The American government and citizens throughout the 1950s feared the spread of the Soviet Union’s authoritarian communist regime infiltrating the government. Senator McCarthy of Wisconsin accused several people of being part of the communist regime in the United Sates. The government and citizens were afraid that people who were apart of the communist party would penetrate American schools, professions, and everyday life because the Soviet Union government wanted their citizens to be equal but control every aspect of their lives. This was known has the red scare. During this time period, author Kurt Vonnegut reflects on how an authoritarian communist government affects society through the story “Harrison Bergeron.” Vonnegut writes about a …show more content…
Vonnegut conveys how the people were being suppressed in “Harrison Bergeron” by stating, “They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and grateful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something that a cat drug in.” When Vonnegut explains “They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot…”, he is demonstrating that the people of this dystopian were being oppressed and they were forced to wear heavy weights, therefore not allowing being free. Vonnegut exemplifies the oppression of the people when George comes home from work and hazel asks him if he wants to take the birdshot off and George responds, “ Two years in Prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out, said George. I don’t call that a