The Theme of Social Equality in the Short Story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Social equality seems desirable in theory. If everyone was the same, they would be treated the same, paid the same amount for the same type of work and so on. When put into practice however, social equality can get very ugly. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote a short story, "Harrison Bergeron" about this topic. In the story, everyone is exactly the same. Anyone that has physical or intellectual advantages over other people are given "handicap" devices to prevent them from being better than others. One young boy in particular, who was exceptionally tall, strong and intelligent challenged the laws against being different that were set out by the United States Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers. He was shot and killed for his actions.

In the story, Harrison's character challenges Diana's character. Diana Moon Glampers uses her power to control people while Harrison Bergeron uses his power to set people free from Diana's control. Diana Moon Glampers has a lot of power in the United States government, which she uses to control the citizens of America. As the Handicapper General, it is her to job to make sure that the 211*, 212'", and 213th amendments to the constitution are followed precisely. She has the power to enforce citizens to wear handicap devices, sentence them to jail time, and even kill them for breaking these laws. "A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in a panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm." (line 6-7) this line is an example of the power that Diana has. George Bergeron is smarter than his wife, Hazel, and has to wear a handicap in his ear that makes a very loud sound every few second to scatter his mind, preventing him from having any intellectual thoughts.

"They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or pretty face, would feel like something and cat drug in." (line 12-14) this line is talking about the ballerinas that Geroge and Hazel were watching dance on the television. George noticed that they were all very average dancers and that most of them had handicaps on them. Normally performers would be better than others, which is what makes it nice to watch. After Harrison escaped jail and released a ballerina from her handicap devices, Diana shot and killed both of them in an effort to stop them from their rebellious behaviors. She did everything in her power throughout the story to control the people of the United States, especially the ones like Harrison that try to undo what she has done. While Diana Moon Glampers uses her powers to control the citizens, Harrison Bergeron uses his power to set people free from her control. First, he used his intellectual powers to plot ways to overthrow the government. He probably felt that he was being controlled too much with all of the handicaps he was required to wear and was forced to think of ways to stop the government and Diana from controlling him in that way.

Order custom essay The Theme of Social Equality in the Short Story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

In line 48, one of the ballerinas on tv announced that Harrison has broken out of jail. This was a huge step for both himself, and symbolically for society becoming free. In a way, he freed himself and society from her power, at least for a little while. "Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all, he removed her mask." (line 63- 64) this describes what Harrison did to set the ballerina free from the control that she had been under for most of her life. The last thing that Harrison Bergeron did to set people free from her control is begin dancing with the ballerina. Himself and the ballerina danced the very best that they could because they no longer had handicaps on themselves. This could represent society being free, for a short period of time until Diana Moon Glampers comes out with a shot gun kills both Harrison and the ballerina, as well as some of the musicians that played while the two were dancing. Harrison Bergeron used his power to set himself and society free, but Diana Moon Glampers was much more powerful than himself alone. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. proved in his short story that social equality is very difficult to accomplish in practice through the development of the characters Harrison Bergeron and Diana Moon Glampers.

Both characters were powerful, but used their powers in different ways. Diana Moon Glampers used her powers to control the citizens by making them wear handicaps and putting those against the amendment in jail. Harrison Bergeron used his power to set people free from her control. He did this by plotting to overthrow the controlling government, escaping from jail and actually physically removing handicaps from a ballerina. This story shows modern society that we should stop trying to be the same as everyone else because we are not the same as everyone else and a life without diversity is a difficult one.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer