Harrison Bergeron

Title: Harrison Bergeron
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Date: 10/16/08

Prereading: What is equality?
--> My belief: equality is when all people are treated equal and have the same oppoturnities no matter what race, gender, belief, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, or their history. Equality will never be reached because mankind is jealous and envious as a whole. Equality is what we should always be striving for, something to better ourselves and the world as much as possible.

--> Class list: -lack of discrimination for nay reason other than the reasons you bring upon yourself
-equal chances and opportunities for everyone
-no prejudice and everything is uniform
-treatment based solely on personal character
-no one above or below anyone else in society
-communism
-all people are treated equal and everyone has the same opportunities
-same rights and same treatment
-everyone gets the same respect

Summary/Reaction: Its far in the future and the U.S. has created a Communistic Government designed so no one gets their feelings hurt and no is more intelligent than anyone else. It is designed so no one can achieve more than others and no one will then therefore ever feel jealous because they are not as good as that other person. Hazel and George Bergeron had a 14 year old son named Harrison that was taken away and put in jail because he was dangerous. Harrison could not put to any limits no matter how many handicaps they put on him. The Handicapper General weighed him down with 300 pounds of lead balls he had to carry all the time, a buzzer that made noise every 20 seconds to ensure he never had any thoughts stay with him, and glsases that made him half blind and gave him horrible headaches. George and Hazels televison dance show was interupted by a news report that Harrison had escaped from jail and he was dangerous. Harrison was at this dance studio and told everyone that he was the emperor and he was going to become what he could potentially become. He then took off all his handicaps and choose an emperess, the prettiest and leanest dancer there. They had musicans play real music and danceed gracefully across the stage. Then the Handicapper General came in and shot them both dead, the spot. She gave the musicians 10 seconds to put their handicaps back on or to die. Then the television went black and George got a huge gun shot sound in his ear. Hazel was crying but couldn't remember, and George was trying to recover from the recent loud noise. One of the greatest things their country had seen in ages had just occured, and neither even remember what they saw.

Questions:
- If the society is equal, how is it that the government controlled the equality?
- Why is it that if you want equality do you focuz on outside characteristics?

Quotes:
- "And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use." p. 23 This demonstrates that it is drilled in all of the peoples minds that you can not stand out and that you have to make yourself stupidier, or uglier or average so no one gets hurt or feels bad.
- "The music began. It was normal at first—cheap, silly, false." p. 25 This shows that when the musicians had their handicaps everything was boring and nothing differed from each other. It also displays that if they know the difference between good and bad music then something must be better and that is not equal as intended.