Equality Principle In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Kurt Vonnegut’s imaginary dystopia depicted in his short story “Harrison Bergeron” is a perversion of the equality principle in that it pushes equality to an unfounded extreme—an extreme that crushes personal freedom. In this paper, I will argue that in “Harrison Bergeron” the equality principle is taken to mean the deprivation and literal handicapping of the privileged, while in reality the pursuit of equality is taken to mean the elevation of the underprivileged. In order to prove my thesis, I will begin by setting forth the terms of this paper and defining the equality principle. Then, I will engage in specific analysis of Vonnegut’s work, discussing how it perverts the equality principle. This analysis will be supported by the works of modern scholars. That analysis will be followed by a …show more content…
This is because they differ in one very important manner—Vonnegut illustrates equality in “Harrison Bergeron” as the deprivation of the privileged, while the United States tends to view equality as the elevation of the underprivileged, as far as legal matters are concerned. Deprivation of the privileged and elevation of the underprivileged are exactly as they sound. Deprivation of the privileged is the administration of handicaps to anyone who is too strong, too intelligent, or too otherwise talented. Elevation of the underprivileged, however, is providing assistance to those who lack certain natural qualities, or who are burdened by social convention. Examples include the aforementioned Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides assistance and assurance of rights to those with disabilities; and affirmative action programs, which allow those pushed down by years of racism or sexism to have a semblance of equal footing with those who did not experience such societal