Steinke 1

Kiersten Steinke

Corrine Holke-Farnam

Cornerstone

12/01/2016

Absolute Equality Silences Individuality

Equality as defined by the Oxford dictionary is the state of being equal, especially in

status, rights or opportunities. To many, equality among races, genders and sexual orientations is

the basis of freedom. In this futuristic short story, Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut pokes at

the idea of a country built solely on equality through the use of handicaps, making the reader

question whether or not a county could thrive with no individuality. Written in 1961, during the

Civil Rights Movement, the short story, Harrison Bergeron, argues that absolute equality

silences individuality and depicts the dangers of a society filled with total equality.

Kurt Vonnegut was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He entered Cornell

University in 1940 as a chemistry major, where he pursued his interests in journalism,

culminating in his appointment as the managing editor of the student newspaper, the Cornell

Daily Sun. However, instead of completing his degree in chemistry, Vonnegut dropped out and

enlisted in the United States Army as a private in World War II. During his time in the war,

Vonnegut was sent to Europe where he was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in an

underground meat locker, which inspired his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. On February 13, 1945,

Vonnegut witnessed the bombing of Dresden, which resulted in a firestorm killing around

130,000 civilians. Alongside other prisoners of war (POW), he was instructed to collect the dead

bodies after the bombing. In May of that same year, Vonnegut was liberated from the POW camp

and returned to the United States.

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Vonnegut held many jobs outside of literature, but continued to write short fiction on the

side. As time went on, he realized that he needed to bring in more income for his family, so he

turned his attention to writing novels. Several of his novels, including Cats Cradle, Breakfast of

Champions and Hocus Pocus, were very popular and earned him the desired income for his

family. Vonnegut was interested in science fiction and politics and incorporated those interests

into his writings. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut pokes fun at the idea of an authoritarian

government by satirising government overreach and excessive laws.

Harrison Bergeron was first published in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine in

1961. This was right around the time that the Civil Rights movement was in full force. Issues

regarding equality and individuals rights were common topics of discussion. In Harrison

Bergeron, rights to individuality have ultimately become extinct. Rights restricting individuality

were enforced so that nobody felt inferior to anyone else.

The short story takes place in the year 2081 in the United States, where constitutional

amendments 211, 212 and 213 have made everybody equal. The amendments implemented

handicaps enforced by the Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, to establish this

equality. One of the handicaps, an ear radio to prevent people from taking unfair advantage of

their brains, sounds every so often to force individuals to clear their train of thought, to remove

any inequality in intelligence. Another handicap implements bags tied around individuals necks

filled with shotgun shells, which weighed people down to make everyone physically equal. This

is exemplified when George and Hazel are watching television: That was a real pretty dance,

that dance they just did, said Hazel. [George] tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They

weren't really very good- no better than anybody else would have been. (Vonnegut, 209)
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Harrison Bergeron, the titular character, is described as a genius and an athlete

(Vonnegut, 210) and because of his unfair advantages, he is striken with handicaps so he is made

equal with the rest of society. However, Harrison rebels against the governments idea of equality

by breaking off his handicaps on live television and displaying his individuality. As a result of his

display of individuality, Harrison is imprisoned to maintain equality and ultimately killed.

Vonnegut uses Harrison a warning against government overreach showing that terrible things can

be a result of trying to suppress individuality.

Vonnegut argues the point that equality should not be shown through likeness but rather

through giving everybody equal opportunities and rights. He shows the flaws of forced absolute

equality through government actions that are morally wrong, including inhibiting natural human

abilities and killing those who do not conform. Although politics are never blatantly discussed in

the story, Vonnegut is known for taking jabs at different government and political

systems.Vonnegut argues for the idea of equal rights by satirizing the absence of opportunities.

While conversing with Hazel, George states, pretty soon wed be right back to the dark ages

again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldnt like that, would you?

(Vonnegut, 210)

Another issue of this society is the danger of not showing emotion. Vonnegut plays with

the readers emotions when Hazel and George, Harrison's parents, watch their own son be shot

and killed on live television. Hazel begins to cry and George asks her why she is sad and she

responds, Something real sad on television. Its all kind of mixed up in my mind. (Vonnegut,

212) In reality, a parent would be completely distraught if their own child died in any

circumstance. This goes to show that the absence of emotion is toxic to a society.
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The short story, Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut argues that absolute equality

silences individuality and shows how the absence of emotion is toxic to society. He satirizes

government overreach and excessive laws in order to argue the flaws that come with an

authoritarian government. Written in 1961, during the Civil Rights Movement in the United

States, this story provokes conversations regarding individuals rights. Vonnegut argues that

equality should be shown through equal rights rather than through likeness of individuals. By

reading this short story, the reader is exposed to a different type of government and the

imperfections that come along with it.

Works Cited

Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Bergeron. An Introduction to Fiction. Ed. Dana Gioia. New York:

Longmann, 2009.

Oxford University Press. English Oxford Living Dictionaries,https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/

definition/equality. Accessed 7 December 2016.