Introduction Conflicts with equality are happening constantly in the United States of America. In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron,” written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., has taken equality to the extreme. In the story, it hints at the reader what can happen in the future if the wrong person gets in charge of the government. With the influence of media, Vonnegut expresses his responses about equality and individual freedom when “everyone is equal in every which way” in “Harrison Bergeron.” Biography Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was an American all time favorite author who wrote 14 novels, three short stories, five play, and five nonfiction pieces. Born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Vonnegut was raised by his father Kurt Vonnegut,
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“His major themes are the mechanized world and the way it determines our lives, the way the desire for material goods control us, the failures of religion and science to improve our lot, the nature of art as artifice rather than truth, and the way events occur randomly in a world where we desperately grasp for order and meaning” (Hobby, n. page.). In 1951, Vonnegut moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, but then moved again to west Barnstable, living on Cape Cod for 20 years. In 1952, Vonnegut's first novel, “Player Piano,” wa published by Scribner’s and his other pieces have been accepted into numerous magazines like Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Ladies Home Journal, and the Saturday Evening Post. One of the reasons why all these magazines were accepting his work was just not for his interesting stories but on how easily his works can be read. “The technique in much of his works may be characterized as postmodern; rather than revering classical prose models, it instead uses choppy, vernacular sentences and deemphasizes traditional conventions of plot, theme, time, and character development…. His novels combine comedy with pathos, fantasy with history, and didacticism with farce” (Reed, n. page.). This lets readers get right into the story and move on quickly to the next book making Vonnegut a popular author. He then started to write essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories. “His language was humorous, imaginative, and whimsical, and yet the hallmark of his postmodern style was simplicity rather than complexity” (Hobby, n. page.). In 1961, “Harrison Bergeron,” was published along along with “God Bless You,” “Mr. Rosewater,” “Mother Night,” and
“His major themes are the mechanized world and the way it determines our lives, the way the desire for material goods control us, the failures of religion and science to improve our lot, the nature of art as artifice rather than truth, and the way events occur randomly in a world where we desperately grasp for order and meaning” (Hobby, n. page.). In 1951, Vonnegut moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, but then moved again to west Barnstable, living on Cape Cod for 20 years. In 1952, Vonnegut's first novel, “Player Piano,” wa published by Scribner’s and his other pieces have been accepted into numerous magazines like Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Ladies Home Journal, and the Saturday Evening Post. One of the reasons why all these magazines were accepting his work was just not for his interesting stories but on how easily his works can be read. “The technique in much of his works may be characterized as postmodern; rather than revering classical prose models, it instead uses choppy, vernacular sentences and deemphasizes traditional conventions of plot, theme, time, and character development…. His novels combine comedy with pathos, fantasy with history, and didacticism with farce” (Reed, n. page.). This lets readers get right into the story and move on quickly to the next book making Vonnegut a popular author. He then started to write essays, reviews, short travel accounts, and human interest stories. “His language was humorous, imaginative, and whimsical, and yet the hallmark of his postmodern style was simplicity rather than complexity” (Hobby, n. page.). In 1961, “Harrison Bergeron,” was published along along with “God Bless You,” “Mr. Rosewater,” “Mother Night,” and