Kurt Vonnegut’s
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Born: 11-Nov-1922
Birthplace: Indianapolis, IN
Died: 11-Apr-2007
Location of death: Manhattan, NY
Cause of death: Accident – Fall
Remains: Buried, Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN
Gender: Male
Religion: Atheist
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Novelist
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Slaughterhouse Five
Military service: US Army (1943-45)
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Combined satiric social commentary and
black comedy with surrealist and science
fictional elements
Common themes in his work include the
dehumanization formed by technology, as
well as by bureaucracy and media
propaganda
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His sentences are short and easily understood
so as to be largely accessible
Even the most horrifying scenes are
underlined by jokes or absurdity
Utopia
 An ideal or perfect place or state, or any
visionary system of political or social
perfection
 Kinds: feminist utopias, ecological utopias,
technological utopias, religious utopias
communist utopias
 The perfect societies in utopian novels are
often communistic or socialistic in character
 The opposite of dystopia
Place
America
 Time
Year 2081, April 2081
 Social conditions
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The government enforced the laws of equality. Those who
possess average intelligence are unable to think for
extended periods of time while thoughts of intelligent
people are interrupted by the broadcasts of the
government through small head radios the people wear.
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Harrison Bergeron
George Bergeron
Hazel Bergeron
Diana Moon Glampers
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The son of George and Hazel Bergeron
14 years old
7 ft. tall, strong, and extremely handsome but
his eyebrows are shaved off and he is wearing
300 pounds of metal, huge earphones, big
glasses, a red rubber nose and black caps
over his teeth to counteract his strength,
intelligence, and good looks
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Harrison’s father and Hazel’s husband
Intelligent and strong, but is wearing weights
around his neck and a radio that prohibits him
from thinking deeply
Obeys laws and avoids risks because he fears
the government
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Harrison’s mother and George’s wife
Scatterbrained, dumb, and a helpless average
American
Sweet and well intentioned
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The Handicapper General of the United
States
In charge of limiting the capacities of those
who are above average
Exposition
Harrison Bergeron is taken away by the
government with his parents not being aware
of the incident. The government sends Harrison
to jail since he is considered as a threat.
1.
Rising Action
Hazel compliments the dance of the ballerinas
on TV while George says th0se dancers are not
very good because their actions are limited. A
noise interrupts George’s thoughts. Hazel says
she would enjoy hearing the noises that the
handicappers dream up and she would be a
good Handicapper General.
2.
Rising Action
Before being interrupted by another noise,
George thinks of Harrison. Hazel says George
looks exhausted. She supposes that it is due to
his handicap bag, so she suggests taking a few
of the weights out of the bag. But George
refuses, and says he doesn’t want society to
return to its old competitive ways. A noise
makes them forget the conversation.
2.
Climax
On TV, the ballerina, altering her voice so she
won’t make anyone jealous, reads a bulletin
which the speech-impaired broadcaster can’t
announce. The bulletin says that Harrison has
escaped from prison. A photo of Harrison
appears on the screen.
3.
Climax
After a rumbling noise, Harrison suddenly
appears in the studio. He proclaims himself as
the emperor then he rips off all of his
handicaps. Looking like a god, he picks a
ballerina who was brave enough to stand up as
his empress and promises to make the
musicians royalty if they do their best.
3.
Falling Action
As Harrison dances to the music and manages
to defy gravity with his empress, Diana Moon
Glampers comes into the studio, kills both
Harrison and his empress, and threatens the
musicians with a shotgun.
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Denouement
The Bergerons’ TV screen goes dark. When
George returns after getting a beer, he sees
Hazel crying and asks why. She says she can’t
quite remember but something sad happened
on the TV.
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“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally
equal. They weren't only equal before God and
the law. They were equal every which way.
Nobody was any smarter than anybody else.
Nobody was better looking than anybody else.
Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody
else.”
"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical science
fiction tale about the dark side of an ideal,
utopian American society.
Nothing is clearly suggestive of negativity.
The story is told through the third-person
point of view of an objective narrator
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“I am the Emperor!” shouts Harrison
Bergeron.
The chains worn by Harrison
The Handicapper General, Diana Moon
Glampers
The death of Harrison Bergeron and the
ballerina
The prominence of words like “think,”
“anybody,” “people,” and “like”