Introduction
In Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut used several elements of dystopia to show how absurd and dangerous the idea of total human equality can be.
How Features of Dystopia Convey Vonnegut’s Central Message in “Harrison Bergeron”
Dystopia is characterized by the depiction of a grim future where all people live in totalitarian societies of various kinds, and he uses one of them to describe the world of total equality, which is not as bright as one can imagine. Living in it means that one who wants to be smarter, faster, or think independently will be disabled or punished. In that way, society was based on total human equality, and competition and striving to improve were strictly prohibited.
A special position of Handicapper General (H-G) was established to block various people’s features, such as intellect and physical power or agility (Vonnegut 1). They used technologies such as special microphones to transmit a voice into the ear to distract people from mental activity, and Harrison’s father suffered from such a handicap. Harrison himself was forced to wear many more handicaps, and he was taken to prison due to his intelligence and independent thinking (Vonnegut 2). In the end, he managed to escape, symbolizing the triumph of the enlightened man over the handicapped dystopia.
Conclusion
Therefore, the central message of Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron was that human abilities are virtually endless, and social coercion, which tries to make people equal, is wrong. Vonnegut uses a dystopian depiction of a technology-based totalitarian world to show how people cannot develop and realize themselves. The best ones are taken to prison, such as the main hero, Harrison Bergeron. The short story is full of grotesque elements, and its dystopian setting is a caricature, aiming to mock those who think that society should limit people’s development to reach equality at any price.
Works Cited
Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Bergeron. Mercury Press, 1961.