Harrison Bergeron

"Harrison Bergeron" is a short story written by Kurt Vonnegut in 1961. In this short story everyone has become completely equal thanks to new amendments to the constitution. People are given handicaps that distract them from thinking if they're too smart, masks to hide their faces if they're too attractive, and even weights if they are too strong. All of this begs the question, can equality be a bad thing?

It seems as though Vonnegut thinks so from reading this story. Although obviously everyone deserves equal rights to be treated equally, there is a certain point where equality could become too much. After all shouldn't some people be better at some things? This story even goes so far as to say that people were not good at their jobs because of their handicaps. The implications of this alone are very telling about what true equality would do to society. How productive can a society be if people are not allowed to possess job skills because it makes them unequal to? In this story this equality is achieved using science fiction, something Vonnegut is famous for. The technology in this story is only briefly explained but still as a reader you clearly understand the point of it.

Another theme that is persistent throughout Vonnegut's works is seen here, he is making a commentary on our own complacency. As humans we have a tendency to normalize our current scenario even if it isn't good for us, this can be seen in real life and very clearly in this story. In particular, we tend to accept whatever our government is doing regardless of the implications of their actions. For example, it has been 4 years since Edward Snowden informed us that the government is essentially watching our every move and yet there is very little outrage or even discussion about this. In general, the majority of people seem to only care when something directly affects them and because of this we can grow complacent.

"If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people'd get away with it-and 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?"

This quote highlights another key aspect of Vonnegut's writing, showing his use of humor while also conveying the way these characters feel about their current situation. The characters believe this because they are being manipulated by the government to think that competition is a bad thing. While this is an extreme example this is another case of Vonnegut commenting on real life. Perhaps Vonnegut believes the government abuses its power to manipulate its citizens.

"Harrison Bergeron" is an excellent short story by Kurt Vonnegut in which he uses his trademark characteristics to make a social commentary. Blending humor and science fiction he paints a picture of a dystopian world in which the government has taken advantage of its citizens.