Literary Analysis Of Harrison Bergerson By Kurt Vonnegut

Sarah Marcroft
4/19/23
Literary Analysis
Mrs. Ruiz
Equality taken to far
Is absolute equality the right option? In the short story Harrison Bergerson by Kurt Vonnegut, it shows that equality can be taken too far. In the story no one can be greater at something than someone else. Their world showed everything as absolute equal as they could get it. Ranging from no one being too beautiful, creativity being at an average level that anyone could achieve with minimal effort, to all people's intelligence being at the same level. The theme of this story shows that equality can be harmful if taken to an extent, and Vommgut is trying to show light to that fact. The theme Vonnegut is trying to express is that equality can be achieved but at the expense

In Harrison Bergerson it can be inferred that not very much economical and individual progress is happening in their world. In the story everyone who does not have average intelligence have handicaps to reduce their attention span therefore reducing their intelligence. This can be shown in these excerpts from the story “ Every twenty seconds or so the transmitter would send out sharp noises to keep people like George from taking advantage of their brains” (Vonnegut pg 232). This supports Vonnegut's theme because it can be inferred that there is not high enough intelligence or competition for people to make progress individually and in the world. Individuals do not have the room to grow because of how extreme the handicapper general took equality. Later in the story, Harrison Bergerson escapes from jail and breaks free from all of his handicaps. He is one of the most intelligent people in this world. It can be inferred that because there are handicaps for everyone with high intelligence no one can keep up with his intelligence and brain because theirs are being stifled. He has overcome all of his handicaps but because no one can be more intelligent than another all those working on these handicaps there is no competition to make better ones and their attention spans are so short that they can not think of more improved handicaps. This proves the theme because it shows that there is no progress being made because there is nothing

This might help the feelings of people feeling inferior, but it would be argued that it's just a part of life and people will grow because of those feelings. There are so many aspects of life you can be good at and it is ok if you are not as good as someone else,but in this story the handicapper general does not realize this. Though in some aspects equality is great, not in everything, especially when taken this far. In the world we live in, the equality movements have been so important because it was getting everyone the chance to have equal opportunities. Equality in that aspect can be achieved, and the author proved that equality in every extreme can be achieved but at a coast. Although there is the point that herrison outgrew his handicaps and he escaped and his intelligence was too great to stifle. The author's theme was shown very clearly in these aspects and really got people thinking about what he was trying to prove and show. Equality in this story is almost controlling. No one can live up to their potential and even that is taken away from them. This really shows Vonnegut