Just average is good enough. No one should be smarter, faster, stronger or more attractive than the next. This is the extremist view that the author, Kurt Vonnegut, was trying to portray in his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” The year is 2081; the United States has elected a “Handicapper General” (or HG) to dole out restrictions on the general population to restrict free thinking, beauty, and athleticism. It’s not addressed however one could assume the HG does not have any handicaps; this relates to the double standard that we face every day with our current government. In this dystopian world, the people have translated the Declaration of Independence literally, that all men are created equal. In doing so, they have relinquished serious freedoms.
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Egalitarianism at this extreme is concordant with totalitarianism. If a populace is totally equal in the manner in this story then, they are only allowed to use as much intelligence as the least intelligent person. In this situation, it very well could be Hazel Bergeron. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts.” So the author is alluding that she has some sort of short-term memory loss. With this in mind, it means with the proper handicap they can’t rise up against their government. This creates a totalitarian nation where the government has free reign to do as they please. Harrison is the exception. Instead of blindly following the populace he has revolted and chose to take the path less traveled. Taking off his handicaps in the final scene in front of the world via live broadcast. The Handicapper General herself is there to thwart his efforts in order to prevent the uprising he attempted. In doing so he becomes a martyr for his
Egalitarianism at this extreme is concordant with totalitarianism. If a populace is totally equal in the manner in this story then, they are only allowed to use as much intelligence as the least intelligent person. In this situation, it very well could be Hazel Bergeron. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts.” So the author is alluding that she has some sort of short-term memory loss. With this in mind, it means with the proper handicap they can’t rise up against their government. This creates a totalitarian nation where the government has free reign to do as they please. Harrison is the exception. Instead of blindly following the populace he has revolted and chose to take the path less traveled. Taking off his handicaps in the final scene in front of the world via live broadcast. The Handicapper General herself is there to thwart his efforts in order to prevent the uprising he attempted. In doing so he becomes a martyr for his