The Impossibility of Absolute Equality Humanity has struggled for equality since civilization has existed. However, can equality be a negative and unattainable goal? In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, it is 2081 and the Handicapper General has taken over the United States with a mission to make everybody perfectly equal. The government does this through sash weights to weigh the strong down, headphones that give off piercing noises to keep the smart docile, disturbing masks for the beautiful, and many more. The short story shows Hazel and George, a married couple, watching ballerinas on television when suddenly, their fugitive son breaks in and claims himself as the Emperor, ripping off his handicaps. Through symbolism, Vonnegut shows …show more content…
In “Harrison Bergeron,” these people are showed to have weaknesses in strength, beauty, or in Hazel’s case, intelligence. Hazel can only think about things “in short bursts” (1), and often forgets what she was thinking about just a moment before. When George and Hazel watch their son die on television, Hazel actually forgets the entire event. When George asks her why she was crying, she can only respond that there was something “real sad on television” (5). The narrator even went as far to state that “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts” (1). This is ironic because by our standards, not knowing what is going on around you would not be considered the average intelligence, but in Vonnegut’s world, it is quite normal since the government handicapped everybody progressively to match people like Hazel. Yet, through all of the government’s efforts to eliminate all competition in the slightest, Hazel still cannot be as smart as others, because even though George is handicapped he can reason better than her. When George has another painful noise in his ear to keep him from thinking too hard, Hazel declares that if she was in charge, she would “have chimes on Sunday-just chimes. Kind of in honor of religion” (1). George gently points out that if the noise was just chimes it would not hinder him in any way. The contrast of Hazel and George illustrates their differences in mental capacities, even with George’s