Summary
Harrison Bergeron lives in a world where everyone is supposed to be equal. If you were considered too pretty, you wore a mask over your face at all times. If your teeth were too white, you had black chips covering your teeth do they wouldn't show. Everyone was supposed to be equal. The story is set in 2081 and refers to our present time as "the dark ages." They claim everyone to be equal because of competitiveness. People were fighting because one always had to be better than the other. They had to be smarter, prettier, and more athletic then the person next to them. That is why they came up with this strict policy. Harrison Bergeron had a mother named Hazel, who was considered to be average. Harrison's father himself was accelerated and had to wear mandatory "handicap bags," which are basically weights for all the privileged people to carry around to make them less desirable. Harrison, who was sent to jail for plotting against the government, escaped and attempted to take over the country; unfortunately, he was shot dead by the Handicapper General. Harrison's mom witnessed this, but was unable to recall what is was because she had only average intelligence.
Why is this Considered Science Fiction?This story would be classified under the science fiction genre for a couple of reasons. First of all, the definition of sci fy states that is take place in the future, which this story definitely does. The opening line of the story is, "the year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal" (Vonnegut 1). This sentence clearly states that the year is sixty-six years into the future.
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Connection to "The Sound of Thunder""Harrison Bergeron" connects to "The Sound of Thunder" in multiple ways. First of all, they are both set in the future, which categorizes them both as science fiction. They obviously both meet the requirements for science fiction, such as having technological and social advancements, because they fall under the same genre. "The Sound of Thunder" focuses more on time travel and how one single misshape can affect everything' while, "Harrison Bergeron" focuses on why everyone is not equal. Someone will always be smarter, or prettier, or more athletic but you cannot go doing what is shown in this story because after seeing the affects this government had on society I don't think I want everyone to be equal.
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Literary Terms
Theme- The theme of this story is that not everyone can be or should try to be equal because of the effects shown in the story.
Human vs. Society- there is a human versus society conflict because the government wants everybody to be equal. For this to happen, the people who are more gifted are forced to do things such as carry around weights to make being, lets say smart, less desirable. The people begin to rebel the society because of these ridiculous demands. Climax- The climax of this story is when Harrison Bergeron breaks into the dance recital and rebels against the government's demands. This scene really grabs the readers attention and creates more excitement in the story. Third Person Limited- The point of view fro this story is third person limited because there is a narrator but you can only tell what Harrison's father is thinking. Symbolism- One idea of symbolism in this story would be the masks that are required to be worn by beautiful people. The masks do not represent what they truly are but they represent the restrictions put into place by the government in order to make everyone seem equal |