Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut 's short story Harrison Bergeron ' is about a futuristic society where beauty is destroyed to create equality . It centers around the highest official , appropriately named , the General Handicapper . His only role to to seek out and find to people who are skilled , pretty , or good at sports and forced them to hide away these talents through masks and waits . It is through basic literary elements that Vonnegut creates and develops the theme that general conformity leads to the deformation of humanity

The short story begins in the future "The year

was 2081 ' and Vonnegut immediately puts out the benefits of this futuristic society stating everybody was finally equal ' and not just equal before God ' but in every way ' possible (Vonnegut , 1968 ,

. 7 . Vonnegut 's foreshadows what is to come in the novel and certainly this forced equality can only lead to a dangerous and potentially deadly ending

Conformity and the effects of uniformity is a common theme in the bulk of science fiction literature and Vonnegut 's short stories are no different . However , in Harrison Bergergon ' not just the theme of uniformity is explore but also the stripping away of humanity . This short story , the government forces everyone to be equal -- "nobody was smarter than anybody else . Nobody was better looking than anybody

else . Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else (Vonnegut , 1968 ,

. 7 . Government agents force people who are beautiful to wear ugly masks and people who are thin are forced to carry around weights . The goal of all this control is to make sure that everyone has the same handicaps , the same features , and the same feelings . Even odder is that smart people were forced to wear radios which interfered with there brain functional creating a human society where everyone was equally stupid . By eliminating the the issues , which modern society still deals with , of racism , sexism , and discrimination based on looks , Vonnegut 's future society should be healthy and happy because everyone is the same . However , in the pursuit of equality the loss of humanity took place . Humanity is based on the idea of independence and individualism

The featured protagonist of this short story and namesake is Harrison Bergeron . He is a bright and friendly boy who has the most hated qualities in his society . He is intelligent , handsome , tall , and strong . Due to Harrision 's features he is required to do several things to compensate for all his good quality . He is subject to radio noises which stops his concentration and focus . He has to carry hundreds of pounds of extra weight . He also have to wear sun glasses which gives him a head and he has to undergo surgery fort o make him ugly . While awaiting his surgery he escapes and takes over a news station . On air he takes off his handicaps and is revealed to society . When enters the station he is looks "like a walking junk yard " required to wear "a red rubber ball for...