Who Is Harrison Bergeron

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“In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power- including strong and principled diplomacy.”-Barack Obama. Harrison Bergeron is an advanced young man in a dystopian society where all citizens of the United States are equal. In this story, the oppressive government stifles individual creativity and personal growth, which eventually leads to a threat to individual development as a society. This essay will delve into how the handicap system drags down individuals in society and kills their personal growth, how society is also brainwashed into thinking that the system the government is putting into place is the proper way of doing things, and the themes of resistance and rebellion against the oppressive …show more content…
It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” This description shows how advanced people are forced into these handicap systems to prevent them from being able to use their advanced abilities. Another way we can see the forms of handicaps that the citizens must undergo in their day-to-day lives is when the ballerinas are described in the text of the story. The television program that George and Hazel are watching displays the handicaps that the ballerinas must take on. The text shows this, “They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat dragged in” The ballerinas; being not equal to the average person, are forced into major handicaps to equalize the society, yet their thoughts and personalities are not considered in this process. Thus their growth, individuality and development are crushed under the weight of this brutal system. Harrison Bergeron is put through even more brutal handicapping devices than the average
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