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Symbolism In Harrison Bergeron

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We live in a society where we use competition to drive each other to better ourselves. It may be sports or academics, but it is human nature to strive to be the best. In “Harrison Bergeron” there is a society where exceptional skill is forcibly hidden behind guises and screens, separating the elite from the average, tearing away the drive to excel. However, Harrison still fights to stand out and show others the beauty it brings. While Harrison can be viewed as a monster or a god, no one will remember him in either light. He makes the effort to be remembered and to live in an exceptional light only to be shot down with a ten gauge shotgun. The ten gauge shotgun is a trademark hunting weapon and an unusual choice for a woman. It symbolizes the way Diana Moon Glampers viewed the boy, he was an animal and should be treated as such. Shooting him was not an act of repression in her eyes ,rather she was protecting the country from his wrath. Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper general, and a woman of extreme conviction. While everyone is in handicaps because of her, she lacks any restraints. Her …show more content…

George, who is a smart man, is brought to his knees and exact moments by this device. Whenever the earpiece blares it’s intolerable tune, the moment prior a questionable action occurred. They are stopping the thoughts of revolution and rebellion through these earpieces. Another handicap, used to slow down the people, are weights. However the way to get stronger is to carry weights. They are taking away their current strength by using weights, but making them stronger in a quick manner. When Harrison Bergeron rips off his handicaps he is able to jump to incredible heights and move in a swift manner. The Handicapper General even added weight to slow him down as he grew into this enormous young man, all the while helping him become more powerful than he ever could on his

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251 Words | 2 Pages

In both 2081 and Harrison Bergeron, symbolism can be found nearly everywhere. However, one particular form was more present than many others. In the short story and the movie, viewers can clearly observe the Acts of Vampires symbolism (How to Read Literature Like a Professor - pg 15). To begin, there was a man-made monster present in both interpretations of Harrison Bergeron's story.

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150 Words | 1 Pages

In 'Harrison Bergeron,' Kurt Vonnegut employs various types of figurative language to convey the story's themes and create vivid imagery. Some types of figurative language used in the story include metaphors and hyperbole. The government-issued handicaps that the characters must wear are described as 'bags of lead' and 'spectacles with thick wavy lenses' that distort the wearer's vision, emphasizing the burden and limitation that the handicaps impose on individuals. Hyperbole is also used in the story, such as when the announcer on the television is described as having a voice that is 'like gravel being chewed,' creating a jarring and unpleasant image of the announcer's voice and highlighting the oppressive nature of the society in which the

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418 Words | 2 Pages

There are many ways an author can convey the message of any story. Elements such as the Plot, Conflict, Character/Characterization, Setting, Symbolism, Narration, and Imagery are used in these ways. For example, in the In the story "Harrison Bergeron", the author Kurt Vonnegut uses the characterization, and the conflict to communicate the message to the reader that Uniformity and strict laws lead to a loss of personal freedom and individuality. Vonnegut uses the element of characterization.

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742 Words | 3 Pages

He knows that he is different from the others. His exceptional intelligence helps him see the government has covered all forms of uniqueness. Vonnegut has created a reality with total equality. Harrison believes he is better than the government; stronger, faster, smarter, more powerful. He uses his advantages to break the laws of society, taking off all the things that make him as well as a ballerina equal to others.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Hazel said to George, “ Take the handicapped off, it 's only here so that you can relax.” George said, “If that how it was, we 're all going back to judging and comparing.” Vonnegut’s thoughts on individualism are that being individual and acting a way that is unique doesn 't fit into our society and won 't be accepted. In the story, a “rebel” decided to take of his handicapped, and to become different and be free in how he is but he was brought down and shot dead by a officer.

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361 Words | 2 Pages

The idea of utopian and dystopian societies is noticeably popular due to the fact that society wants equality, however authors show when attempting to have total equality the public can become unethical. Harrison Bergeron shows a corrupt government and society in hopes of a utopia. After Harrison broke out of jail and made the musicians play without their handicaps the text says, “The music began again and was much improved.” This demonstrates how total equality takes away talents and strips people of their individuality. However, for most people their talents are what brings them joy and purpose.

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

Laws are the key to having a well-mannered society. They are created with the intention of bringing good to the civilization. However, even actions with good intentions can end with devastating results. This is what occurs in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron”. “Harrison Bergeron” is about a dystopian- like future that has had citizens stripped of their individuality due to an Amendment.

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1003 Words | 5 Pages

In George Saunders’ essay from The Guardian, he states, “We often think that the empathetic function in fiction is accomplished via the writer’s relation to his characters, but it’s also accomplished via the writer’s relation to his reader” (The Guardian). In Kurt Vonnegut’s story “Harrison Bergeron”, we can see this idea shown through the reader’s connection with Harrison.  Vonnegut uses the main character of the story, Harrison Bergeron, as a symbol of empathy by allowing the reader to relate to his desire for individuality.

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1051 Words | 5 Pages

In the film Harrison Bergeron, every person is equal. No one is more advanced in any human activity including intelligence. However, Harrison has deviated from this norm by having a higher intelligence level than most people. This conflicted with the society that the National Administration Center had created in order to prevent tension due to the differences between humans. With Harrison deviating from the norm, this caused problems for him and the Center because it was possible that he could form some type of revolution against the Center.

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870 Words | 4 Pages

Thesis: In Kurt Vonnegut 's story, "Harrison Bergeron," symbolism, tone, and irony reveal the author 's message to the reader which is his perspective on equality. Notably, there are countless symbols in the narrative "Harrison Bergeron" all of which trace back to the theme of the story. The handicaps people are forced to wear are symbols for the control the government has over people. "George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn 't be handicapped.

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233 Words | 1 Pages

Irony is the most powerful literary device used in the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. First, a good example of irony in the story is “They were burdened with sashweights sand 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 drug in.” (P,2 Line, 11-13) This quote is Ironic as it tells how this system was designed to hide beauty, yet beauty was still shown by the amount of restraints on the person. Second, another good example of irony is, “The spectacles were intended to make him not only half-blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.

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1823 Words | 8 Pages

The short story “Harrison Bergeron”, was first published in October 1961 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Some other works Kurt Vonnegut has written are, “Player Piano”, “The Sirens of Titan”, “Mother Night”, and “Cats Cradle” are just a few of the novels Vonnegut has written. Kurt Vonnegut has drawn on facts and incidents in his own life in his writings. Kurt’s short stories range from visions of future societies, that are extensions of modern societies. Many of his writings are ones that are science fiction.

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589 Words | 3 Pages

George, Hazel’s husband, has been handicapped with two things: an earphone that administers a sound every 20 seconds and a handicap bag filled with forty-seven pounds of birdshot. While this might be a lot, George continues to follow the law. “Two years in prison and a two thousand dollar fine for every ball I take out… I don’t call that a bargain” (40). Hazel fails at convincing her husband to rest his handicaps because George fears the government and their capabilities. This being said, Vonnegut uses characterization to display George’s loss of the will to fight.

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305 Words | 2 Pages

“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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557 Words | 3 Pages

In his short story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut uses an astounding amount of powerful imagery and diction to create the perfect scenes of the dystopian reality he creates. Throughout his use of imagery, Vonnegut creates scenes palpably imagined by readers. He uses underlying humor to lighten scenes of the morbid and macabre nature of the future where being different can be a death sentence. The future that is created in totality by Vonnegut is a dire scene created to be filled with a pastiche of people strung with handicaps to make them to be exactly the same as the “perfectly average citizen.” Vonnegut’s tone throughout is both dreary towards the bizarre and twisted dystopia that makes everyone equal, but is also somewhat insulting to those who do not bear handicaps due to being lacking both mentally and physically.

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