Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

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Tyler Urban Ms. Christie Advanced English 9 May 2024 Literary Précis Multi-award winning author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. addresses “the importance of balancing equality with freedom and individualism” (ENotes) and suggests that a socialist government will lead to corruption and totalitarianism in the science fiction short story “Harrison Bergeron”, published in 1961 by Mercury Press. The Sci-Fi short story is set in 2081 and follows the story of Harrison Bergeron, a rebellious young boy, who breaks out of prison and attempts to overthrow the government on live TV before being killed. Vonnegut develops his theme by using the metaphor “Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware,” to show the treatment he received while in prison, the simile “His
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