Total Violence In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut

The story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, written by Kurt Vonnegut, is a scientific fiction story that is set in 2081. Within this setting, the United States had added 213 amendments, some making the total population completely equal. This equality was not just in a sense of the legality and government, but every person was also physically and mentally equal as well. This total equality was established through things like weight bags, that go around one’s neck to weigh down the physically strong, a mask to cover the faces of those who are naturally good looking, or earphones that go inside the ears of those that are intelligent to emit thought disrupting noises so they would not be any smarter. These items were considered handicaps and were used to†¦show more content†¦The author, Kurt Vonnegut, uses this radical example of government control to show his belief of the government and what would happen if they were to gain this much control over the citizens. As Benjam in Reed of Texas State University states, â€Å"Vonneguts nightmarish system of American government in 2081 is a parody of what Americans feared might be wrought by losing military and ideological conflicts with Sino-Soviet socialists† (Reed 50). This explanation shows that Vonnegut and the American public were both worried about government control, and through the extreme measures used in the short story, Vonnegut exploits those worries and makes them more predominant. Another aspect that Kurt Vonnegut uses extremism and radicalism within the story of â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† is the idea of conformism. This idea is expressed in a radical manner to inform the reader that conformism is not always a good quality to have. Within the story, the two parents of Harrison are conformist and accept their fate. The author uses the normality and the average lives to show that conformism is holding the society back from everything that could be accomplished. The family is missing so much by conforming to the system and accepting the way they live. Conforming to the system also causes George much pain throughout the story, through the use of the earphone to prevent thoughts. An example of how conformist the family and theShow MoreRelated Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Essays583 Words   |  3 PagesHarrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut â€Å"The story is a satire, a parody of an ideological society divorced from common sense reality† (Townsend). As Townsend stated Kurt Vonnegut makes a satire about society in his fictional short story Harrison Bergeron, which in their society there has been attempt of conformity through the handicaps of the people, the similarity to an authoritarian government, and the technology, whereas the people will eventually overcome. The Kind if government authorityRead MoreHarrison Bergeron1095 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is a story literally exaggerated to its limit by showing, in the near future, what it means to be equal in every way by having people not being able to show any form of intelligence or creativity whatsoever. When Harrison Bergeron breaks the chains of government oppression, he dies for his failed cause. He dies because he chooses not to conform to the rest of his oppressive society. His parents, George andRead MoreDystopian Comparisons Essay1431 Words   |  6 PagesIn the Book A Clockwork Orange, the short stories Harrison Burgeron, The Lottery and the movies Gattaca and the Truman Show by Anthony Burgess, Kurt Vonnegut, Shirly Jackson, Andrew Niccol and Peter Wier respectively. These pieces of literature(and cinematography) all have a society that controls and manipulates the individual or Protaganist. The society does this because it wants total control over both the individual and the society as a whole. A Clockwork Orange is futuristic look at England