Characters:
Harrison Bergeron , a fourteen-year-old genius who escapes from an insane asylumGeorge Bergeron , andHazel Bergeron , his parentsDiana Moon Glampers , the Handicapper General
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold, ed. Kurt Vonnegut. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000.
Boon, Kevin Alexander, ed. At Millennium’s End: New Essays on the Work of Kurt Vonnegut. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
Broer, Lawrence. Sanity Plea: Schizophrenia in the Novels of Kurt Vonnegut. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989.
Giannone, Richard. Vonnegut: A Preface to His Novels. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1977.
Klinkowitz, Jerome. Kurt Vonnegut. London: Methuen, 1982.
Klinkowitz, Jerome. “Slaughterhouse-Five”: Reforming the Novel and the World. Boston: Twayne, 1990.
Klinkowitz, Jerome. The Vonnegut Effect. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004.
Klinkowitz, Jerome. Vonnegut in Fact: The Public Spokesmanship of Personal Fiction. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998.
Klinkowitz, Jerome, and Donald L. Lawler, eds. Vonnegut in America. New York: Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence, 1977.
Klinkowitz, Jerome, and John Sorner, eds. The Vonnegut Statement. New York: Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence, 1973.
Lundquist, James. Kurt Vonnegut. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1976.
Merrill, Robert, ed. Critical Essays on Kurt Vonnegut. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990.
Morse, Donald E. The Novels of Kurt Vonnegut: Imagining Being an American. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003.
Pieratt, Asa B., Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz, and Jerome Klinkowitz. Kurt Vonnegut: A Comprehensive Bibliography. 2d ed. Hamden, Conn.: Shoe String Press, 1987.
Reed, Peter J. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976.
Schatt, Stanley. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Boston: Twayne, 1976.
Tomedi, John. Kurt Vonnegut. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004.