Imagery In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

In the short story, Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut shows how society would be flawed through the pursuit of equality. Through this story we were given insight as to how our world could very well possibly be affected is we were to see true equality amongst everyone. Regardless of sex, race,color, and mental capability. Throughout this story Kurt Vonnegut uses bold imagery and negative trite details to make up a negative tone. In doing this he creates his twisted version of artificial, blind world. In the story we see an equal society expressed through his forceful syntax. This is equal in all aspects. Nobody is smarter, prettier, or better than anyone else. Even people with disabilities of the mind or body are also “perfectly average”(Vonnegut 3). As the plot begins to thicken we see and feel a type of control exaggerated by the government. An example of this control is shown when George and Hazel are watching the ballerinas perform, and George has a thinks how “They weren’t really very good-no better than anybody else would have been…” (Vonnegut …show more content…
The people wanted equality , but was it to this extent? People weren’t allowed to be themselves, made ugly, and suppressed down. Although most people went along with the new laws of handicaps in fear of punishment, not everyone was obliged. During the show of the ballerinas dancing, the show was briefly interrupted to share a warning message “Harrison Bergeron,age 14, has just escaped from jail , where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government” (Vonnegut 3). He was tall, handsome, and exceedingly intelligent. That is why “Nobody had born heavier handicaps…” (Vonnegut 3). We see how the person with extra gifts was seen as an even bigger threat to society than just an “average” person. This restricts one group of people in order to fit the needs of the next