HARRISON BERGERON CENTRAL THEME

HARRISON BERGERON CENTRAL THEME

Introduction

Harrison Bergeron is a satirical short story and was written by Kurt Vonnegut, who is an American writer. First publication of the article was in 1961. The characters are fourteen years old Harrison Bergeron, his father George, Hazel, who is his mother, a dancer named Ballerina and the Diana moon glampers. The story’s dystopian setting and the humor encompassed in it enhances its social and political critique. The purpose of this paper is to explore the central theme of the writer in the article.

Body

In the short story, Vonnegut’s central theme is equality.in the future America, which Vonnegut anticipates; all people are equal in all aspects no matter the race, religion, or any element. The writer is imaginative of a world where the government of the United States forces all of its citizens to be equal through means of cruel handicaps. Vonnegut mocks not the rapidly rising emphasis on the equality of opportunities which is majorly endorsed by man people during his time, but the growth in the equality of outcomes which many people thought it was a hard idea to dictate. He majorly anticipates equality in the future, which is quoted in his article, “It is the year 2081. Because of Amendments  . . . To the Constitution, every American is fully equal” (Vonnegut, 1962). The author suggests that total equality is not an ideal thing that should be striven for, but rather, it is a goal which is mistaken and dangerous in its execution and also its outcomes.

In his story, for the achievement of equality in the physical and mental aspect, generally among all the Americans, the citizens are tortured by the government. There is no equality as he suggests that the beautiful have to wear masks to hide or even change their appearance, the bright and thoughtful also have to listen to explicit noise which interferes with their thinking ability and too the strong have to carry weights around their necks all daytime hours. Once citizens grasp the total inequality idea, they tend to undisclosed the unique attributes that may expose them to danger. The fact behind this behavior is because some fear the punishment they may get from the government as a result of their abilities while others are aware of the government goals. The outcomes of the quest for equality just become disastrous and full of dangers, which include America becoming a region of frightened, unintelligent, and sluggish people. The author suggests that equality is only achieved at the cost of freedom and also a personal achievement. As the author suggests, equality should not be strived for based on strength, appearance, or even intelligence.

The author also explores several other themes, such as freedom. Freedom cannot be felt under the current American regime due to the oppressive rule of the Handicapper General. The author thinks that freedom is essential for one’s full potential exploitation. Another theme is the powers of television. It can rule, sedate, or even terrorize people as it does to characters in the story. Television’s sedation is evident when Hazel is full of tears on his cheeks, but he tends to forget the reason for which she was crying when distracted by the Ballerinas on the screen. Television is used to rule by enforcing laws as detailed by the author, where it is used to send warnings to them. Further, it is used to terrorize citizens as evidenced when Harrison is shot by Diana moon glampers when live on television. The author also reveals the individuality and independence theme.

Harrison’s pessimistic view of the future is still helpful today since it gives hope for a better future, which might call for a revolution. His vision for the future is evident when he throws his masks and also those of his dancers. He sees a future where a champion will be able to defend these values. He relates to the current society as evidenced in the opening sentence of the story “The year is 2081 . . . “he communicates a message of hope that no matter how evil a regime is, its system will change at a certain point, its citizens rise and evil is eliminated (Vonnegut, 1962).

Vonnegut’s article is all about the dangers that can result as a result of forcing equality among citizens. Regimes should embrace the freedom of its citizen for the full realization of their potential.