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Harrison Bergeron Film Analysis

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“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr is about a boy named Harrison that takes place in a dystopian future where everyone is equal to one another and to make that so people have handicaps to limit people from their full potential so everyone can be equal. The message of Harrison Bergeron is the idea of complete equality, where everyone is treated and are the same. With this, no one is allowed to express individuality. Two characters that were changed from the short story to the movie, where Harrison Bergeron, and his dad George Bergeron. Harrison had a major transformation from the short story to the film. In the short story Harrison already was in jail for trying to show the people of the U.S. what life would be if we live our own lives …show more content…

George wasn't in the movie as much as he was in the short story. In the short story it shows how smart George is and the way he feels about his equality world.“ “Yup,” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren't very good-no better than anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a graceful free gesture or a pretty face, would feel something the cat drug in. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts.(pg 1)”. In the short story George had a lot of smart thoughts and idea, but his handicap stops him about thinking too much. In the film, it doesn't appear that George thinks very much at all. With the producers of the film changing George to a one dimensional character it isolates Harrison even more because there's no one Harrison can talk to and makes Harrison feel more out of place. In the film Harrison and George were sitting on the couch, George was watching a football game while Harrison was trying to have a conversation with his dad. But Harrison can't because whenever Harrison tries to talk to George, Georges handicap goes off and they can't have a real conversation. Harrison has no one to talk to, there's no one who he can share is feelings

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“Harrison Bergeron” Discussion Questions: Question Two: What is the significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the ballerina? How does the style in which the story is written change in this passage? The significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the ballerina is to represent the way the world would be like if they were allowed to express themselves and show the world their beauty, intelligence, and any other physical attributes. According to page 4, it says “Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while-listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it…

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“Harrison Bergeron” is a short fiction written by Kurt Vonnegut, the story is set in the year 2081, and it talks about a futuristic society where all people are equal. No one is smarter, beautiful or stronger than the other, and if someone happens to be better than the others they find themselves compelled by The United States Handicapper General to wear what they call “handicaps” in order to bring down their abilities to the most basic levels as the others. Throughout the story, Vonnegut expresses a strong and vigorous political and social criticism of some historical events in the US during 1960s such as the Cold War and Communism, television and American Culture and Civil Rights Movement. “Harrison Bergeron” was published in 1961 during that time several events were happening around the world in general and in the US in specific which was engaged in a series of political and economic crisis with the communist Soviet Union know as The

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One common afternoon in the year of 2081, when everyone was equal, Hazel and George Bergeron were in their lovely living room watching television. Suddenly, a news reporter with a severe speech impediment came on. After trying many times to say, “Good morning ladies and gentlemen,” he handed it off to a ballerina who read, “Harrison Bergeron, age 14, has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.” However, in this short story “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut uses irony, shift and mood, and allusion to illustrated haw society would be if everyone was under the law of equality.

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Equality is a great idea that we should strive for and achieve; however, being made equal physically and mentally by the government could be very unfair. People should still have characteristics that make us different. One can be diverse but still equal to his neighbor. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s use of point of view, conflict, and imagery in his short story “Harrison Bergeron,” illustrates how difficult living in a world where everyone is the same would be.

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However, people do not have to conform to the standards set by society. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, society forced people to be alike, in every way possible. No one person better than another. However, it shows that handicapping those who have excelled in an area of life or have greater ability than another is an injustice.

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The character Harrison, in the story “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, has many traits that help aide the theme of the story. Harrison was a strong, good looking, determined young individual with a goal to be different than everyone else. To begin with, Harrison is a good looking 14 year old that is 7ft tall with big goals in life. Harrison is one that was made handicapped by the Handicapper General because he is better than the others.

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Townspeople come to see George as he is leaving, making George uncomfortable,

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The story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is about a couple, Hazel and George Bergeron, in the distant future when all people must be equal. This equality is reached in the form of handicaps. Weights are placed on the strong and athletic people in society, masks are forced upon the beautiful, and loud noises are constantly blasted into the ears of the intelligent to prevent them from thinking. While most equality is often thought of as good, the story shows a much darker side, using the government’s forceful equalization of the people. “Harrison Bergeron” uses multiple perspectives to highlight the costs of equality paralleled in today’s society.

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George has no money and no control over his wife. Everyone seems to walk all over his, as if he isn’t even there. I think George knows that his wife is not happy, but he chooses to ignore it. However, when he finds the dog collar and figures out Myrtle is cheating on him, part of his anger shows. He thinks he can fix his marriage by locking his wife up and taking his wife to leave town.

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But George had gone out into the kitchen for a can of beer. George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. "You been crying" he said

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Hazel is not allowed to because of her lack of intelligence. They are watching TV, and George notices that they are not allowed to show their full potential because of the masks and weights they have to wear. George starts to think of his son, but is stopped because of the radio Hazel encourages him to lay down on his “handicap bed” that has weights attached to him. Harrison is now on screen, it shows him being good looking, strong, and intelligent. He rips off all his handicap items and asks a ballerina to join him.

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Once a person is introduced into different ways of thinking, they feel that they are restricted to think in other ways. This restriction, is the handicap. The handicap prevents George from thinking too much. From using his ability to think in a different way. In this society, many people appear that they are not open minded.

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Kurt Vonnegut uses characterization to describe how the characters act in this society. Vonnegut also uses style to show how he uses science fiction and dystopia in “Harrison Bergeron”. The theme demonstrated in “Harrison Bergeron” is equality is not meant to make one person better than another. Kurt Vonnegut in “Harrison Bergeron”, demonstrates that equality based on characteristics is not a good thing for society. Harrison Bergeron is a short story based on the year 2081, where everybody is equal.

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Most people would be angry or upset, however George cannot feel this way due to the consequences that may follow. When a character does feel a human emotion, they soon forget. “ ‘Forget the sad things.’ said George. ‘I always do,’ said Hazel”(44).

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“Harrison Bergeron” is a unique story, in the sense that it takes place in 2081 in a dystopian society where everyone is equal. No one could be smarter, better-looking, or more athletic than anyone else. They are made equal with mental handicap radios for those who are intelligent, hideous masks for those who are beautiful, and heavy weights for those who are strong. The main character of this story, Harrison Bergeron, has a conflict with the American society in 2081. The internal conflict in Harrison’s mind is that the mental and physical handicaps affect the people’s thoughts.

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