Individuality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

In the story Harrison Bergeron, society is anything but equal. In the real world most people see society as equal in most every way. But can you imagine if everything were controlled by the government in an attempt to make every person the same? Vonnegut examines the idea of individuality and assumes that uniformity is not equality, equal rights does not mean equality in opportunity, and individuality is uplifting. Harrison Bergeron is given many handicaps in his society along with most other people. He has goggles to hinder his eyesight, junk strapped to his body to counteract his strength, headphones to distract his intelligent brain and a red rubber nose to take away from his good looks. Harrison's father has a radio that distracts his thoughts as well while Harrison's mother has none of these handicaps. Even though every person is considered to be uniform by their handicaps they do not seem to be equal. In other words, some people are stripped of their rights by being forced to wear all these handicaps while other people do not need any restraints or distractions because they are already what their government see's as the ideal human. …show more content…
When some people are handicapped they may not even be able to perform acts that others can with or without their handicaps. As an example, without her handicaps, Harrison's mother can watch television, but she forgets everything moments later. Harrison's father can also watch television, but his handicap distracts his brain moments later. His mother could remember things if she trained her brain to do this. His father however, would not be able to remember things because his handicap would distract him every time he tried to concentrate. Thus, the people in this society do not have equal abilities or