Literary Analysis Of Harrison Bergeron

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Imagine a world with no competition. In that world, everybody is perfectly equal and no one is better than anyone else. The story, “Harrison Bergeron” addresses this scenario and investigates what might occur under these circumstances. Initially, the character most central to the plot, Harrison Bergeron, lives in equality to the rest of the population. However, as the story progresses, Harrison realizes that he can change the world. Harrison comes to this realization because of his restrictive surroundings, the people around him, such as his parents, and the abilities with which he was born. Kurt Vonnegut Jr, the author of “Harrison Bergeron,” immediately starts his story by giving the audience the setting. Though written in 1995, Vonnegut …show more content…
The Handicapper General is looked up to by the population, perhaps even more so than the president. Hazel says, “if I was Handicapper General...I think I’d make a good Handicapper General” (232). These statements are akin to someone today saying that they have better ideas than the president. Much like this aspiration, Harrison realizes that he can be just like the Handicapper General, with power, but without the ridiculous rules. Additionally, Harrison, observing his parents and seeing how they act, comes to the conclusion that they are actually incapable of caring for him. This is evidenced by the fact that his parents either do not care or do not remember that he was put in prison. This is further evidenced when, after witnessing her son die on television, Hazel cannot remember what she was crying …show more content…
At fourteen years of age, Harrison is described as, “a genius and an athlete” as well as, “exactly seven feet tall” (234). By the time Harrison breaks out of prison and bursts onto the set of a news channel, he has dedicated himself to his ideal of a changed world. Before Harrison arrives, the news broadcaster says, “do not-I repeat, do not-try to reason with him” (234), indicating that Harrison will not change his mind. When he arrives, he rips off his handicaps, leaving “a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder” (234). The entire world has seen Harrison shake off the bonds and restrictions that the government has placed on him, seeing for the first time what an unrestricted man can do. At this time, Harrison is enacting his plan of changing the world, he encourages the audience and the people at the news set to throw off their handicaps and join
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