...the beginning of the story, they are watching ballerinas on television when an announcer comes on. Although he tries very hard, can not talk so a ballerina takes over for him. She announces that Harrison Bergeron, 14 years old and 7 feet tall, has just escaped from jail and overcome his handicaps: he is a genius, an athlete, and incredibly dangerous. Shortly after she finishes speaking, Harrison bursts into the studio and announces that he is now the Emperor and the first ballerina to rise will be his Empress. One ballerina rises and becomes the empress; Harrison rips off her handicaps and does the same to the musicians. He tells them to play music and he and the ballerina dance. They neutralize gravity and kiss the ceiling. Then Diana Moon Glampers, the handicapper...
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...“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. 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. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. 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. George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about. On the television screen were ballerinas. A buzzer sounded in George’s head...
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...the ballerina shared a dramatic and fantastical dance, until Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, stormed into the studio a shot the self-declared Emperor and Empress. Meanwhile, back at the Bergerons’ house, George returned to the living room, having missed the death of his son. He noticed Hazel was crying, but Hazel couldn’t remember why. Although one might think that day might have been an eventful one for the Bergerons, George and Hazel, as well as everyone else in the society, will never think back or question this day. Despite the General’s efforts, the society she has created has non beneficial and incomplete equality, which is shown through the Handicapper General, the handicaps, and the quality of life the civilians live. For one thing, the theme of incomplete and non beneficial equality is shown through the Handicapper General and how she lives. One example of Diana Moon Glampers’s privilege is her possession of a gun. The author stated, ‘It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and Empress were dead before they hit the floor,” (p. 19, line 273-277). In this quote, the Handicapper General clearly has a gun, something no one else seems to have. She has also developed good marksmanship if she was able to shoot the Emperor and the Empress with only two shots. Furthermore, Diana Moon Glampers’s advantages also include her seemingly lack of handicaps...
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...is jailed and taken away from his parents. One day Hazel and George Bergeron sit and watch tv. They are watching a performance of ballerinas. The ballerinas littered with handicaps to hide their talent and beauty. All of a sudden the tv program is interrupted by a new bulletin. The news bulletin proclaims that Harrison Bergeron has escaped out of prison and should be considered extremely dangerous. Right then Harrison busts in the studio and appears on stage. He declares to everyone “ I am the emperor, and i will be the greatest of all time” . He then asks for someone to some forward and be his empress. A beautiful ballerina steps forward and takes off her handicaps to join him. They fly up into the air sharing a kiss. Suddenly Diana Moon Glampers rushes into the room with a...
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...8/3/12 Harrison Bergeron HARRISON BERGERON by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. 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. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. Some things about living still weren't quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. 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. George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about. On the television screen were ballerinas. A...
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...Harrison was also so different from all of the others, he was more athletic, smart, and better looking than average. The antagonists in this story would be George and Hazel, Harrison’s mother and father. Hazel is an average person, but on the other hand George has to wear these things called handicaps, to slow his thought process down, and to keep him thinking different from everyone else. The other antagonist would be the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. Diana is the head of the “everyone being equal” thing. In the short story Harrison Bergeron, everyone is equal. At the age of 14, Harrison was taken away from his home by orders of the government. This was because of the government was under suspicion that Harrison was plotting to overthrow the government. After a while of Harrison being in jail, Hazel and George are watching television and George goes to the kitchen to get a beer. While he is in the kitchen Hazel is still watching television, there and then a picture of Harrison pops up on the screen. The announcer tries to say what he needed to announce but the words couldn’t come out because of his handicaps, so a ballerina speaks for him. She announces that Harrison Bergeron...
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...the opposite. The government forces its citizens to hide their special attributes because of the insistence on total equality. Citizens in this story abide by their governments rules because either they agree with the government's goals and/or because they don't want to be punished. In the passage, the character, “Harrison Bergeron” seems to be a prominent symbol of freedom and self acceptance. When Harrison rips off his restraints it is a sign of defiance, but he is still killed by Diana Moon Glampers the Handicap General. Throughout this whole passage, the author Vonnegut, indicates we should...
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...people in every way possible in the year 2081. The short story focuses on three characters: Harrison Bergeron, his parents George and Hazel Bergeron, and the United States Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers. In the year 2081, everybody was forced to wear various types of handicaps so everyone can finally be equal amongst each other and there would not be any competition. Harrison, on the other hand, felt that he needed to overthrow the government and become the emperor of the United States. However, the attempt to overthrow progressively fails when Glampers "fired [with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun] twice, and the Emperor and [the] Empress were [killed]" (Vonnegut 221) on live television. Throughout the story, the author claims the assumption that the weights the people wear resembles what society doesn't want to see, specifically the government. The issue about the government in the year 2081 is the idea of controlling everybody's appearance and handicap them into a very bland, mediocre society to where nobody is better than anybody. In the story, everyone was required (basically forced to in any way possible) to wear some sort of handicap so nobody won’t have any advantages against each other, but more importantly, towards the government. Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers is ordered under the government to neutralize anybody who may have the possibility to overthrow or harm the government by any means necessary. Vonnegut resembled the issue being stated when...
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...regress to a more childlike stage in life and this can be seen with her reaction to what is playing tv and just her language in general. Hazel can be compared to both the Id and ego because she does have a sense of reality but it does seem as though she just runs off of the pleasure principle. The handicapper general can be compared to none other than the superego. The superego’s job is the make sure the ego is following the proper moral code, Diana Moon Glampers job is to make sure that everyone is equal. The amount Diana Moon Glampers is obsessed with equality can be seen as cathexis. She is so obsessed with creating a utopia that she creates a dystopia. Like the superego, this handicapper general is never pleased. If the superego is not controlled by the ego, it can destroy a person’s life. By imposing handicaps on people, the handicapper general is taking away people’s will to live. Diana went so far as to taking Harrison and the ballerina’s life in order to keep her “perfect society” together. The harsh criticism and perfection Diana expects is what makes her relatable to the superego. A Psychoanalytic lens can be used when reading Harrison Bergeron because the characters have much in common with the Id, ego, and superego. The characters show examples of some of Freud’s defense mechanisms like dissociation and reaction formation. The society in “Harrison Bergeron” can even be compared to the Id because society seems to be out of touch reality. ‘Harrison Bergeron”, although...
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...1) In general, my story has a positive resolution. At my story’s conclusion, Harrison becomes the newly elected president of the nation, due to his great leadership and his heroic appearance. Diana Moon Glampers gets thrown in prison for a life sentence because of her act of essentially mind-controlling the citizens, and to ensure that she won’t attempt anything treasonous. Harrison’s mother, Hazel, get’s thrown in jail along with Diana, since she was working alongside her. Harrison’s father, George, is not too upset about his wife’s imprisonment, and is left in peace, no longer having any handicaps. The society, as a whole, is left in better hands, and decides to use a democratic way of governing. 2) The climax of my story is when Harrison...
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...anyone else, and no one can be better looking than anyone else. The story begins in the living room of the Bergeron’s, Hazel and George. George possesses an intelligence higher than the average person, so he is forced to have a handicap in his ear that scatters his thoughts every twenty seconds. George is also very strong, so he is forced to wear a forty-seven-pound bag of bird shot that consist of lead balls. His wife, Hazel, has an average intelligence in their society; however, in our generation she would be considered mentally slow. Diana Moon Glampers, also known as the United States Handicapper General, has placed their son Harrison Bergeron in jail for refusing to follow the equality laws. Harrison is a very strong, intellectual man and doesn’t believe in total equality. He escapes from prison, breaks into a ballet concert and manages to get on live television. Harrison rips off his restraints...
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...Bergeron” claims that no government should be capable enough restrain an individual totally. In this short story it is the year 2081, and everyone has been made equal under the 211th, 212th, 213th amendments in the constitution. These laws are enforced by the handicapper general, Diana Moon Glampers. Harrison Bergeron’s parents, George and Hazel Bergeron, are watching the ballerinas on television. Each ballerina have handicaps, because everybody has to be equal nobody can be prettier than others. George has a radio in his ear to get rid of certain thoughts he has to distract his thinking. George began to think about his son Harrison when gun salute sounds went through his ears. George has forty seven pounds of birdshot around his neck....
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...Unequally Equal “Harrison Bergeron” is a relatively straight forward short story in the use of language, but when a person considers the deep threads of meaning author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. masterfully implies, deep philosophical thinking probes. Using the techniques, of symbolism, irony, and contrast, “Harrison Bergeron” warns American citizens that their longed for and valued ideal of equality may hurt its citizens rather than benefit them when taken to the extreme. The four main characters in “Harrison Bergen,” George, Hazel, their son Harrison, and the Handicap general Diana Moon Glampers, in their own ways, each represent different aspects and social classes of U.S. Culture. George Bergen is an elite, smart thinker who symbolizes the philosophers,...
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...their actions and life. In a scene where Harrison takes over, fear is set in the citizen’s mind from the government. “Ballerinas technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, expecting to die.” (Vonnegut Jr. 04) This quote shows everyone in the society that they fear Harrison without understanding his actions. The ballerinas, musicians, and announcers were willing to die having no knowledge of the good Harrison could provide. Due to the fear set in their society, very few citizens chose to even acknowledge change. In addition every character fears change even those in power, such as Diana Moon “It was then that Diana Moon Glampers [..] fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor,” (Vonnegut Jr. 05) Diana Moon feared that Harrison is causing wrong by showing the citizens a world without handicaps. Diana Moon kills him and his empress without mercy. She feared that life would change, causing her to kill two people for believing in what they believe. Even secondary characters, Hazel also feared change. “[..]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. ‘I’d hate it,’ said Hazel.” (Vonnegut Jr, 04). In addition “ ‘forget sad things,’ said George. ‘I always do,’ said Hazel.” (Vonnegut Jr, 05). These two quotes shows how Hazel fears changes without having an understanding the possibilities that can occur. Her mind never change...
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...Specifically on page 40, “‘...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.” The handicaps represent the government’s “solution” to equality, but it’s only causing harm to the citizens because of the different weight they all have to carry. Vonnegut also includes symbolism to help us realize the government also plays a role in the society by including “It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.” Diana M. Glampers symbolizes the government’s manipulation of making their citizens think that an equal society with handicaps would be better, however the government has more power which isn’t a true equal society. Vonnegut describes the removal of handicaps as “...tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper” when Harrison was freed and “revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder.” (Page 43) Harrison portrays defiance and instead of following the law of wearing handicaps, he removes them to relay a message that an equal society isn’t fair. In essence, Vonnegut uses symbols throughout his story to elevate the distinction...
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